‘In the rural villages of Alaska, CEF is reaching children who are only accessible using barge or plane, by sending missionaries to share the Good News,’ says CEF Vice President of Administration, Fred Pry
ST. LOUIS — While the winter months may be a time for children to play in the snow and enjoy winter activities, it can also come as a time for children to experience “winter burnout,” isolation, and limited opportunities to expend their energy. Despite these and other difficulties that come with living in regions that experience frigid weather, Child Evangelism Fellowship demonstrates its firm commitment to reaching every child, every nation, every day as it stretches to the rural Alaskan Bush villages.
“From the tall mountains to the vast wilderness, where temperatures can range from 20 degrees to -30 degrees, Alaska can be quite a challenge to reach children. But with God’s guiding hand, nothing is impossible,” says CEF Vice President of Administration, Fred Pry.
Alaska, which faces significantly higher rates of drug addiction, suicide, and mental health issues compared to the U.S. average, is in desperate need of the Good News of the Gospel. That is why CEF Alaska is reaching local towns as well as Alaskan Bush villages who may have no other way to hear God’s message of redemption than through CEF’s local ministries.
“In the rural villages of Alaska, CEF is reaching children who are only accessible using barge or plane, by sending missionaries to share the Good News. Our team is working to serve the Alaskan people with the right tools they need to evangelize and disciple children in these remote villages,” says Pry.
CEF Alaska is reaching rural places like Bethel, Alaska where there is no road system and the easiest way to get in or out is down the Kuskokwim River. It is in rural towns like this that CEF was able to share the Gospel with 58 children over five days through their Good News Club®. This is just an example of one of the many rural towns and groups of children that CEF Alaska has been able to reach.
CEF Alaska operates in four regions: Anchorage/MatSu Valley, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and Alaskan Bush villages.
In these regions, CEF Alaska conducts Mailbox Clubs, Christian Youth In Action (CYIA)®, Camp Good News® and Good News Club®.
One unique outreach for CEF Alaska is village trips, where CEF clubs meet in Alaska’s Bush villages. This past April, CEF clubs were held in the village of Shaktoolik, in partnership with a local church. With blizzard-like weather approaching the village, the team was unsure if they would be able to make it to the clubs, but with the help of a pilot and a bush plane, the team reached the village before the storm and was able to share the Gospel with 30 children.
On a snowy day in December, a CEF Alaska team flew by bush plane to Goodnews Bay to teach 21 children about Jesus and participate in a weekend full of interactive evangelizing activities. One activity included a Wordless book bracelet training where teens made bracelets with Bible verses engraved with the goal to share the good news with others in the community.
In 2024, the CEF Alaska team offered Christian Youth In Action training for teens and adults who are then sent out to their hometowns to establish Sunday School classes, Children’s Church, Vacation Bible school and Good News Club®. Children learned about the difference Jesus makes in the lives of people and how He can make a difference in their lives too. Ten-day training camps are held for over 220 young leaders in various locations around the state at the beginning of each summer. CEF also sends out traveling teachers/trainers to bring the Gospel to new areas across Alaska.
Dedicated to spreading the good news and ministry to the Bush villages of Alaska, Michele Swensen, Rural Ministry Coordinator of CEF Alaska states, “The goal is to see the next generation rise up to be the spiritual leaders of their families, churches, and communities to the glory of God.” Steve McKinley, State Director of CEF Alaska commented, “Children need to hear about Jesus! They need to know Godly life skills and understand that God loves them and that they have a purpose in life.”
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.