‘We have healthy alternatives for children who are faced with boredom, are overdosing on screen time, or go to camps that ignore the saving truth of Jesus,’ says CEF Acting Vice President of Administration Fred Pry
For Immediate Release
June 3, 2024
ST. LOUIS — Summertime, when children are off from school, can be a daunting void to fill or it can be a wonderful opportunity for fun, growth and friendship. Cell phones, iPads and social media are occupying enormous amounts of children’s free time during the long summer days. Studies show that spending too much screen time can lead to anxiety, depression and hopelessness, especially among teens. Children who are used to going to school for 10 or more months of the year can encounter problems when faced with an abundance of unstructured time. According to the Child Mind Institute, “Kids do better with structure. That’s even more true for kids with emotional or developmental issues. Structure makes kids … feel safe and comfortable. So, summer vacation is a challenge for these kids and their parents.”
Child Evangelism Fellowship’s (CEF) Camp Good News® is designed to help kids experience relationships, learn timeless truths, explore God’s wonderful creation, and enjoy the physical activity of playing games with their friends through a structured summer camp as they learn about Jesus. Camp Good News® provides a clear presentation of the Gospel and an opportunity for children to trust the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior and grow in their relationship with Him.
“We have healthy alternatives for children who are faced with boredom, are overdosing on screen time, or go to secular-oriented camps that ignore or are actually hostile toward the saving truth of Jesus,” says Child Evangelism Fellowship Acting Vice President of Administration Fred Pry.
“Children are constantly glued to phones, computers and TVs. The effects of this deluge of social media and other electronic distractions are well known – reduced attention spans, emotional fallout, and overwhelming pressure to conform to worldly values.
“Parents can counter this negative trend by taking advantage of CEF’s biblically-focused programming in Camp Good News®, Good News Clubs® and 5-Day Clubs®. Camp Good News® provides students with structure during the summer months in the camp routine and activities and keeps children learning by educating them about the God of the Bible.”
The international Camp Good News® program has been an active part of the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship® throughout the years. Trained staff maintain an exciting program focused on evangelism and discipleship.
“The children at one camp were trained in evangelism and then went on an outreach to share the Gospel,” says a CEF worker. “One young boy, Mahelby, shared the Gospel with a police officer in the neighborhood. As a result of the post-Camp Good News® Gospel outreach, hundreds of children and adults received Jesus Christ as Savior.”
“CEF’s Camp Good News provides children with the positive summer break they need,” Pry says. “It helps them connect with other children through camp and Gospel-focused activities so that children can bond together in their relationships with God.”
When kids hear the truth of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit will move in response and confirm it to them as truth. Kids need answers to big questions like “Why am I here?” “Why do bad things happen?” and “What do I do with guilty feelings?”
“They need to find the hope and new life that comes only through a relationship with Jesus Christ,” Pry says. “CEF’s Camp Good News® allows children to expand their horizons and equip them with the truth of Jesus Christ.”
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is evangelizing children around the world with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, reaching millions of unreached children who have not yet heard about Jesus Christ.
Through CEF’s Good News Club®, 5-Day Club®, Christmas Party Club™, and several other ministries, children are able to hear the Gospel, respond, and then spread the Good News to their families and peers, reaching the unreached.
Child Evangelism Fellowship, 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 CEF’s combined ministries, 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 (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, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.