Child Evangelism Fellowship, based in Warrenton, Mo., reached a record number of children last year through its worldwide Christmas Party Clubs. Leaders from around the world recently held a virtual meeting to hear the result of their prayers and efforts.
The goal was to reach millions of children during the Christmas season, helping them understand the true meaning of Christmas. Although more results still are trickling in, six million children were reached, and 1.7 million were counseled for salvation.
Testimonies from people in each major region of the world brought tears to the group as they heard of the wonder children experienced who heard the true Christmas story for the first time. In Ukraine, missile sirens went off, so club teachers didn’t expect anyone to come. The sirens lasted two hours but when they stopped, children came running. In other countries, children climbed ladders to meet on roofs, gathered on sandbars along the Amazon River, and even gathered in the snow, learning to worship Jesus.
The success was attributed to extensive training efforts during October and November when 167,000 volunteers attended 11,000 training seminars. These volunteers held 169,000 Christmas Party Clubs. The most surprising statistic was that believers in the Middle East and North Africa region succeeded in reaching the most children with the good news of the birth of Jesus, accounting for 51 percent of the total number.
The organization invites Christians to help in the 2023 outreach to reach even more children in the United States and beyond. The Christmas Party Club is one of several club programs, with the weekly after-school Good News Club being the best known. In all clubs, children hear a gospel-centered Bible lesson, play games, learn a Bible verse, sing action songs and more. Churches that sponsor local schools for the weekly clubs benefit from training for their children’s workers and from young families coming to church who may not have come otherwise.
For more information, visit www.cefonline.com.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice