Good News Club Growth in Madison Chapter

     On behalf of the Greater Madison Chapter of CEF, I am pleased to report that this has been a year of growth and blessings. While we are only half way through the academic school year, we have added three new clubs to our program and a new church partnership. The church partnership is with Word of Life Church. Their program is being implemented in the form of a children’s church called the Breakfast Club. The program is open to the children in their community on Sunday mornings. They provide a well-balanced meal, starting with a heaping plate of the Gospel served alongside a nutritional breakfast meal. We also have a club at Mt. Zion Church through their Academic Learning Center. These are just two examples of how we are looking to share the Gospel using the Good News Club® model in creative ways, such as a children’s church, community centers and alternative academic learning centers.
     We hosted our first annual Good News Club Christmas Celebration at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Madison. The event was open to all of the clubs in the Greater Madison area. While each club had their own Christmas celebration, the collaborative event was an opportunity to reach the families and friends of the children that attend Good News Club. The Gospel message was presented by Joan Wheeler, who has been battling health problems all year that have kept her from being involved in a club this year. She presented a powerful Gospel Message. Two children, whose mother had stopped into our Good News Club and asked us to pray for, received Christ that night. They came to club after winter break and they were still on fire for God. A wonderful friend name Donna who works at Walmart, made a special donation of gifts so that each child who attended the event left with a gift.
   We thank God that the first half of our year has been blessed and that He continues to work in and through us. Please pray for the health of all of our Good News Club workers; particularly those workers in wheel chairs, or those who rely on walkers and scooters. We are going into the time of year when the weather can make it very challenging for these individuals to continue to serve.
    If you or someone you know would be interested in volunteering on a part time or full time basis through the end of the academic school year please contact our local CEF office.

Cheryl Knox
Good News Club Coordinator
Madison CEF

A Pastor finds another Jerusalem outside the walls of the church!

As a pastor, I appreciate CEF’s commitment to the multi-faceted foundations of salvation in Jesus Christ.  Through well-written songs and actions, creative crafts with the purpose of the lesson, and much interaction time with believers who know how to share the Good News, CEF is able to impact children’s lives forever. My son went through some of the training and helped at one of the Good News Clubs® and, while I’m sure the kids at the club benefited by his love and word from the Lord for them, my son was changed forever too.  He is now leading Bible studies and able to share his faith with friends and co-workers more succinctly.  Bringing the members of our church to CEF training for Good News Club’s or any of the other teaching is a high priority for me.  As I attend these sessions, I appreciate how well they are taught, how practical they are, and how memorable too.  It is a priority for believers in Christ, if not priority number one, to be able to handle the Word of God and explain salvation to those who have not yet heard or accepted the free gift God offers. For too long most believers, including myself, have floundered in this most-important area in our life as a child of God.  With CEF, we don’t have to flounder anymore.  They have the resources for the church to be the church! One final note, each Good News Club is an extension of the church that sponsors it. What a great outreach for any church.  Let’s fund and staff more Good News Club’s from our local churches! Pastor Dan Hummel  Hartford Bible Church

St Croix Verse-a-thon

December, 2018

We held our Sixth Annual Verse-A-Thon on November 10, 2018 at Alliance Church of the Valley. There were 10 participants who recited 362 verses in all! What a tremendous blessing spiritually to be a listener at one of the recitation stations. My heart swelled as the participants quoted God’s Word.

In the photo from left to right are: Wendy Bachman, Bill Stirrat, Makaila Brown, Shannon Hoppe, Renee Iverson, Karen Schnell and Paul Wagner (not shown: Isaiah, Julia and Natalie Milner). Our top three finishers were Wendy, Bill and Shannon. Wendy was our winner, reciting 45 verses in under 17 minutes and 10 verses in our bonus round.

These ten participants raised around $5,000 to enable us to get the Gospel to the children in our six-county chapter.  These funds will help us run our 5-Day Club® ministry in the summer, train teens at Christian Youth In Action® camp, teach adults at area churches how to reach children for Jesus, run after-school Good News Clubs and other outreaches throughout the year.

Thank you to all who participated, listened to verses at our recitation stations and helped make the event successful by your financial gifts and prayers .  ~Lisa Inlow