Character That Counts Web Site

CTC 5-Year Anniv. Weekend

CTC celebrated our 5-Year Anniversary with a Celebration Weekend on July 22-24, 2005 in Kansas City. Special guests included: Steven Curtis Chapman; Mike Sweeney, Jeremy Affeldt and D.J. Carrasco (KC Royals); Joe Calhoon (Priority Advantage); Katie Horner (KCTV-5 Meteorologist); Ken Karcher (former NFL player and Liberty University Head Football Coach); Land & Hildebrand; Rick Nielsen; Carey Casey; Robert Rogers; Greg Crowe; and the Lee's Summit Community Church Worship Team.
CTC received the 2006 Emerging Leader Award at the NCMM Men's Conference in Denver, CO on April 21, 2006. CTC also is one of the Passion Award winners for the Servant Christian Community Foundation which was presented on November 6, 2006.
CTC co-hosted our 4th Annual Men's Purity Conference entitled "Men of Valor: Living A Pure Life in an Impure World" on January 26, 2008. Keynote speakers included: Dr. Richard Land and Curtis Martin. In 2007, our event featured Christopher West and Ted Roberts. In 2006, keynote speakers--Dr. Bernard Franklin, Dr. Mark Laaser, Troy Heinkle and Dr. Jerry Kirk; and in our first year, keynote presenters were Rev. Carey Casey, Dr. Dan Erickson, Mike Sweeney, Father Brian Scheiber and Dr. Jerry Kirk. Men of Valor 5 will be held on January 23-24, 2009 at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, KS with Christopher West and Bob Reccord as keynote speakers .
NEW BOOK!! Team Studies on Character, Vol. 5 is available in June 2008. Team Studies on Character, Vol. 4 became available in July 2007.
Two books were released in 2006: Character Counts: Who's Counting Yours? (with the Bible Study guide included) and Team Studies on Character, Vol. 3!! Also, check out: Character Studies for Teams, Vol 1&2; Character Counts for Quiet Time & Small Groups, Volume 1,2 & 3; and Character Counts for Athletes, Volume 1, 2 & 3 which were all released in 2004 & 2005. These books are part of our series of books on character qualities. You can order these now through our ministry on our website.
CTC has provided a series of articles to help men and women dealing with pornography issues. In a partnership with Focus on the Family, they aired programming on their show on May 2004 to discuss this issue and posted links on their website back to CTC. View the articles entitled, "Overcoming Pornography" on the CTC website. Please see our home page for a direct link to these articles. Pray for those who will be reading the articles.
Pray for upcoming speaking opportunities...see "Schedule." If you know of opportunities to speak, please contact us immediately. For the past 7 years, God has given us many opportunities all over the country. In total, Rod Handley shared over 260 annual presentations from 2004-2007. Other CTC Staff members shared an additional 300 times during this same time period. Please see our "2008 Calendar" for an update of where we've been and where we plan to be in the upcoming months.
Character That Counts was one of eight first place recipients of the Thurman Mitchell Excel Award in November 2003 and one of the third place recipients in November 2006. The presentation of this award comes through the Servant Community Christian Foundation.
CTC has trained and certified 45 people (43 men and 2 women) as Associate Staff members in four different training sessions--August 2003; December 2003; December 2004 and April 2007. These people range from business executives to pastors. They are men and women scattered all across America who have a passion to communicate Biblical truth to audiences of all ages. They have made five specific commitments as part of their agreement to be part of our staff. Full details of this opportunity was shared in our recent newsletters. Biographical information and photos of all 45 Associate Staff members are posted on our website.
The CTC Promo Video is available for viewing on the web (4:10 and 12:00 minute versions). This will give you an opportunity to see and hear about the impact of the CTC ministry. Enjoy!!
CTC is pleased to have Greg Griffin as part of the CTC team. Greg joined our staff on January 1, 2003. Greg is spearheading the work of TGIW ("Teaching Guys Infinite Wisdom") in cities and communities around America. It will also allow the CTC message to be shared at more locations across the country. You can contact Greg at: ggriffin@tgiw.org
You can hear Rod's interview on Sports Spectrum radio from May 11, 2002 on-line and view our CTC promo video. Just check out the "Video/Audio" link below.
During the past several years, I have written twelve books. Please pray for my writing schedule and my editor, Laura Maxwell. Several books are in process of being written which are scheduled for release in 2008.
We continue to be excited about "TGIW" a men's ministry opportunity in the Lee's Summit area which began in September 2001. Dr. Dan Erickson (President of People Matter Ministries), Rod Handley (President and Founder, Character That Counts) and Greg Griffin co-lead a community men's Bible study which will is open for all men to attend. Each week we are looking at a character quality based on a biblical perspective. If you live in the Greater Kansas City area, we invite you to join us at 10 different locations around the city including our anchor group at Culver's Restaurant (in Lee's Summit) every Wednesday morning from 6:30-7:45 am. Call 816-525-6339 for details. We've also got over 70 communities around America who've come to us requesting that we assist them in establishing a TGIW group in their area. Greg Griffin began serving these groups in January 2003.
Our random generator of "Character Qualities" is now up and running on our web site. Every time you visit our site, you'll get insights into being a person of character. Currently 48 character qualities are noted. Also, have you noticed that we've got over 100 character quality definitions on our web site? Check it out!! One person has loaded the word and definitions into his palm pilot. Each day, he focuses on a different word to help him in his pursuit of being a man of character.
Our latest CTC quarterly newsletter was mailed in September 2008. This newsletter tells the latest update on TGIW, gives an update on upcoming ministry events and features the character word of "Hope." If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please contact us via e-mail with your mailing address.
CTC submitted several funding requests to a number of different foundations, corporations and individuals. Please pray these would be positively received.
We are trying to identify monthly, quarterly or annual donors to keep the ministry running effectively in the months and years ahead. Pray for key upcoming meetings with possible donors. Pray for people to join the CTC Partners program (see "PARTNERS" button on web site). We are specifically seeking more monthly givers. Please pray we would meet our on-going operating needs through regular monthly, quarterly or annual donors.
Praise for board members and volunteers who have eagerly jumped in with CTC. Our next board meeting will be held on October 13, 2008. Wilm Hanna is the chairman of the CTC board. Other board members include: Mike DeBacker, Roger Fender, Patty & Mark McWilliams, Dave Putthoff, Bruce Rehmer, Dan Meers, Wade Jacobsma, Frank Armato, Kyle Porter, John Schafer and Jim Warren. A narrative description of each board member is on our website under "What We Do." Our Board Committees would welcome your input. If you are interested in serving on one of our committees, please contact us.
We established a number of lofty goals for 2008 for our ministry. Please pray that we can be faithful to the calling that God has set out for us.
"Character Counts For Quiet Time and Small Groups" (Volume 1, 2 & 3) is available for a variety of purposes. Each book contains 16 different character qualities. It is designed for small group interaction for adults, students or students along with their parents and/or coaches. If you are interested in ordering the book, please e-mail me for details. With all three volumes we have a special cover design, called "Character Counts For Athletes." When ordering, please specify which cover you want.
CTC has hosted annual "Appreciation and Celebration Desserts" on November 21, 2002; November 11, 2003 and November 16, 2004. Volunteers of the Year have been: George Gilliam (2002); Don Lusareta (2003) and Mike Bryant, Dave Musgrave, Jenny Mutch (2004). Testimonies were shared by Tim Doyle, Rick Boxx and Robert Rogers in 2004; Marcellus Casey, Dawn Riffe and Kyle Porter in 2003; and George Gilliam, Paul Riffe and Dan Stalp in 2002. Past entertainment has included: Land & Hildebrand, Janna Handley, Gene Turner, Kayla Griffin and Kevin Harlan. Our 3rd Annual CTC Celebration & Appreciation Dessert held on November 16, 2004 featured the testimony of Robert Rogers (see www.mightyintheland.com). Robert is a powerful communicator. His complete story was aired on Focus on the Family, the Billy Graham Association and other ministries. Robert also shared with our ministry on January 9, 2005 at Lee's Summit Community Church.We give praise to God for His many blessings associated with these events.
Our CTC vehicle needs were met through a matching funds program. A beautiful van was purchased with these funds on December 30, 2002. Many thanks to Dave Cross Motors, the donors involved and those I consulted during the whole process. It is very exciting to know that our vehicle needs have been met in a very tangible way for the next 4-5 years. PTL!! UPDATE: Through several generous gifts we were able to get a "new" used vehicle in January 2007. PTL!!
CTC contributed a number of articles for Christian Management Association to publish in their magazine. They were based on the book, "The Character of Jesus." This was a great opportunity to proclaim the true character message to organizations who should be the best models of character to a waiting and watching world. The series ran from April 2002 through December 2004.
In January 2002, CTC received a brand new computer (server) from three very generous men who are partners in a national computer company (KSB, Inc.). This computer will help meet our ministry needs for years down the road. Thanks men for making a very generous donation to our ministry!!
I had an opportunity to help write a Bible study guide in conjunction with Josh Heupel's book, "The Road to Glory." As part of this project, I had the chance to share in front of 2,500 men at an event held at Falls Creek, OK. I told the story about how Josh's book came about and also for the need for people to be connected to small group accountability. CTC was asked to come back to Falls Creek in April 2002 and it was a spectacular time being with several thousand men once again.
Praise for the changed lives that have resulted from the CTC ministry opportunities. We've received some encouraging notes from many people who have been impacted by our ministry.
We received a huge praise in February 2001 when we got word that our monthly health insurance premium was be provided for our family. This will save the ministry over $700 each month. PTL!!
CTC hosted 730 people to watch "The Passion of the Christ" movie on opening day, February 25, 2004 and almost 500 people to watch "End of the Spear" movie on January 19-20, 2006.

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