‘It’s a narrow window and the need is great, so CEF feels an increased urgency to teach millions of children around the world about the Good News of Jesus Christ,’ says Moises Esteves, CEF executive vice president
For Immediate Release
June 19, 2023
ST. LOUIS — People’s hearts and minds are most receptive when they’re young. That’s why Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) has been reaching out to children for 87 years. Child Evangelism Fellowship’s vision is “to reach Every Child, Every Nation, Every Day.” The ministry’s impact is already monumental. Last year alone, more than 6 million children reached by CEF made professions of faith in Jesus Christ.
“We all have a God-sized hole in our hearts that can either be filled by our loving Father or by something else,” says Moises Esteves, executive vice president of CEF. “Without a solid Gospel foundation, a child can be fooled into believing any number of false doctrines.
“But children grow up quickly, so the time is short when they are most receptive to the Good News. It’s a narrow window and the need is great, so CEF feels an increased urgency to teach millions of children around the world about the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Esteves says.
“Without the armor of God, children are vulnerable. As they get older, they can absorb the cynicism of the world and are less inclined to listen to the Truth. Understanding this increases our dedication to creating more tools and training more teachers to reach more children more effectively than ever.”
CEF is continuing to reemphasize its commitment to the Great Commission with a new slate of ambitious goals. With God’s help, the ministry hopes to:
- Reach approximately 26.5 million children in 2023.
- Minister to 100 million children each year globally with the Gospel in the near future.
- Increase the number of Good News Clubs® — in 2022, CEF’s Good News Clubs® served children in 79,733 public schools worldwide.
- Train hundreds of thousands of adults worldwide to reach more children for Christ.
“These goals might seem bold or improbable. But we are already sharing Christ with nearly 20 million children every year,” says Esteves. “What may seem impossible to man is attainable with God, for Whom nothing is impossible.
Child Evangelism Fellowship, which was founded in 1937, has been establishing Good News Clubs® in countries around the world for decades. Clubs are thriving in nearly all European countries, nearly all North and South American countries, plus Australia, Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Uganda and dozens of other nations in Africa and Asia.
Last year, through CEF’s combined ministries, more than 19.5 million children worldwide heard the Good News. In 2022, more than 439,000 teachers were trained around the world.
“Training Christians to effectively minister to children has been the core of our ministry since it was founded in 1937,” Esteves says. “Training is offered throughout the USA and around the world through seminars, conferences and formal courses.”
CEF’s powerful in-person ministries include:
- Good News Club® — In schools, community centers, churches, and neighborhood homes, teachers who are screened and equipped lead action-packed Good News Clubs every week, delivering timeless truths of the Bible in exciting, engaging ways.
- 5-Day Club — An exciting, fun-filled, one-and-a-half-hour session held each day for five consecutive days. It includes dynamic Bible lessons, creative learning activities, inspiring missionary stories, songs and life-changing Scripture memorization.
- Military Children’s Ministry — Good News Clubs held in military neighborhoods serving military families all over the United States.
- Christmas Party Club — Churched and unchurched children get to hear the Gospel. These one-time events are taught by Good News Club® leaders, Sunday school teachers, children’s ministry workers, and other believers who love children.
- Camp Good News — Using CEF-owned or rented facilities, trained staff maintain an exciting program focused on evangelism and discipleship.
- SPAN — CEF’s Sponsor-a-National program provides financial assistance to over 1,300 missionaries on a monthly basis.
- Christian Youth in Action — This program teaches high school and college students how to minister to children and teach clubs for a few weeks during the summer.
For more CEF news, see the ministry’s latest edition of the online magazine Impact.
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been dedicated to seeing every child reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, discipled and established in a local church since 1937. CEF is located in all 50 American states and in most countries around the world, with over 3,500 paid staff and tens of thousands of volunteers around the world.
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To interview a representative from Child Evangelism Fellowship, contact [email protected], Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.