‘The Bible directs parents to “train up a child” for good reason. If you start early, Biblical truths will inform and transform people for their life,’ says CEF Vice President of Administration Fred Pry
ST. LOUIS — As spring unfolds, baseball players return to the diamond to ready themselves for the upcoming season. It’s a time of anticipation and excitement.
The same goes for Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), which begins training students and young adults to conduct summer 5-Day Club® in the United States and around the world. CEF, the world’s largest evangelical ministry to children, will be hosting training on how to share the Gospel with children through its Christian Youth in Action® training schools.
This outreach is desperately needed, as evidenced by research done by George Barna, professor at Arizona Christian University and director of research at the Cultural Research Center. “America’s children are in the process of adopting syncretism (fusion of all thoughts) as their predominant worldview,” Barna said.
“They are following in the footsteps of their parents, of whom only 2% have a biblical worldview and 96% are syncretistic,” Barna says. “This mindset and lifestyle is modeled daily for their children and has become the default position for the majority of Christian adults, adolescents, and children.”
Children begin forming their worldview between 15 and 18 months of age and by the age of 13, it’s almost entirely formed, Barna says.
“Most people don’t realize how vital early education is in teaching God’s Word to children,” says CEF Vice President of Administration Fred Pry. “The Bible directs parents to ‘train up a child’ for good reason. If you start early, Biblical truths will inform and transform people for life.”
In addition to CYIATM training, CEF offers training to reach children in a variety of ways including Super Seminars. These lessons are tailor-made for the churches and other organizations for children’s workers, covering subjects from evangelism to classroom management to discipleship to missions.
CEF Super Seminars include 32 individual training sessions, in three categories:
Evangelism
- Why evangelize children?
- Helping children understand the message of salvation
- Counseling unsaved children for salvation
Teaching God’s Word
- A look at the teacher
- Bible lesson preparation and presentation
- The salvation invitation
Class Hour
- Bible verses – more than memorizing
- Singing – music with a message
- Dynamics of discipleship
- Teaching prayer time
- Teaching the Gospel spotlight
The sessions train instructors on how to minister to children in effective ways and offer a fresh approach to evangelizing and teaching children.
“An important step in evangelizing children is to train adults and teens so they can convey the Gospel in ways that connect with children and communicate the Gospel clearly,” Pry says. “What may seem difficult at first, especially for those who are uncertain, turns out to be easy, fun and rewarding.”
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 2023, through the combined ministries of CEF, more than 25.2 million children worldwide heard the Good News. More than 577,000 teachers were trained around the world.
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.