‘It’s not only important that children learn that their liberty and rights are blessings from God, but the success of our nation and other nations depends on the same truth,’ says CEF Vice President of Administration Fred Pry
For Immediate Release
June 30, 2025
ST. LOUIS — July 4 is known as Independence Day because it celebrates the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation, free from unjust rule and unhealthy dependency.
For Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF®), this day serves as a reminder to teach kids about the importance of America’s history of freedom and an opportunity to provide parents with the tools to raise God-fearing, responsible children.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
“It’s not only important that children learn that their liberty and rights are blessings from God, but the success of our nation and other nations depends on the same truth,” said CEF Vice President of Administration Fred Pry.
“CEF teaches parents how to impart personal responsibility. And our many ministries and resources provide fun, age-appropriate Biblical lessons and activities for children to learn about their God-given freedoms in Christ,” Pry says.
An Independence Day article on the CEF website explains that parents’ goal is to raise their children to become independent adults and offers tips on how to get there.
In short, children must learn how to take responsibility.
Often in today’s culture, “discipline” has become synonymous with harsh punishment. However, discipline is a means of growing self-control and responsibility in children to help them become self-disciplined, independent adults. Good discipline is hard work. There’s the temptation to avoid holding kids accountable and just letting them do their own thing. Yet the hard work of discipline is worth it, as it helps produce responsible, independent adults.
Three ways to help develop a godly, disciplined child:
- First, teach children to study the Bible to learn about God and what Hehas to say and defer to His authority. God, the Creator of all things, is the one who has established right and wrong. It’s important for kids to understand God’s position of authority over their lives and that God has established other positions of authority they should respect.
- Second, using God’s word as a guide, set expectations. Talk to children about those expectations and consequences for disobedience. Teaching kids to understand consequences will help produce responsible, independent adults.
- Third, be consistent. If children know that their parents will follow through because they consistently have in the past, it will help lead to immediate obedience based on trust, not fear. This can also help reduce frustration and hold anger in check for both the parents and children. When children are allowed to continue their bad behavior, it reinforces that behavior.
“This July 4, CEF encourages parents and loved ones to take the next step in discipling their children toward the true independence God desires — an independence and freedom rooted in obedience to Him, which begins with honoring and obeying their parents,” says Pry.
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.
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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.