‘I listened as she described how she carefully placed books on a small raft, swimming beside it to keep the materials dry as she crossed [the river]. Her daily ministry involves physical endurance most of us can hardly imagine’
For Immediate Release
November 4, 2024
ST. LOUIS — Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) staff and volunteers often go to great lengths to share the love of Jesus with children around the world.
A CEF leader from the Solomon Islands recently told CEF’s Executive Director of Global Literature, Dean Hunsucker, about how she frequently travels between islands in a canoe and even swims across a river to reach people she trains about how to share Jesus and the Bible with children.
Hunsucker recounts the CEF leader sharing her experience during the Asia Pacific National Directors’ meeting:
“Eager to hear stories of how CEF literature was making an impact, I was surprised when she initially responded, ‘I have no good stories to share.’ She explained that her days are consumed with the necessities of everyday ministry work, leaving little time for gathering stories. In the Solomon Islands, ministry means confronting unique obstacles — from communication difficulties due to poor cell service and limited internet, to logistical challenges imposed by the numerous islands in the region. But to her, these obstacles were simply part of life.
“Her contact with fellow workers is sporadic, often occurring only when they happen to stop by her home while moving between islands. When they do, she takes time to train and support them. Without reliable transportation, travel in the Solomon Islands is often grueling. She walks between the Good News Club® Bible classes, sometimes trekking for over three hours, carrying the hope of the Gospel to children in remote areas.
“‘Isn’t that difficult?’ I asked, feeling the weight of such a journey. She smiled and assured me, ‘It’s not too difficult — except when I have to swim across the river.’
“Shocked, I listened as she described how she carefully placed books on a small raft, swimming beside it to keep the materials dry as she crossed [the river]. Her daily ministry involves physical endurance most of us can hardly imagine. Traveling between islands adds another layer of difficulty. Many of her journeys include hours in a small canoe, through dangerous waters to reach different clubs and staff.
“‘The ocean can get angry,’ she said with a knowing nod, referring to the often-treacherous conditions that turn these routine travels into risky expeditions. Despite the hardships, she reassured me that her commitment to the children and her fellow workers sustains her, day after day.
“While the challenges CEF workers face may sometimes go unsung or unseen, the impact is built on the faithfulness of our workers who face daunting trials as part of their everyday lives. These are the true heroes of our ministry — those who bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth, despite all odds, as they plant seeds of faith in the most remote corners of the world.
“Bringing hope to children makes it worth every step, every river crossed, and every wave endured. This conversation underscored the incredible resilience and commitment that many of our CEF workers embody, despite facing constant challenges.”
CEF shares the Gospel around the world through Good News Club® and workers in the SPAN™ (Sponsor a National) program. These individuals know the culture and language to share the Good News of Jesus Christ where they live. Through a Good News Club®, many children receive Jesus as their Savior, grow in faith to share the Gospel with others in their community and often go on to become Christian leaders themselves.
At this very moment, somewhere around the world, CEF national missionaries are sharing the Gospel with children through a Good News Club® and other CEF ministries. Each year, these missionaries and volunteers lead around 80,000 clubs around the globe. Many children learn about Jesus for the first time, come to believe in Him as Savior, and continue to grow to know Him better through the regular Bible teaching the clubs provide.
Many of these SPAN™ workers live in areas of extreme poverty or that are hostile to Christianity — making it almost impossible to raise the financial support needed to serve full-time and provide for their families.
That’s where the SPAN™ program comes in. Through SPAN™, CEF is able to provide financial assistance to their missionaries on a monthly basis. They can reach boys and girls with the Gospel and not have to worry how they’ll get to a club or even put food on the table for their families.
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), which was founded 87 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, and 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.
Child Evangelism Fellowship 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, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.