Team 1421 arrives home safely!

Team 1421 arrived home safely today with al of their equipment! Check their blog soon for updates on their trip!

Team 1422 arrives home!

Team 1422 arrived home safely! Their gear made it safe and sound as well!

CTI announces departure of President David Lanning

After serving as CTI's president for the past 5 years, David Lanning will be leaving CTI's staff at the end of October, 2008 in order to pursue other opportunities. Longstanding CTI board member Bruce Marcus will assume the role of interim president while the Board of Directors and staff work on a long-range reorganization of CTI’s administrative structure.

Further information is available at www.ctimusic.org.

1422 reports safe arrival in the Philippines

Nate called this morning to pass along word of the team's safe arrival in Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines. They have met the DeCleene family and are getting settled in. Check their blog in the comming weeks for updates on their ministry there!

Team 1422 departs!

The members of Team 1422 have checked in safely and are on their way to the Philippines! Check back soon for updates on their trip!

Team 14:21 Reports Safe Arrival

Team Leader Laura Schuh called this evening to report the team's safe arrival and connection with the YWAM staff in Taipei. The team encountered several delays (mostly due to weather) but their equipment made it safe and sound with them as well.

They are looking forward to a month of ministry with YWAM. Be sure to check out their blog for updates throughout their month overseas.

Team 1421 departs!

Team 1421 is safely checked in and on their way to Taiwan. Check their blog for updates about their ministry with YWAM Taipei.

Overseas locations for fall 2008 ministry

We're pleased to announce that our fulltime teams have been invited to minister in Taiwan and the Philippines this fall.

Both teams will leave at the end of September - 1421 to Taiwan to work with YWAM there, and 1422 to the Philippines to work with several missions agencies and churches under a coordinated effort by a radio ministry operating out of Cagayan de Oro. They'll return to the US in late October to resume their stateside touring.

The teams will have more details to share about their upcoming work, so be sure to check their blogs!

Celebrating another great summer!

Our round 2 teams have returned to the US, finished their debriefing with us and headed back to their respective homes. We want to thank all our 2008 summer team members for being a part of this experience and welcome them into the community of CTI alumni!

Round 2 teams return and give final concert

Fulltime 0809 kicks off

Tonight marks the start of our 2008-2009 fulltime season as our team members arrive from all over the US (and Canada) for their orientation picnic tonight.  Check the site in a few weeks for information on the new fulltime teams!

Singapore team reports arrival

Team leader Laura Schuh called to let us know that the team arrived safely (and along with all their gear!) in Singapore. She'll send more details once the team gets their feet under them again.

Singapore departs

The Singapore team has also cleared security at Minneapolis and is on the way. We don't expect to hear from them for a while as they have no domestic layovers.

Guatemala takes off; Bolivia lands

Our Guatemala team is on their way after a smooth checkin. Meanwhile, our Bolivia team has arrived in La Paz after experiencing some delays in Miami. The resulting connection time in Lima was adequate for the team, but apparently not for their gear. They expect to be re-united with it tomorrow.

Bolivia team checkin

Our Bolivia team is chexcked in and on their way! We'll post news of their arrival as soon as we learn of it. Our Guatemala and Singapore teams fly out tomorrow.

All round 1 teams home

As of 5:00 this morning, all three round 1 teams are safely back in Willmar. They will spend the day debriefing before giving a final concert this evening and heading home tomorrow.

Taiwan team home safely

Team Taiwan is safely "home" in Willmar. They will spend tomorrow debriefing their trip. Check back for updates on the other teams shortly.

All round 1 teams back in the US

All of our round 1 teams have checked in from their first domestic layovers. There are some delays affecting the Honduras team, but Trinidad and Taiwan appear to be running on schedule at this point

Taiwan team on the ground

Team Taiwan has landed in Detroit. They will be continuing on to MSP after clearing customs and immigration.

Round one teams return

Our three round one teams are scheduled to return today. Check back for updates on their progress.

TORNADO UPDATE: EVERYONE IS SAFE

Some of you have heard about the tornado that came through Willmar last night. We wanted to let everyone know that all of us at CTI - the team members, the staff, the host homes, the training facilities... everyone is safe.

The tornado passed about one or two miles south of the ministry building. If you're familiar with the area, it crossed Hwy 71 just south of the AG church and did some significant damage to some homes and businesses there. No lives were lost, and there were two injuries.

Training for our round 2 summer teams (at First Baptist Church) was underway at the time, and continues as normal today.

We thank everyone for their concern!

Round 2 begins

All 29 members of our three round 2 teams (Singapore, Guatemala and Bolivia) arrived tonight for their orientation picnic here in Willmar. Round 2 training starts in earnest tomorrow morning. Check their individual pages for updates throughout training and their tours.

Note: We ask the team leaders to update us once a week when possible. Though some teams are able to update more frequently, many teams are not able to access the internet as often, and updates may be more irregular. We appreciate your understanding about this.

All teams on the ground, and safe & sound!

With word arriving today from Honduras, we've now had contact with all three teams. Travel went well for all of them, and they're a day or two into their ministry abroad. Check their individual pages for updates, which we expect about once a week.

Taiwan team checks in

Our third and final Round 1 team has successfully cleared check-in at Minneapolis and is on their way! We'll post news of their safe arrival here when we learn of it.

Honduras team checks in

The Honduras team also had a smooth check-in at the airport this morning and is on the way! Next up: Taiwan!

Trinidad Team checks in

Our Trinidad team had a smooth check-in this morning and is on their way! The Taiwan team is on the road to the airport, and the Honduras team will depart the hotel for the airport shortly. Praise God for smooth operations so far!

All 2008 summer ministry locations finalized

We've now confirmed our final two ministry partners for this summer! We'll be making a return to Honduras to continue working with our longstanding partners in YFC there. We'll also be sending a team to Trinidad to forge a new partnership with YFC!

The nation of Trinidad is officially known as "Trinidad and Tobego." These are two separate islands that comprise one nation (lest anyone hear "Trinidad and Tobego" and think they are two separate countries.) The country lies at the extreme southern end of the Caribbean island chain - the main island of Trinidad is about 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela.

One of YFC's primary means of ministry in Trinidad is through "day camps." Our team will be involved in publicizing these camps through nighttime concerts for kids (ages 5-18) designed to increase awareness of and interest in attending the camps.. There are also plans for ministry in schools as well as street and "community center" ministry. It will be an exciting adventure for our team to explore ways to help YFC share the Gospel there!

CTI announces summer '08 locations

As of today, we've confirmed our fourth ministry location for this summer.

Confirmed so far are round 1 teams to Taiwan (working with YWAM) and round 2 teams to Bolivia, Guatemala and Singapore (all working with YFC.)

We're still working with other partners to confirm two additional round 1 teams. Look for those locations to be posted here when they're confirmed!

Ironman athletes raising critical funds for CTI

When Willmar natives and Derrick and Jacob Cruze step up to the starting line at Ironman Coeur d’Alene on June 22^nd, (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) they won’t be competing just for themselves. They’ll also be raising funds for local nonprofit CTI Music Ministries (Carpenter’s Tools International).

The Cruze brothers are fundraising as a part of the Janus Charity Challenge, an innovative program designed and sponsored by the investment management firm, Janus. The program acts as a catalyst to motivate Ironman athletes to use the race to raise money for charity. But unlike most other race fundraisers, there is no pre-determined beneficiary. Each athlete can select the nonprofit organization they wish to support. Since the program’s inception in 2001, triathletes have raised over $18 million for hundreds of charities throughout the United States.

“Janus is proud to continue to offer this exceptional program because it engages more people in meeting the critical needs of their communities. The incredible commitment of athletes like Derrick and Jacob Cruze is a true testament to the caliber of Ironman athletes, and only helps to drive more awareness and support for vital nonprofit organizations throughout the country.” said Janus corporate sponsorship director, Casey Cortese. To inspire athletes to participate, Janus makes additional contributions to the beneficiaries of the top fundraisers at each of the full distance U.S. Ironman races.

CTI Music Ministries provides established youth ministries with the engaging resource of a relevant music team for evangelism to the non-believer, discipleship for the growing Christian, and encouragement to the Body of Christ. CTI’s team environment provides Christian musicians in transition to young adulthood a living training ground to develop their gifts in the global missions workforce while providing life-skills training and promoting spiritual formation in their own lives. Derrick & Jacob attend the home church of several of CTI’s permanent staff. After a presentation last year, the Cruze brothers felt called to support the work of CTI in a direct way. Not being musicians, they are lending their athletic ability to help fulfill the mission of CTI through supporting its operations.

The Cruze brothers are putting out a call to our community to join their fundraising efforts. To make a contribution, go to www.januscharitychallenge.com and click on "How to Donate".

Ironman Coeur d’Alene will be held in the mountain forestry of Idaho’s beautiful panhandle on June 22^nd. In the months leading up to the race, you can view Derrick and Jacob’s training and fundraising updates online by visiting their blog at ironmanderrickjacob.blogspot.com/. You can track their progress on race day live on www.ironmanlive.com.

CTI releases new studio album!

We're proud to announce the release of Speak Without Sound, our new studio album for 2008!

Featuring members of our 2007 - 2008 fulltime ministry teams, Speak Without Sound is a concept album that we hope will take each listener on a journey, encouraging them as they seek the God that we serve and the life that He calls us to live.

We know it's kind of an odd title for an album (especially for one produced by a ministry that seeks to use music as a primary way to communicate our message!) But we also recognize that music simply provides us with an entryway into worlds that we would not have an opportunity to interact with otherwise. But it only opens the door. On the other side, our very lives must speak without sound if our message is to be understood and believed, for we know our words will be void if the fruit of Christ-likeness is not evident in us.

What opens the door for you?

The song from which the title is drawn goes on to proclaim "Your love is so loud!" How amazing and true it is that something as intangible as love is demonstrated most clearly in ways that speak louder than any message we can communicate audibly!

At CTI, we recognize that our greatest ministry takes place beyond the music, in the moments when we speak not through microphones, but through who we, as individuals, are striving to be. And that's a ministry opportunity that is available to everyone.

Saint Francis of Assisi admonished those under his charge to "preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." We hope you'll join us in discovering the ways that we are all called to speak without sound.

You can preview or order the CD online by visiting CTImusic.org