Changing Lives One Child at a Time
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We hear many stories of children from our Good News Clubs that excite, encourage, and challenge us. We would like to share with you two stories that remind us all of why what we and our volunteers do is so vital!
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"As Bible teachers, we are constantly trying to think of creative and interactive ways to tell [the Bible lessons], especially the familiar Christmas story.
"At our GNC, after presenting the ‘familiar’ Christmas story, just casually we asked, 'How many of you remembered that Bible story?' One boy raised his hand and said that he’d never heard that story about Jesus. Wow! We were amazed and then burdened to keep being faithful to tell the 'Good News'."
- Serving together, Karen [GNC team leader]
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Paige
Please welcome our newest committee member!
Jenny Frith is a wife, mother, nurse, abstinence educator, speaker, children’s ministry leader, and most importantly, a follower of Jesus Christ. Jenny loves to share about God’s grace and mercy at youth rallies, women’s ministries, churches, and conferences. As the former Nurse Manager and Director of Pure Connections at Choose Life/HPRC, she has taught thousands of teenagers each year about the physical and emotional consequences of sexual activity. Her state-approved curriculum is currently being used in high schools throughout Alabama. Jenny also loves the international mission field and has traveled to Haiti for medical missions and to Romania to teach at women’s conferences and youth events. Jenny’s heart beats for Jesus, reaching the lost, and setting the captives free.
Please welcome our new advisory committee member!
Bruce Wade will join the CEF of North AL committee in 2024 as an Advisory Member on the finance sub-committee. After 30+ years in Polymer Research & Technology with Monsanto-Solutia-Eastman Chemical, Bruce retired in 2023 from Eastman. In August, he and his wife, Jennifer, moved back to the area to be closer to Jennifer’s family. Bruce believed on Jesus as his Savior from sin as a teen when a neighbor from the church he attended reached out and lived Jesus before him as a Sunday school teacher. God has given him a spiritual gift of giving and skills using technology to support the needs of CEF of North AL.
What children really need
What's real? What's true? How can our children know? How can we help them and give them strong foundations in Christ for their whole lives?
I (Kathryn) just finished reading The Faith of our Children by Matt Markins which asks and answers these and many more questions.** I want to challenge you with these quotes that are challenging me to go further and deeper in my ministry to our children.
"It's often said, 'it's not a matter of are our children being discipled, but rather who or what is discipling our children'?" (1).
"Our children are drowning in powerful secular, cultural narratives that have formed a storytelling superstructure that's all about hyper-individualism. Me. Me. Me. As we can tell from the isolation and anxiety epidemics, it's failing them" (33-34).
"Today's children need to be engaged in environments that are saturated with the Bible...God's Word. As we give them God's Word, we must help them understand not only things like virtue and behaviors, but also the 'why' underneath. Nothing does this better than giving them the gospel story arch - nothing is more satisfying than God's story of reality (Creation, Fall, redemption, restoration). Why? Because it's what's real... and every other competing narrative is a lie" (34).
"What children need is a community of loving, caring, adult disciple-makers who are highly relational with kids and who find ways to share their faith stories with children - adults who love Jesus, who share the gospel with children, and create a Scripture-rich culture..." (49).
We at CEF are passionate about partnering with churches and individuals in evangelizing and discipling the children of today - children drowning in "powerful secular, cultural narratives."
We need your help to reach more children and families with the Gospel and to equip more fellow believers to be missionaries in their communities!
Pray! And then:
Join the GNC community as "loving, caring, adult disciple-makers!" and/or
Join us financially as God enables and guides you. To do even more in 2024, we need ____.
There are two ways to donate:
Mail to: CEF of NAL, P.O. Box 2034. Huntsville, AL 35804
Online: CLICK HERE to go to the donate tab on our website.
How will you partner with us in reclaiming the next generation for Christ?
**Markins, Matt. The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights For Discipling The Next Generation. Nashville: D6 Family Ministry, 2023.
Child Evangelism Fellowship® will make every effort to honor the contribution designation of the donor, yet contributions must be under the direction and control of CEF®. CEF has the discretion to determine how to best use contributions to carry out its functions and purposes. Such control of the funds by CEF is required to ensure the donor's contributions satisfy requirements for tax-deductibility. CEF of North AL is a nonprofit organization exempt under section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
