As In a Mirror

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.”
(Psalm 8:2)

Have you noticed that today’s youth are reckless, idle, irresponsible, arrogant, and calamity-prone? (Let me pause a minute or two to let you recover from your abrupt burst of laughter between shouts of “HAVE I noticed?!?”– But then again, who is writing this post? )

The Scripture tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) There is an organization that works in over 160 countries, including all 50 of the United States, to evangelize and train children. It is called Child Evangelism Fellowship. Here is their statement of purpose:

Child Evangelism Fellowship® is a Bible-centered, worldwide organization composed of born-again believers whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, disciple them in the Word of God and establish them in a Bible believing church for Christian living.

CEF was founded in 1937 by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, age 60. He grew up in a “religious family,” but when he was 12 years old, he was convicted of his sin. He told his mother, who only told him that he was too young. It was not till Jesse was in college that he heard the Gospel and was born again. But when he was 60, the Lord reminded him of this and laid a burden for children on his heart, so he founded CEF.

CEF has different types of evangelistic programs, but the two most identified with the organization are 5-Day Clubs® and Good News Clubs®. These two exciting ministries take place in neighborhood settings such as homes, backyards, schools and community centers all over the world. These fast-paced, one-hour programs are designed to bring the Gospel of Christ to children on their level in their environment.

Along with the clubs, CEF also has fair, camping, open-air, telephone and correspondence outreach programs for children. Last year through these combined ministries over 6.1 million children worldwide heard the good news with over one million making professions of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. CEF provides classes to train their workers and other Christians who are burdened for evangelizing children.

I think one of the coolest things about this organization is that it works in schools! And they don’t present the gospel in that “Give Jesus a try! God has a wonderful Plan for your life!” way. They recognize that children have a conscience, that they know who God is. They help children understand their need for salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!

Some testimonies include:

Austin, a third grader from Georgia: His teacher announced that the Good News Club would be canceled that day. Austin suddenly burst out, “It has to be today! I’ve waited too long!” His constant pleading made the teacher send him to the principal’s office. The principal questioned him, and found out what none of the teachers knew: “You see…the day before Christmas my father tried to kill my mother. He stabbed her 12 times and thought she was dead, but she lived. They are saying she will never be the same and might not be able to take care of us for a long time. Our father is in jail. They separated us kids and told us we might not ever get to be a family again. I’ve been waiting a lot of days to get back to my Good News Club, because I know they care about me and would talk to God about us! I don’t know anyone else that talks to God and can help us.”

Debbie, a Good News Club teacher: “…the Gospel is presented so clearly each week. My daughter attended church for seven years, and it was not until attending a Good News Club that she was convicted of her need for our Savior. Thank you for being sensitive to God’s Spirit, and leading this mighty work in our schools!”

Josh McDowell: “CEF has become one of the most critical organizations in America…
It used to be that if we didn’t reach kids by high school, it was too late. Then junior high and now elementary. If we don’t reach these kids at 5,6,7,8 years old- we will lose an entire generation!”

You can hear an interview with Bob Longenecker, a CEF missionary, here. It is so cool.

Children are so receptive, so trusting, so simple. Jesus told us that only if we humble ourselves as little children can we enter the kingdom of heaven. We preach the gospel to the world. Why not while they’re children? Then they will grow in the way of God, and not say, “If only I had heard, or done that when I was young!” I’ll bet that would cure the “teenager” epidemic. Might I be so bold as to say, it’s not too late! Before the End comes, all the nations will hear. (Matthew 24:14)

God bless the CEF!