‘School can be a challenge, especially if it is a public institution where secularism is the unrecognized religion. That’s why it is so important that a CEF Good News Club® is available as an after-school resource,’ says CEF Vice President of Administration, Fred Pry
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2025
ST. LOUIS — When children hear consistent messages about Christianity at home, at church and at school, it solidifies their understanding of God, and they can live out His teachings in a variety of settings.
“Research shows that the earlier children learn biblical truths, the more likely they are to retain them,” says Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF) Vice President of Administration, Fred Pry. “That’s no secret to those familiar with Proverbs 22:6, which says, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’”
Parents have the primary responsibility of educating their children, and schools also have an important role.
“School can be a challenge, especially if it is a public institution where secularism is the unrecognized religion,” Pry says. “That’s why it’s so important that a CEF Good News Club® is available as an after-school resource and that parents are equipped to address any dispute over their children’s freedom of religion.”
In 2001, the United States Supreme Court heard the case of Good News Club® v. Milford Central School District. CEF challenged a school district that refused to allow the Good News Club.
The high court ruled that the district had to offer the same accommodation to a Good News Club as to any other club. This ruling opened school doors. Today, CEF conducts over 3,000 clubs in public schools across America.
The Milford decision also helped to win another federal court ruling in Wigg v. Sioux City School District, which clarified that teachers may volunteer in Good News Club.
What parents can do
Parents can play a special role in ensuring that children enjoy their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion at school.
Here are some tips:
Call their bluff: The best strategy as an active parent is to educate yourself on those who oppose them. For example, Satan Clubs were created to oppose the Good News Club. Satan Club organizers are less interested in signing up kids than in shutting down any Good News Club. They assume parents will just back down.
Parents, “Don’t let your guard down”: While a Satan Club in a child’s school would be rare and likely won’t do well, it’s no reason to give up and dismiss all involvement as an active parent.
Volunteer in a Good News Club: The best defense is a good offense — one that’s steeped in positive support for the values parents want to uphold. Staying involved is key.
How to exercise freedom of religion for kids in classrooms: Parents must make it clear to their children that they have every right to voluntarily speak about their beliefs in school, whether it be a conversation with another student, a comment in a class discussion about literature or philosophy, or a written paper that meets assignment criteria. School authorities can be shown that court cases have established this freedom.
Often, school officials find that having a Good News Club is beneficial. CEF conducted a survey of public school principals who have a Good News Club in their schools. It found that children who attend the club do better in their schoolwork, are better behaved, and have a more positive attitude.
For more information, see the online CEF articles “How to Be an Active Parent in Protecting Freedom of Religion” and “Freedom of Religion for Kids in Public Schools.”
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), which was founded 88 years ago, has been establishing the Good News Club® in countries around the world for decades. Clubs are thriving worldwide, in countries including Australia, Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda and many more.
In 2024, through the combined ministries of CEF, more than 31 million children worldwide were impacted for Christ. More than 533,000 teachers were trained around the world to reach children.
For more CEF news, see the ministry’s latest edition of the online magazine Impact.
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.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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To interview a representative from Child Evangelism Fellowship, contact [email protected], Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.