News from Nance
My neighbor took down his Halloween decorations last weekend. They were horrible. He had a giant skeleton, some creepy monsters, gravestones and lots of skeletons carrying body bags.
This weekend, he’ll put up his Christmas decorations. What happened to Thanksgiving?
Felicia Hemans wrote in her poem, “The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers:”
”What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
They sought a faith’s pure shrine!
Aye, call it holy ground,
The soil where first they trod;
They have left unstained what there they found-
Freedom to worship God.”
Don’t let the pilgrims get run over by the reindeer in your home or church or the classes you teach. In this materialistic culture, we need THANKSGIVING!
I’m thankful for so many things that pertain to CEF. I’m thankful for the curriculum that teaches Bible lessons, not just stories. I’m thankful for all the volunteers who give their time to teach the children. I’m thankful for the staff that holds it all together with paperwork, communication, training and equipping. I’m thankful for the supportive committee that steers the ministry. I’m thankful for this paid-for building that houses all of the above. And I’m thankful for the donors who give sacrificially to make it all possible. I’m thankful for YOU!
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
Rachel’s Report
One of the sessions I taught in our Teaching Children Effectively™ Level 1 course recently was called “The Importance of Reaching the Child in the Community.” This class encourages the students to be “fishers of men” instead of only being “keepers of the aquarium.” It is full of stories of how God impacted lives through Good News Clubs. Here are a few of the stories our students heard:
Twin sisters, Abby and Kali, trusted in Christ in a Cincinnati area Good News Club and over time, their parents came to know the Lord too. Dad, Mom, Abby, and Kali were all baptized on the same day at the church that conducted their Good News Club! (Search for “Strunk Family Testimonial” on YouTube to hear their full story).
In a Good News Club in our chapter a few years ago, a boy learned how to share the Wordless Book and earned a wristband with the Wordless Book colors. That week, he shared the Gospel with his friend and then brought the friend to his Good News Club teacher, asking the teacher to quickly make sure the friend understood. The friend did indeed understand, and he received Christ that day (and still made it to the bus!).
One mom told her daughter’s Good News Club teacher that, “my daughter is boldly telling everyone that there really is a God.”
Testimony from a former Good News Club student: “Thirty-three years ago at the age of ten, I was invited to a Good News Club in Sheridan, Wyoming. I lived in a non-Christian home and was not allowed to go back to club. But my one time there, in a very little house with love and cookies, I received Christ and never walked away from Him. I went on to Bible college and I have been a children’s minister or very involved for 24 years. Thank you for your ministry—it has literally set the course for my life and eternity.” (Eyrich, Teresa. Impact Magazine Winter vol.1 no.3 (2011): 5. Child Evangelism Fellowship).
Please pray for:
Christian teachers in public schools
The TCE students as they do their real-life teaching requirements in Good News Clubs
Praise God for:
New Christmas Party Clubs scheduled
Good News Clubs in new locations