Give your testimony

When I was four years old my mom opened our home to a Good News Club®. Though Mom was not saved, she would sit in the club each week and listen as the lesson was taught. One day after club I told my mom I wanted to be saved. My unsaved mom led me to the Lord, repeating what she had heard in club each week. Soon after that Mom was saved too. Today there are about 15 different family members in some form of Christian ministry—pastor, missionary, etc.

When I was only three, I was led to the Lord by my brother who’d been trained in a Teaching Children Effectively courseTM. A couple of years later I started going to 5-Day Club® and Good News Club® then attended Christian Youth in Action® (CYIATM) and began teaching at age 12. After six fruitful years of summer ministry as a student and one as staff, I was excited to be called into the ministry full time and be following God’s path for my life. As I was growing up, CEF ministry gave me so many opportunities to be discipled in God’s Word and pursue His way even though I wasn’t quite given that opportunity at home. After finishing high school, I went to International Headquarters to intern for a year and then went to Children’s Ministries Institute®. Following CMI®I took a more permanent job offer in the education department at Headquarters. CEF has changed my life and given me a passion for God and ministry. Now I get to serve Him full time, using my God-given talents to advance the Kingdom. How wild is that?! I’m so grateful to God for CEF.

I started to attend Good News Club® in Sioux City, Iowa when I was about four years old. My older brother went, and I liked to go along. I so clearly remember our teacher, dear Mrs. Dora Lock and her helper Betty Ritchie. She had GNC® in the basement of her home. I remember the day she had the lesson on the crucifixion like it was yesterday. She talked about how Jesus died to pay the price for our sins and all we had to do was believe on Him and accept His free gift. I was ready to accept him that day! I attended for several years and the Scripture that I memorized and the songs we sang have stuck with me to this day. Those lessons with flocked figures and many backgrounds captured my attention. I know so many of the Old and New Testament stories well because of my time at GNC. After many years of living in different places in the US and overseas, I was teaching at a school in Mississippi where there was a Good News Club. They asked me if I would like to be involved and I said that I would love to because I got such an amazing foundation from attending when I was younger. Now, teaching the materials, I realize the depth and style hasn’t changed in these many years. I talked to my church about using [CEF curriculum] and now we are using in our children’s program. I am forever grateful for my time spent in GNC and am loving being part of it again.