It took him 30 seasons of organized football, but John Dutton says he’s finally learned the keys to succeeding.

And it has nothing to do with the playing field.

His journey began in the summer of 2006, when the 36-year-old Cleveland Gladiators quarterback and former ArenaBowl champion took a summer trip to Ethiopia with his local Colorado church. The trip proved life-changing for Dutton, who returned with a new passion, an adopted son and a new perspective on football.

“I’m going into my 30th year playing football,” Dutton said. “And many of those years I was only focused on the game…but after this trip that really changed. In sports, we’re all very successful, but that’s all we’re focused on. That summer made me want to turn my success into significance. Football has allowed me to do that.”

Since that summer The Dutton Family Foundation, headed by John and his wife Terina Dutton, has expanded from Ethiopia to relief ministries in Uganda, Sudan and Nepal. The Foundation also has an adoption agency and guesthouse for those visiting the region.

“Football has allowed me to stand in front of groups, to be the voice for those in Africa,” he said. “It’s not about making money. It’s a job, but it’s more than that. I use it to help our ministry.”

Dutton said he needed that ministry more than ever last season, when he tore his Achilles in the season opener against the Spokane Shock.

He credits his strong ties to the community as a reason he could bounce back so quickly and is looking to come back better this season.

“Tearing an Achilles is nothing compared to what they go through every day,” Dutton said. “I look at the pictures of the people we’re helping, the kids in the orphanages, the people who are dying and they have smiles on their faces. They have joy. It made me think, ‘what am I complaining about?’ It helped get me through.”

On his website, Heavenlyhope.com, Dutton has asked people to join him in his fight to help others. Fans can sign up for the JD Touchdown Club, which donates money for every touchdown thrown by him this season.

He has also started Athletes for the Nations, which allows athletes to spread a message of significance on and off the field of play.

According to Dutton, this is what it’s all about.

“We want athletes to get their eyes off themselves, and have them see other people who are suffering here and around the world. I want us to make a different.”

Dutton and the Cleveland Gladiators begin the 2012 season Monday, March 12 against the Georgia Force.