BANQUET UPDATES & LAURIE'S COSTUME

13 DAYS UNTIL THE GTD BANQUET!!!

Please come and enjoy our special night =)

TABLE SPONSOR ALERT!!

Thank you People Helping People of Pinellas Park for sponsoring 2 tables at our upcoming banquet. Thank you for your generous support of GTD! God bless you & the work you do for our community =)

GTD is honored to announce that the Olympic Chaplain for Team USA, Asif Shaikh, will be giving our Invocation at our Annual Banquet on Nov 13th at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

LOL, guess who came into work dressed up as "Doug hiking thru the Grand Canyon" for Halloween today? Very funny Laurie Finger! (click picture to see all that went into her "costume") - hahahaha... it was pretty close to accurate - haha!

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You Are Invited!!

 

You are cordially invited to attend GTD's Annual Fund Raising Banquet on Nov 13, 2012 held at Ruth Eckerd Hall in the Margarete Heye Great Room from 6:30pm - 9:00pm.

Come celebrate 16 years of ministry with GTD! Be a part of an amazing night of inspiration, excitement  & ministry growth. And help take GTD to the next level as we seek to raise $20,000 to go towards our 2013 ministry programs. 

$25 per person (or $40 per couple)   |   Table Sponsorships start at $150

Dinner Included (Catered by Ruth Eckerd Hall)

Dress Code: Semi Formal / Business Attire

- Highlight Videos -

- Testimonies -

- Balloon Pops -

- Raffles -

- 50/50 -

- New Ministry Partner Pledges -

- One Time Donations -

Ruth Eckerd Hall

Margarete Heye Great Room

1111 N McMullen Booth Rd

Clearwater, FL 33759

$20,000

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit outdoor adventure ministry we rely on donors for 17% of our annual budget. That means that each year GTD needs to raise $30,000 of our $175,000 total annual budget.  It's a small, but vital percentage. 

The remaining 83% ($145,000) of our annual budget comes from what we charge for events. We believe that the Lord has led us to be a program supported ministry instead of a donation dependent ministry. Our goal over the next few years is to be 100% program supported, but we're not quite there yet.

Our goal for this year's Annual Banquet is to raise $20,000 of the $30,000 we need to raise over one year. We pray throughout the year for God to prompt the heart of donors for the remaining $10,000.

2 MAIN WAYS TO HELP

There are 2 main ways we will attempt to raise $20,000 at this year's banquet:

ONE TIME DONATIONS: Any money you pay or donate towards the banquet goes towards our goal. That means that every banquet ticket sold, every table sponsored, every raffle ticket purchased, every donation mailed in, and every contribution made at the banquet will go towards our fund raising goal.
Donate Now  |  Attend Banquet

MONTHLY PARTNERS: From now until the end of the year we will be asking generous people like yourself to sign up to be one of our Monthly Partners for the next 12 months. All you do is pick an amount that you want to donate each month to GTD and sign-up to become a Monthly Partner. You can make automatic payments online through our website or through your bank... or just write a check each month and mail it in. We calculate the total amount that you plan to pledge over the next 12 months and put it towards our fund raising goal.
Become A Monthly Partner

Another way you can help us meet our goal is by donating auction items and raffle items for the night of the banquet. Please contact us as soon as possible if you have anything of value you would like to donate (call our office: 727-394-9483).

Click here for more details.

Praying For Storm Victims

Praying for family, friends and everyone residing in the northeastern US who are encountering the "perfect storm".

So sorry to see the unfolding devastation taking place in NJ, NY and surrounding states. Thoughts and prayers are with them and the heroes risking their lives to save & assist others.


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SAC Sunday w/ Smiley's

Had a great time with some great people on our Sunday After Church (SAC) event for Smiley's Young Adult Ministry (part of First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks). We went canoeing for 4 miles on the Cross Bayou Canal. Squishee ball wars, flipping canoes, canoeing thru tunnels - good times!!

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Dr Walp To Return To Grand Canyon In 2013

I'M THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE... Dr Aaron Walp & his wife Tammy will be returning next year on our Grand Canyon Trip to teach on Creationism!! It's a life changing event!

Mark it on your calendar: Oct 10-15, 2013 (includes Columbus Day)


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XFL Coming Back 1 Year From Today (Oct 26-27, 2013)

IT'S COMING BACK 1 YEAR FROM TODAY... Oct 26-27, 2013
The XFL Cross Florida Bike Ride!!! 2 Days; 160 Miles

Coast to Coast across Florida
Tarpon Springs to Cocoa Beach

Start planning now.
Start training after the Christmas holidays.
Make this one of your New Year goals!


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Trailer Lot Clean-Up Represents HUGE Progress

It's been on my to-do list for 4 years, but I haven't had any spare time to tackle it. I'm referring to the work project of cleaning up & clearing out a ton of overgrown bushes, weeds, tree limbs, and defective & broken gear in the back lot of our office where we park our trucks & trailers. It has taken me 3 days this week, but the mission is nearly accomplished. This may seem small to the average person reading this, but it represents a huge milestone for me. It means that, after years of being behind on projects due to so much administration work piled up on my plate, I'm finally getting caught up! It feels so good to be able to get on top of projects that have been hanging over my head and placed on the back burner for so long. I know it's just a basic work project that millions of people do everyday, but to me it feels like a mountain is being lifted and thrown into the ocean. I'm sooooo happy about the progress =)

 

 

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IGNITE Was Great!

Last weekend's IGNITE Fall Camping Retreat was a great time. We spent our time at a beautiful group campsite along side of a crystal clear spring fed lake. 

Friday night we set up camp and enjoyed a delicious taco dinner. Afterwards we spent time around the fire ring fellowshipping and making smores. Our Impact Point topic was "Rest" and the importance of taking time each week (and throughout the year) to have times of rest so our body, mind, heart and soul can grow, recover and prepare for action. Our verses of emphasis were Matthew 11:28-30 and Genesis 2:1-3.

After a good night's sleep we woke up to gorgeous weather on Saturday. We had eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast. Our devotional time was a great way to kick off the day as we spent quality time in God's Word & prayer. 

Afterwards we canoed the lake and got into a huge squishee ball war. It was a blast! 

For lunch we made Pizzadillas then relaxed on hammocks. We had an unexpected visitor stop by as we got to witness a small bear walking around looking for food. That was quite thrilling!

In the late afternoon the group played several games of volleyball. We had so much fun! On the menu for dinner was chicken and mashed potatoes... yummy!! Our Saturday night Impact Point around the fire centered on staying worry-free as a way of maintaining the times of rest that we talked about the night before. Nothing can rob you of restful moments more than an anxious mind full of worry. We focused on Matthew 6:25-34. Right after our Impact Point we enjoyed an outdoor movie night as we set-up a projector, sound system, and a large bed sheet. The movie choice was "Salt" and everyone loved it. GTD owns several edited movies that have inappropriate content & foul language professionally removed so we can enjoy a great flick without all the trash. The temperatures began to drop on Saturday night as we headed off to bed.

Sunday morning was just as pretty as the day before, but with a little more chill in the air. We had pancakes for breakfast followed by another good devotional time. Throughout the morning & early afternoon the group enjoyed free time to play volleyball or go canoeing or just relax. For lunch we had sandwiches and chips. Around 1pm we began to break camp and pack the trailer. Thank you to everyone for helpping with the hard work of packing up.

God blessed us with a great time together on IGNITE this year... we are already planning out IGNITE 2013!! All glory to God!

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE 2012 IGNITE PICS ON OUR SMUG MUG ONLINE PHOTO ALBUM

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