‘As we observe Veterans Day, we like to share the good news about this outreach, which brings the hope of the Gospel to military children,’ says CEF Military Children’s Ministry Director Andy Bunn
For Immediate Release
October 28, 2024
St. LOUIS — This year, Americans will observe Veterans Day on Monday, November 11, reflecting on the sacrifices made by our soldiers, sailors, airmen, coast guardsmen and others serving in the nation’s armed forces. An often-overlooked segment of the military is the children who have parents on active duty. More than 1.6 million military childrenface many challenges and unique experiences as a result of their parents’ service, and about 4.6 million people call the U.S. military “home.”
When a parent is deployed away from the family for six months to a year or more, it can bring enormous stress to children. The Military Children’s Ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is designed to help children build a strong foundation of faith to see them through upheavals and unique challenges.
“As we observe Veterans Day, we like to share the good news about this outreach, which brings the hope of the Gospel to military children,” says Dr. Andy Bunn, CEF’s Military Children’s Ministry director. “The ministry helps them with the unique challenges of constantly moving around the country and growing up in a different environment from those who are not in military families.”
“Children in military families face uncertainty, frequent moves and deployment of parents,” Bunn says. “Our Good News Club® shares with them the unchanging love of Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Bunn is uniquely prepared to lead the CEF Military Children’s Ministry. A graduate of West Point Military Academy, he holds an MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Ph.D. in Leadership from Piedmont International University. A Desert Storm veteran, Andy served 10 years in the Army, training and leading soldiers and was also a department head for ROTC.
“The Lord has seen fit to take me on a journey of military service, secular work, vocational chaplain ministry and leadership, including executive leadership of a ministry that trained church leaders in Africa,” Bunn says. “I’m grateful for how God worked and grew me for this vital ministry assignment with CEF, to teach God’s Word to the next generation so they might know Him.”
Frequent dislocations
On average, military families move every two to three years, with the possibility of an international transfer. Children in military families not only frequently have to pick up and leave their homes but also spend extended periods away from their parents during deployment and training.
“Children in military families must continually adjust to new surroundings and make new friends,” Bunn says. “They need stability and assurance that transcends their environment. They need Jesus, as their unchanging firm foundation. We have established ministries on 24 bases in 16 states and the District of Columbia and are aiming to add more in the near future.”
CEF offers training for those interested in becoming teachers who serve on military installations.
How it works
A Good News Club® is held in a base location, home or school that is safe for a child to attend and helps children to learn the Gospel through Bible lessons, songs, memory verses, small group time and many more activities. Through Gospel presentations and discipleship, the Good News Club® allows boys and girls to know God’s stable presence and love, even as they face loneliness, fear and frequent upheaval. They are another way to bring the teaching of biblical morality to not only the children but to the neighborhood and connect children and their families to others where they live to develop community spirit.
In a recent report, Bunn describes the many new partnerships on bases all over the country. “It is such a privilege to witness God’s amazing work with His CEF and military servants in the field. Let’s be praying together for these teams of chaplains and CEF workers as they partner together and reach many children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
For testimonies and more about CEF’s Military Children’s Ministry, click here to watch a brief video.
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.