Director’s Address

Summer is getting closer. We rejoice for what the Lord has done, and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do.

During the month of March, most of our Good News Club^®  programs (GNC™) ended for the school year. Looking back over our GNC year, we were excited to see that we increased in clubs and attendance, and saw children come to Christ. We were able to get back into a school district where we haven’t had clubs in a long time, and expand into a school district where we have never had clubs. Our plan for next school year is to expand in the school districts that have multiple elementary schools. Our hope is that some of our helpers will be lead teachers so we can start new clubs.

On March 18, we had the opportunity to go to the Family AfFAIR in Scottville. This event was held at Mason County High School. This is the second year we’ve had the privilege of being in this event. In the space we were given, we set up games and puzzles for the children, and when the opportunity came, we were able to share the Gospel with some people. Each child that came into the room received a bag with candy and a Wordless Book tract. We also had a literature table set up for the adults and several took  the brochures. Several parents showed interest in our 5-Day Club^® ministry. We also saw some of the children that went to our clubs in Scottville and Ludington. By the end of the day, we were able to talk to 250 people. We plan to be there again next year.

On April 8, our annual banquet was held at First Baptist of Fremont. Our theme for this year was “Be a Spark in the Dark”. Our goal was to have 100 people in attendance. When the day came, 140 people attended. This was the biggest banquet that we have had since being here, and the largest in the chapter in quite a while. At the banquet, we honored Tom and Evlyn Bump for over 50 years of service with Child Evangelism Fellowship^® and in the pastoral ministry. We were privileged to have all of the Bumps’ children and their spouses in attendance. This was a big surprise to them. Anna Sytsma, from the Grand Valley chapter, came to lead the childrens program for us. There were 13 children in attendance. Everyone enjoyed hearing seven children from our Good News Clubs who came to sing a couple songs for the adults. We finished the night with Tom Bump as our speaker. He had a great challenge to the people to get involved with the chapter to reach the children. Overall, it was a fantastic night. Praise the Lord for what He has done!

Clubs—10

9 in schools

Enrollment—189

Salvations—9

 

5-Day Club

Since summer will be here soon, we are starting to schedule 5-Day Clubs. Last year, we had a great summer with 17 5-Day Clubs, 218 enrolled, and three salvations. We are hoping to have 20 5-Day Clubs this year. The only way we can do that is if people host them. If you had a club last year, are you thinking about hosting one again this year? Maybe you didn’t have one last year but you wanted one. Well, you can host one this year. To host a club, all you have to do is provide a place for the children to meet, invite the children you know, and provide a snack. We will send a trained group of teens to teach the club. Are there children around you that are not in church and need to hear the Gospel? You are the person we need.  Here are the weeks we are looking for clubs to be hosted:

July 10—14; July 17—21; July 24—28; July 31—Aug. 4; Aug. 7—11; Aug. 14—18

If there is a week you would like that does not appear, you can call our office and we can work it out. Please pray and ask God if He can use you in this way.

 

 

International Conference

The Child Evangelism Fellowship International Conference is less than a month away.  The staff is registered and will be going.  We still need some more funds.  We currently have $1,267 that has been given.  That will cover the conference, but we still need funds for traveling.  This will cost us about $420 round trip.  Pray that the these funds will come in.

If you want to give to this project, make your check payable to CEF^® and put “Conference” on the memo line.

Upcoming Festivals

We have two big events before summer starts. On May 27, we have the Horse Pull in Fountain. This is a one-day event, and we partner with Victory Baptist Church to reach the children there. We will be telling Bible lessons and face painting while the church will be doing games. Last summer, we were able to talk to almost 100 people.

June 9–10, we will be at the National Asparagus Festival in Hart. This is one of the biggest festivals we will be in this summer. At this event, we will have games for the children, Bible lessons, and face painting. Here, not only do we have the opportunity to minister to children, but we also get opportunities to minister to the vendors.

At both of these events, we need volunteers. If you would like to come and help us at these events, please contact our office. We also have other fairs and festivals that we will be in throughout the summer. Check the back page for these events.

Needs

Here are some needs for the office.

Bathroom tissue

Paper towels

Kleenex

Cups

Bottled water

We will be ordering prizes from Oriental Trading for our summer ministries.  If you would like to donate toward the purchase of the prizes put summer ministries on the memo line.