May Updates

News from Nance

We breathed a sigh of relief after the successful fundraising banquet. We’re very grateful to know that individuals starting Good News Clubs in the fall will not have to pay for their curriculum. In the meantime, our summer missionaries will have no expenses as they train to serve.

Please pray for our 2026 Summer Missionaries (SMs): Eva, Hannah, Nadiyah, Elizabeth, and Dakota, (pictures next month) and for the adult workers who will be teaching with them this summer.

Summer ministry kicks off with training for those SMs followed by the first Good News Blitz on May 16th.

Then 5-Day Clubs begin in Wilmington and travel to Xenia, Beavercreek, Englewood, Yellow Springs, Eaton, Trotwood, and ???

Rachel’s Report

Summer is coming! We are preparing the end of April through the first week of June for Christian Youth in Action® (CYIA™) and 5-Day Club®. All our summer missionaries have an application process to do and then a series of pre-training classes and requirements to get done before they can go to CYIA training school the second week of June. This year, it looks like we will have summer missionaries – 3 returning and 2 new! Through the pre-training and the Christian Youth in Action training school, each summer missionary will learn how to carry out their role in 5-Day Club, whether that is teaching Bible lessons, sharing missionary stories, or leading review games. A few days after we return from CYIA training school, we will jump right into 5-Day Clubs! Our theme this year is Turned Around, focusing on how God turned around the lives of 5 Bible characters (Zacchaeus, Mephibosheth, Noah, Saul, and the Ethiopian Treasurer) and how God can turn our lives around today too.

In between preparing for summer, I have been able to help one of our Teaching Children Effectively™ Level 1 students with a Good News Club at her home. We are doing the Turned Around curriculum there too. So far, we have met twice. Both times, we have had three kids and two adults join us for the club in her living room. I have never been part of a home-based Good News Club before, and this experience has really highlighted for me the beauty of doing club in a home. The kids all already know the hostess/teacher and those who live in her apartment community can walk to club instead of needing a ride.

Praise the Lord:

  • The April Fundraising Banquet was a blessing (exceeding the goal of $12,000)

  • For 3 summer missionaries to help teach 5-Day Club

Please Pray For:

  • The summer missionaries’ training: memorizing verses, taking classes, doing practicums, etc.

  • Enough volunteers for the upcoming fair season in July/August (6 fairs & 1 festival this year)

April Updates

News from Nance

We recently did a workshop for students at a Christian school.  The classroom we were assigned had a bulletin board that said:

How sad, but true is that? The background for the words was newspapers.

How glad I am that we have the GOOD NEWS that everyone young or old needs to hear.

Recently, we were able to conduct several Easter Party Clubs, and tell 43 kids that all news is not bad. The best news is that, “He is not here: for He is risen as He said…”

Soon our Good News Club® season will wind down. We are still trying for several spring clubs but some schools are giving us challenges.

As we head into summer, new ministries will be kicking off. The first GOOD NEWS Blitz will be May 16th. After training, we begin sharing the GOOD NEWS through 5-Day Club® on June 15th. The GOOD NEWS Tent at fairs begins July 14th and continues through August 29th, alternating with 5-Day Clubs.

We covet your prayers as that plan sounds exhausting, and some of us are aging a little (just a little, mind you). Pray that the CEFMV team will continue being augmented by younger workers excited to share the same old GOOD NEWS with generation X, Y, Z, and Alpha as we await Christ’s return.

Rachel’s Report

In the last full week of March, we helped with a spring break camp at the Dayton Chinese Christian Church. They have a heart for reaching out to the Chinese community in Dayton since they are a Chinese congregation. They planned activities for the whole day to help parents who need to work during their child’s spring break. We came for an hour and a half in the morning to do a 5-Day Club program and a special activity each day. That week, one boy trusted in Christ while we were there and then three boys trusted in Christ with the pastor in the afternoon!

Also in March, we were part of Legacy Christian Academy’s Day of Missions and Evangelism. We taught a 50-minute overview of the Wordless Book to four different small groups throughout the day, speaking to a total of thirty-seven students and four teachers. The whole point was to encourage the middle and high school students that they can share their faith and to equip them with a method for explaining the Gospel. It was encouraging for me to meet a few teens who really understood the method and who were taking evangelism seriously.

The Easter Party Clubs went well! Each club was a fun time of celebrating the real reason for Easter: Jesus died for sin, was buried, and rose again. We were able to share with forty-three children across the four parties, and four children made decisions for Christ!

Praise God for:

  • The many salvations in March (including several in a Troy Good News Club)

  • Providing volunteers to help with all of the events in March

Please Pray for:

  • Wisdom in communication and favor with three school districts that we are working with for Good News Club

  • Trust in God and good organization as I continue learning to juggle multiple projects at once

March Updates

News From Nance

My grandmother (Mamaw) called it, “the rules of contrariness”:

  • Why lots of things happen all at once.

  • Why when one thing breaks, another breaks shortly thereafter

  • She even blamed chewing gum on the sidewalk on the rules of contrariness.

I’m not too sure about the chewing gum, but right now, our schedules are filling up so fast it’s hard to make sure we’ll each be in the right place at the right time.

The ceiling repair is about to start while we’re preparing the Spotlight newsletter for mailing, doing Easter parties, a 5-Day Club®, a festival in Greenville, getting ready for the banquet, training a new staff member (Hannah), and attending a conference at the Ark Encounter.

The conference, March 16-18, is called “Children in Crisis” and is sponsored by CEF of Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia. Many partner ministries will be there with teaching sessions for us to attend.

Amazingly, we were able to schedule the ceiling repair while Pat and I are out of the building at the conference and Rachel is in Greece on a field trip. Which proves that God can over-ride the “rules of contrariness.” But you already knew that!

Thanks to many of you, we finished January and February in the black, which is always a huge blessing and encouragement. Another encouragement is hearing about children being saved in the ongoing Good News Clubs as well as groups showing interest in more clubs in the fall.

As we schedule summer ministries, we ask for your prayers for wisdom, boldness, opportunities, and energy. Thank you for partnering with us to reach the children of the Miami Valley.

Rachel’s Report

A little while ago, we mailed letters to local church pastors to hopefully spark their interest in getting involved with Child Evangelism Fellowship®. In the 2nd half of February and into March, we have been trying to follow-up on those letters with a phone call (or voicemail) or email. One pastor I called remembered the letter and was excited about doing a Good News Club for a school near his church in Huber Heights. After discussing it further, the plan is for the church to do a 6-week Good News Club at Monticello Elementary School in Huber Heights starting in the middle of April. Next year, their plan is to do GNCs at Monticello and Rushmore. I’m working with the school administration right now to request use of the school building after-school. Assuming nothing falls through, this will be the first GNC™ in the Huber Heights district in a long time! It was such an encouragement to me to see that this pastor remembered the letter, wanted to get involved, and was glad I called to follow-up. It’s awesome as well to see that their church is so eager to reach out to the community.

In the end of March and the beginning of April, we’re doing Easter Party Clubs! There are four on the calendar, each at small churches. This year, our curriculum is Jesus Gives Life and Hope about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and then resurrected from the grave Himself, after dying on the cross for our sin. It’s a fun spring themed party, and of course we’re going to race to see which team can wrap an adult up in toilet paper to look like Lazarus the fastest! I’m also doing a “What’s in your Easter Basket?” presentation at a Christian daycare’s Community Easter Festival to share about the true meaning of Easter.

Praise God for:

  • How He is providing for us in unexpected ways

  • Four Easter Party Clubs scheduled

Please Pray for:

  • The hopeful GNC in Huber Heights: willing school admin, team training, and kids to enroll

  • Trust in God and good organization as I continue learning to juggle multiple projects at once

  • Our upcoming fundraising banquet in April

February Updates

News From Nance

In my devotions, I’ve just finished reading Deuteronomy. In chapter 31, God instructs Moses to “write ye this song” and teach it to the children to be a witness and testimony.

Many people, especially auditory learners, remember what they sing. Can you still sing the ♫ ABC’s ♫, ♫ Happy Birthday ♫, or ♫ Jingle Bells ♫? That’s why we include songs in all our clubs and parties.

Several years ago, I worked in a big club of all 6th graders. They thought they were “too cool” to sing and do motions. But they weren’t “too cool” for musical chairs, so I played our songs over and over for the game. After the game and as they were leaving, I could hear them singing and humming the songs. They’ll stick!

Here’s a good one:

O Sing unto the LORD a new song: Sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

Psalm 96:1

Rachel’s Report

For the January children’s ministry workshop, we decided to do something a little different and invite a Christian licensed counselor to give a guest presentation. He shared helpful information about mental health, and the challenges children are facing in today’s world. Several attendees mentioned that they really liked having a guest speaker come so I’m hoping to incorporate that into the children’s ministry workshops more often.

January gave me opportunities for those important, but not urgent projects. One such project was sorting and putting away donated materials. Teachers often give us curriculum and materials that they are no longer using, and then we organize it for our “free store” and “lending library.” That way, other teachers can use the curriculum and materials. Another project was updating training materials. Our simplified Wordless Book PowerPoint presentation and accompanying student notes were originally designed many years ago, so it was time for a refreshed look, especially since we are planning to use those materials for an event in March. Closet organization was another project we had time to tackle this month – in a building that used to be four apartments, there are lots of closets! Now, the game supplies like balls and hula hoops, the prizes for treasure boxes and goodie bags, and the banners and display boards are all organized clearly so that they are easier to use.

Please Pray for:

  • The planning and preparation for our Spring Banquet

  • Wisdom on which fairs to do this year

Praise God for:

  • New children enrolling in small
    Good News Clubs

  • Opportunities to learn new things and strengthen skills

January Updates

News from Nance

Two things I enjoy about the holidays: games and traditions. Did you enjoy a lot of them during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s? Does anybody else eat black-eyed peas for New Year’s? Do you have certain games you always play?

One of the things I like best about Child Evangelism Fellowship® events is Review Game time. It gives the teachers an opportunity to review essential elements of the lesson and verse teaching one more time to see if the kids really “got it.” Properly done, the kids don’t even realize you are still teaching them. They just think they are playing a game. The kids at church try to peek in my bag to see if I brought a game.

We are happy to have had five Christmas Party Clubs, complete with review games. We had a sixth scheduled but the hostess became very ill and had to cancel. We are still praying for her recovery. The five clubs included seventy-five children and an unknown number of participating adults. The adults enjoyed the review games as much as the kids.

So, here’s a New Year’s review game for you. (I found it scribbled on scratch paper while doing some cleaning of piles over the holidays).

Can you name/sing the favorite hymn of the:

  • Dentist

  • Weatherman

  • Contractor

  • Tailor

  • Politician

  • Optometrist

Rachel’s Report

It was a good Christmas Party Club® season! Seventy-five children heard the true story of Christmas in five different party clubs this year. Two of those party clubs were at new locations (a church and a daycare center); it was wonderful to meet new people, and we look forward to working with them again soon. The parties were full of games and activities alongside the true story of Christmas – many times the adults got involved in the excitement too! At our biggest CPC™ this season, I got to talk more with a kid who had a question: “how do I know I believe in Jesus?” It was neat to see the thoughtfulness of that question and to see that God was working on his heart even in the crowded, busy room.

The holiday lulls between Christmas Party Clubs were the perfect opportunity to work on projects. Online fair training is finally completed and uploaded to the website! It’s a six-video series that communicates the important information people need to know before they serve with us in the tent at a county fair or festival. Topics are the “why” of fair and festival ministry, screening paperwork requirements, the usual flow in the fair tent, opening and closing procedures, and an overview of the Wordless Book. We have not done formal fair training for the past few years because of scheduling complications and have done informal on-the-job training instead, which works well. These videos will complement the on-the-job training and help people know what to expect before they arrive for their first shift.

Praise God for:

  • Seventy-five kids who heard the true story of Christmas

  • The fair training videos getting finished

Please Pray for:

  • The planning and preparation for our Spring Banquet

  • God to provide new Good News Club® opportunities in the spring

December Updates

News from Nance

Rachel’s Report

It’s Christmas Party Club® season! Christmas time is a great opportunity to share the story of Jesus, the true reason for the season. This year, we have six Christmas Party Clubs on the calendar, plus the Christmas Good News Blitz. The main theme this year is “Backwards Birthday Bash.” Because of Jesus’s birthday, we are offered a gift from God and that’s backwards from usual birthdays! Four of the Christmas Party Clubs are at small churches, one is at a Christian daycare center, and one is at someone’s home.

Our Teaching Children Effectively™ Level 1 (TCE1) students have finished all their classes. Now, they are working on their children’s ministry experience requirements, which means they are teaching real kids using the skills they learned during the course. We are hoping to start a spring Good News Club® at Meadowlark Apartments in Trotwood, which would be another opportunity for our students to get those requirements checked off. Once all the course requirements, including classes, homework, practicums, and experience, have been completed, our students will earn an official certificate from the Children’s Ministries Institute!

We’ve resumed Good News Club at Arrowood Elementary in Xenia for the months of November and December. It’s been a much bigger group this year – we have had 40 kids come at least once! The curriculum is based on the Wordless Book; each week expands on the truths of the specific color. On the last day of school before Christmas break, we’ll have a visiting teacher who’s going to share the story of Christmas.

Please Pray for:

  • Each Christmas Party Club and for the kids who attend

  • Wisdom for whether to do a spring Good News Club at Arrowood

Praise God for:

  • New locations for Christmas Party Clubs

  • Our large group at Arrowood

November Updates

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