ADVENTURES BUILD FAMILY BONDS! ...MOTHER & DAUGHTER TAKE THE ADVENTUREOUS ROUTE TOGETHER!

 

I love this picture of a young mother and daughter choosing the more adventurous route to our rock climbing location during SLAMMED 2021. Never underestimate the bonding power of sharing an adventure together!

 

GTD encourages you to get out and play in God's amazing playground!!

 

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Going The Distance Adventure Ministry

God-awesome Adventures Since 1996!

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THANK YOU HOFSTEDE FAMILY!

THE HOFSTEDE FAMILY

 [BRONZE TABLE SPONSOR]

 

Wow, our 2nd table sponsorship for GTD's Annual Banquet comes from one of our LONGEST standing Ministry Partners of 19 years, The Hofstede Family! 

From being a young married couple to a family with children they’ve always found a way to be involved!  

 

From being participants,  volunteers, Ministry Partners, to table sponsors. 

From Costa Rica mission trips to stateside Adventure Trips, paddles, caving, camping, and so much more they have and continue to do it all! 

Thank you Hofstede Family, we are blown away by your love and unwavering support of GTD!   

FAT FINGER CONSTRUCTION - THANK YOU!

THANK YOU FAT FINGER CONSTRUCTION FOR BEING GTD's 1st 

TABLE SPONSOR FOR OUR ANNUAL BANQUET!!!!

[GOLD TABLE SPONSOR]

 

Thank you to our Ministry Partners David and Courtney Berry of Fat Finger Construction for sponsoring a table at GTD’s Annual Fundraiser Banquet!  Your partnership and support in this ministry is and has always been a beautiful gift.  Thank you very much for another sponsorship this year!

 

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Fat Finger Constructions comes highly recommended by many satisfied customers.  Fat Finger specializes in Kitchen and Bath Remodels, New Home Construction, Room Additions, Commercial & Residential Remodeling, and Hardwood Floor Sand & Refinishing.

 

What customers have to say:

“You get quality work at a reasonable price dealing with great people. You won't be disappointed. " -Dan

 

“The attention to detail, expertise and cleanliness is far above and beyond my expectations. Incredibly thorough and trustworthy!" -Anita

 

“Best contractor experience I have ever had.” -Gene

"David Berry was the contractor I hired to do the entire demolition and rebuilding of my kitchen, laundry room and breakfast area. Mr. Berry worked with me on an almost daily basis to ensure the project met my specifications, went on schedule and produced the desired result." -Mr Willis

 

To learn more about Fat Finger Construction visit their website at:

https://fatfingerconstruction.com

 

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If you'd like to sponsor a table at GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet or register for this event please go to: https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet-tonne-playhouse.html

 

OUR BANQUET THEME & ONGOING GTD MANTRA >>> "GREATER THINGS ARE YET TO COME!"

  

As we drive this adventurous road of ministry we check our rearview mirror and celebrate 25 years of progress, 25 years of overcoming, 25 years of lives impacted... and then we look over at the Driver's seat and see a God who strongly upholds this mission (2 Chronicles 16:9a) and shows no signs of easing off the gas... then we look ahead piercing through a large clean windshield at the beautiful mountain ranges that lie ahead of us... and that's when it hits us... that's when we realize >>> GREATER THINGS ARE YET TO COME!

 

Buckle up your seatbelts friends! God's got the pedal to the metal and miles of adventures still ahead of us! He has increased the passenger seating... jump aboard and get ready for the ride of a lifetime as we kickoff our next 25 years of ministry!!

 

We love the adventurous roads that God takes us on!! GREATER THINGS ARE YET TO COME!!

 

 

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100 FREE TICKETS TO CELEBRATE 25 YEARS! ...TABLE SPONSORSHIPS BEGIN TOMORROW! .....FUNDRAISING TALLY STARTS NOV 1st!

 

We consider The GTD Annual Banquet to be our most important event each year. So to keep in step with our 2020 theme of FREE EVENTS (or extremely inexpensive events) we are kicking off this year's Annual Banquet registration with 100 FREE BANQUET TICKETS! Tickets usually sell for $25 each (or 2 for $40). We have super-sized our venue this year so we have room for more people, more enlarged pictures, and more "historical GTD artifacts".  As always, our Annual Banquet is being catered by everyone's favorite Italian Restaurant - Carrabba's - so you are guaranteed to have a delicious night while we celebrate 25 years of ministry and prepare for our 26th year of outrageous God-awesome adventures =)
 
In addition, Table Sponsorships officially begin tomorrow (Oct 26th). Table Sponsorships are a great way to:
<> Help GTD hit our fundraising goal of raising $100k by Jan 31st
<> Highlight your business or honor your loved one(s)
<> Reserve a table of 8 for your family & friends
<> Secure a table closer to the main stage
<> Get FREE GTD SWAG for you & your guests
On Nov 1st we officially begin tallying up funds raised and highlighting that good news on our blogsite and social media platforms.
 
Thank you in advance for supporting GTD and helping propel us into our next quarter of a century of impact for the Kingdom of God! 
 
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Banquet Details, Registration Page, & Website Link:
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EVENT: 2021 GTD Annual Banquet
LOCATION: Central Park Performing Arts Center - Tonne Playhouse
ADDRESS: 105 Central Park Drive, Largo, FL 33771
DATE: Nov 16th (Tuesday night)
TIME: 6:30p - 9p
DRESS: Semi-Formal / Business Attire
CATERER: Carrabba's Italian Grill
INCLUDES: 50/50, Balloon Pops, Raffles, Highlight Videos, Testimonials, & more
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Registration Link
Banquet Website Link
Fundraising Tally Link
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We can't wait to see you! God bless you and thank you for supporting GTD!!
 
 
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BUILDING SOMETHING

We are building something that I've always wanted to build.

 

 

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4 WEEKS TILL OUR ANNUAL BANQUET!! ...SAVE THE DATE (Tues Night - NOV 16, 2021) .....CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!

  

Wow, it is already that time of the year when we prepare to get all dressed up and gather together to celebrate all that God did this year and prepare for all that He is going to do next year! 

 

Since we are celebrating our 25th year of ministry (thank You Jesus!) we supersized the venue (right next door to our regular venue) and we are bringing back Carrabba's to cater the event (Can you say "Chicken Marsala"?!). We have so much to celebrate! 

 

Whether you're an old school GTD'er or a newbie or somewhere in-between or maybe you just want to learn more about GTD, we would love to have you at what we consider our most important event of the year! 

 

Aaaaaaaaaand we could use a lot of help preparing for our BIG night! 

For the next 4 weeks our tentative volunteer schedule is:

 <> Mondays & Fridays (10am - 10pm... whenever you can arrive till whenever you need to leave) 

 <> and either Saturday (10a - 7p) or Sunday afternoon (1p-7p) (we alternate each week based on our Caregiving schedule)

 <> Location: Doug's house

 <> Snacks & hydration provided

 

For more information about our Annual Banquet click on this link

 

 

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry, Inc

Celebrating 25 Years of Ministry

To God Be The Glory!

 

 

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VOLUNTEERING THE EXTRA MILE! ...THANK U TEAM HEBERT & WYATT!!

 

GTD has been so blessed to have some of the best volunteers we could have ever imagined. The volume of volunteers ebbs and flows every few years, but the quality of volunteers always stays high. Over the past 2 years we've been blessed to have a phenomenal family step up to take all kinds of volunteer initiative and immensely lighten our load while at the same time blessing us and our participants with their fun-loving attitudes and Christ-like love for others. Earlier this summer they asked me what trip I needed the most help on (I love that question, by the way!). I had one Adventure Trip in June (in NC) with an awesome group called SOUL Adventures that I didn't have any available Staff or Volunteers. Well the Heberts solved that in about 1 day. They rearranged their schedules and moved things around. And just like that we went from 0 volunteers to 6! Not only were they bringing the whole family to help, but they were also bringing a family friend - Wyatt. They loaded up their SUV and drove 650 miles to serve God, serve GTD, and serve SOUL. Aaaaaaaaand wow, did they ever do a great job!! They blessed me personally beyond words, and SOUL absolutely loved them!! We have a saying in GTD for Staff & Volunteers, "You can add to the ministry, but you are not allowed to take away from the ministry." In other words, you can bring any of your talents, giftedness, & special abilities and add to what we already have in place and make it better. But you aren't allowed to bring any drama, or personal issues, or "liabilities" into one of our events and take away from the group's experience. And (once again) wow, did they ever take what we had and make it better!! They poured their hearts and sweat glands into every minute of that trip and we all walked away more blessed by having them there! Thank you Wyatt and Team Hebert for being a HUGE PART of GTD and not only going the distance, but going the extra mile (literally 1300+ round-trip miles on that event alone!) and making this ministry even better!! We are so blessed to have you on Team GTD!

 

 

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FALL IGNITE CANCELLED DUE TO CAMPGROUND CLOSURE!

 

Unfortunately the group campground we had reserved for Oct 29-31 for a special "Ex-Scream" autumn version of IGNITE has been closed down till the end of the year due to "Public Safety Concerns". What are the public safety concerns? Bear activity? The proliferation of pythons? Crazy people causing havoc to campers? Dangerous gases escaping from a nearby cave? I was wondering the same thing so I called and asked. The safety concern culprit is our newest culture phenomenon: A staffing shortage due to the pandemic. There you go... we will roll with it and pivot to a couple different emphasises to finish off the year: (1) Our Annual Banquet (Nov 16th) and (2) Lots of Volunteer Work Days at GTD Headquarters. We've got lots of work projects and banquet preparations to get done as we prepare for 2022 and our 26th year of ministry >>> Praise The Lord!! IGNITE will be back on the calendar for the spring along with a lot of other cool GTD adventures... More info to come!

 

 

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THE FAMILIES THAT ADVENTURE TOGETHER... BUILD LIFELONG BONDS & NEVER-ENDING MEMORIES TOGETHER!!!

One of coolest and most organic developments for GTD in 2021 has been the natural blossoming of a new demographic into our ministry - young families!! We've successfully worked with middle schoolers, high schoolers, young adults, and middle-aged adults... but other than occassional attendance by young families (many times youth pastors with their family or our young volunteers with their family) we haven't had the honor of expanding our impact to young families. Well you can now check that one off of the list. Probably the largest demographic that we served this year was young families. And it happened so organically. We've been wanting to get involved with young families for the past 15+ years, but we've just never had the time to make that push. Well God decided that this year He was going to enlarge our footprint in that directions... and we couldn't be happier! Because of our amazing supporters and donors we've been able to offer our public events this year for FREE or $25 (to celebrate 25 years of ministry). That really blessed a ton of young families to be able to afford a God-awesome adventure for the entire family without breaking the bank. I can't fully put into words (but I'm going to try) what an INCREDIBLE BLESSING these events were to a ton of amazing young families this year. And I also can't tell you (but I'm going to try) just how much these events UNLEASHED so many kids that have been shackled down for the past 18 months and relegated to watching TV and playing on computers instead of being a healthy functioning kid having fun in the great outdoors with other kids. These kids had so much fun day after day... from sunrise to sunset... soaking up every ounce of adventure with new found friends. Aaaaaaaaand the young parents built lifelong bonds & never-ending memories with their spouses and children. It was a HUGE WIN for every family this year and I will be sharing lots of pictures with you in the weeks & months ahead as we prepare for 2022 and an even larger impact in the lives of young families. Pictured here is one of the young families that came on a private event just for families called D.A.R.E. (Dan And Ron's Excellent) Adventure For Families. This photo was taken in front of Rainbow Falls in Sapphire, NC (it was one of our main destinations in 2021). This family had so much fun!!

 

The Best Is Still Ahead!

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry

Celebrating 25 Years of God-awesome Adventures!

To God Be The Glory!!

 

 

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WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!

 

This is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite GTD pictures. A few weeks ago we were blessed to run an Adventure Trip in north GA & NC for about 16 college students of Calvary Chapel Fellowship's Zeal School of Ministry. This is "The Jump Team" made up of 6 of their students along with Stacy & myself preparing to head over to do a 20' cliff jump along side of the mighty, the majestic, the emphasis Rainbow Falls! I can't even begin to tell you how much this crew LOVED this thrilling jump! Getting to the jump was as much of an adventure as the jump itself! This picture makes them look like the "rock" stars that they are! LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this entire group!!

 

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry 

"The Greatest Show On Earth!"

Celebrating 25 Years of God-awesome Adventures!

Praise Jesus!!

 

 

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ONE MORE ELABORATION!

 

It's a couple weeks late, but thank you all so much for all the awesome birthday wishes!! I was blessed to go for a scooter ride from 10pm till 3am with 2 of my all-time best friends (Jon Jano & Bryan Milbourn) along Gulf Boulevard down to the Don CeSar as well as on to Waffle House for a 2am pecan waffle! There's nothing like staying 22 forever haha! We had so much fun reminiscing about so many amazing memories from the past 30 years of friendship including driving out the route from 20 years ago (July 5, 2001) when we chased down a few bank robbers on Gulf Boulevard. At that time in 2001, we were riding motorcycles and as we passed a bank a guy jumped through a window (literally crashing through the glass) and was running from the police. Jano and I circled around to chase down one of the guys (there were 5 guys). As we circled around he was running towards us and I tried to run him over with the motorcycle, but he jumped out of the way and climbed a wall surrounding a condominium. I got off the bike, climbed the wall, and chased him down (along with some other Good Samaritan who gave chase) and we waived the cops over and they arrested him. It was pretty wild and pretty stupid because he could have easily turned around and shot us dead if he had a gun, but my buddy Jano had chased down a guy the week before that was running away from 7/11 with a stolen case of beer. In our friendship we all compete for having a good story to share and Jano had just gotten this great story about chasing down a thief so I had to get my own story to tell as well hahahaha! It's hard to explain irrational behavior so just humor me on this one LOL. Back to the bank robbers... Our buddy Milbourn (still on his motorcycle) had chased down a different guy and cornered him as police arrived to arrest that guy. At the end of the day, they ended up not being your classic bank robbers, but rather counterfeit check writers... so instead of carrying guns they carried fountain pens... but we thought they were classic bank robbers so we were in hot pursuit. The next day when the article came out in the paper there was no mention of us. I mean, I thought we would at least get the key to the city or a small parade or something, but they just left us out of the entire story LOL. Anyways, that was just one of the memories we would make over 30 years of friendship. We could write a book. No one would read it, but at least we would have a story about writing a book haha! Back to my birthday... I had a wonderful time with my family enjoying a nice meal at Red Lobster... a little surf and turf with lobster bisque... one of my favorites. It was a great few days. Thanks for all the b-day love!

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BLURBS, BURSTS, & BLASTS!...MY NEW QUICK COMMUNICATION PLAN =)

 

Since I don't currently have the time to elaborate on all the good things God has done this quarter, this season, or this year I've decided to just upload whatever pictures I can whenever I can along with a quick blurb... or burst... or blast... basically a quick summary to communicate the gist of the matter. In essence, I'm going to use social media like most normal people do haha! I'm very loquacious so just leaving a blurb is a bit unorthodox for me LOL. But, something is better than nothing... and the reality is that when it comes to communicating effectively on social media - less is more. It's just not me, but I'm trying to teach an old do(u)g new tricks ;). I'm sure it's an answer to prayer for many of you haha! Let the blurb'ing begin!!

  

 

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