Always Give an Invitation

   Not too many weeks ago I was able to teach a group of adult volunteers in San Jose during a Teaching Children Effectively course. Nadya and I were there to aid a colleague and friend, and part of my responsibilities was to teach about giving an invitation to receive Christ during an evangelistic Bible lesson. As part of that class an emphasis is made that an invitation should be given in every lesson because you never know when a child will be ready to receive Christ. An illustration of this point took place at our Good News Club^® at the Valley Springs Elementary School, which began last October.

    Nadya and I had the privilege of helping with that club for the first three weeks. The first week only one child came. On week two a few more kids came, one of which was Bobby.

    Bobby is a joyful kid that is full of questions who falls somewhere in the high functioning autistic scale. He listens attentively, participates enthusiastically, and soaks in all that is being taught.

   Last month I talked with one of the teachers for the club, Alice Yothers, and asked her to tell me how things were going. This is what she told me:

    “Bobby received Christ in January. He’s been to every club meeting since the second and is always eager to answer questions. He comes from a disadvantaged family who does not attend church. He lives in Gloria’s (a teacher at the club) neighborhood and he and his mom saw her one day in her yard. He now has a standing invitation to come by for cookies! We’re praying we can encourage his mom to let him go to the neighborhood Calvary Chapel Sunday school, within walking distance. Gloria has contacts there.”

    Bobby started coming in October, heard the Gospel for weeks, and received Christ in January. The persistence of the team to continue giving the invitation paid off. You just never know when God will draw children to Himself, and we need to be ready! Will you pray that Bobby and his mom will start attending church? 

The very first Valley Springs Good News Club last October

Door Openers

   When I tell stories about children reached in our events, sometimes people get the idea that they need to be a teacher of children in order to be a participant in our ministry, but that is simply not the case. I sat down with a man last month who believed strongly in our ministry but told me, “I cannot teach children, but I am a promoter. I can connect you with people that you can talk to.” That very day he contacted a pastor, scheduled a visit, and the following week I was sitting in that pastor’s office talking about how CEF could help his church reach unchurched children. He was excited about what I was sharing. My “Door Opener” friend is now working on getting me more visits with pastors in his sphere of influence.

   Perhaps you are not the person who will stand before children and be the one to deliver the Gospel, but you can, like my new friend, introduce me to the people who can, or who have influence to organize those people. Perhaps you are a “Door Opener”. I would love to sit down and talk with you to see how we might work together to get an audience before the people you know. Your role is just as important as the one who teaches an actual Good News Club. Shoot me an email and we can sit down and talk about who you know that I should be talking with. It just might lead to more volunteers, and thus more children coming to know Christ as their Savior in one of our outreach events.  

Children with heads bowed during an invitation at Good News Club.

Praise & Prayer

– Praise God the 17 Good News Clubs active right now, and for the 365 children who have heard multiple clear presentations of the Gospel in them.

– Praise God for His bountiful provision the first two months of this year.

– Pray for five-week Good News Clubs to take place in Le Grand, Stockton, and Riverbank. These are all new communities.

– Praise God for the pastors who are interested in some type of summer ministry involvement in 2023. Pray that we can effectively train their people to reach unchurched children for Christ in 5-Day Clubs^® and one-day outreaches.

– Pray for the protection of our almost 100 volunteers. Spiritual work means spiritual battles, and they all need prayers for health, family, finances, and courage.

– Pray for the finances to hire a full-time field staff worker in the Fall of this year.

– Pray for two new committee members this Spring.

– Praise God for the overflow of financial support for the National Conference fundraiser. More than 100% was raised!  

County Focus (Merced)

Merced County

County Seat – Merced

Population – 286,461

Population ages 3-13 – 47,758        

Number of Schools – 53

Current # of GNCs – 0

Children reached – 0           

Churches involved – 4

GNCs in the Words – 1

• Le Grand Elementary  

    Merced County is probably the poorest county in our area, and is the valley county that we have had the hardest time getting into. In 2017 we attempted to get into schools in Atwater and Merced, but those fell through. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, God opened the door in Gustine, but that is now closed. And we have had some one-time outreaches in Los Banos, but it has been difficult to get any traction in the county.

   Pray for Merced. We currently have a Good News Club opportunity in Le Grand. The church is willing and has a team of people, and the school is open and ready to have us come in. But some unforeseen obstacles have arisen that have placed that club on hold for now.

2nd Annual

“Beautiful Feet” 5k

April 24-30, 2023

The “Beautiful Feet” 5k Fundraiser is only 12 weeks away! In 2022 we had 43 walkers and $16,000 total was raised. We’d love to have 100 people walking in 2023!

Will you join with us? Grab your friends and family and take a walk for the unreached children in your town!

Gifts of Stock

When giving appreciated assets, such as public stock, you not only receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock, but you also avoid capital gains tax.

For more information on how to best give a gift of stock to CEF, click click the button, fill out your contact information, choose “donation information” from the drop down menu, and type “gift of stock” in the “Other” box. We will get back to you promptly with the next steps to take.

You can also email Joel Cripe at joel.cripe@cefnorcal.org, or call our office

(209) 250-2561.