Blog

Winter 2023-2024 News and Prayer Letter for CEF of Greater Buffalo

Hello, Friends and Supporters!

In this newsletter you will read updates and testimonies from our public school Good News Clubs, our fall fundraiser, a “Super Saturday” training event, and our CEF of GBA committee.

As usual, prayer requests are listed throughout, and to the left.

Thank you for your support, CEF of GBA

Thank you for prayers towards our GNC efforts this year. We have six active clubs, and a seventh starting soon (maybe by the time you read this!):

AJ Schmidt Elementary (Lake Shore District) – 6 students registered

Big Tree Elementary (Frontier District) – 1 student registered

Cloverbank Elementary (Frontier District) – 6 students registered

Highgate Heights (Buffalo) – 11 students registered

Highland Elementary (Lake Shore District) – 12 students registered

JT Waugh Elementary (Lake Shore District) – 10 students registered

We have already seen four children put their faith in Christ this year!

Please pray for the children to be faithful and to learn more of God and His Word. Pray for more to attend.

Blasdell Elementary (Frontier District) – 0 students registered. We request fervent prayer for this Club. The teachers are so dedicated to this school but we have not found an effective way to let the parents and students know we are here. Our GNC teachers have offered to move to a different school/district.

Please pray for the GNC teachers of Blasdell to not be discouraged. Pray we will find a way to invite children, or that God will clearly show us that this door is closed, and where we should go next.

Eden Elementary (Eden District) –  Club starts on January 16! This is our first time back in this school since Covid. Praise the Lord for this re-open door.

Please pray for students to sign up, and for God to bless and work in Eden Elementary. 

If you know any children in these schools, please let them know they are welcome at Good News Club!

The Bible lesson was on the shepherds in the Christmas story. The teacher spent some time describing shepherds in Bible times: dirty, stinky, poor, thieves, liars, low class. Then with a giant smile, she told how God entrusted these “inferior” citizens to be the first human bearers of the Good News of the Messiah’s birth.

Nine-year-old Kelsey listened intently, the wheels in her brain processing the lesson she was hearing. She did not live in a religious home, and the concept of God’s love was new to her.

During the review game later, the question was asked “Though people looked down on the shepherds, what did God think about them?” Kelsey raised her hand. “He thought they were important,” she answered.

The teacher asked a follow up question: “And no matter what anyone else says, what does God think about YOU?” Kelsey thought for a few seconds then said in a whisper, “He thinks I’m important, too.”

Please pray for Kelsey and the many, many, many children in our schools who do not understand how precious they are to Jesus.

On Saturday, September 30, we held our second bbq fundraiser of the year. This time we were given permission to use the parking lot of an empty business on Route 5 in Angola. This location gave us better visibility to those driving by, and we made a stronger profit this time around. Of course, the beautiful weather helped, too! Thanks to Hilltop Baptist Church for again allowing us the use of their supplies and providing workers to help serve the food.

Please pray for the finances we need to continue spreading the gospel to children in WNY.

We were encouraged to have fourteen people attend our “Super Saturday” training seminar on November 11. A few of these were current teachers looking for a refresher course. A few came because they want to join an existing club. The rest were new to CEF and have an interest in starting a new Good News Club in the future.

Those who attended learned how to teach a gospel lesson based on the CEF curriculum, “IPEAR” a memory verse (Introduce, Present, Explain, Apply, Repeat), sing instructional but fun songs, and play review games that reinforce all that has been taught. There was a definite excitement as the attenders learned more about the incredible opportunities – yes, it’s legal! – to teach the Bible inside of our public schools.

Thank you to the Revive Wesleyan Church for allowing us the use of their facilities for the day.

Please pray for opportunities for our newest trainees to use the knowledge they learned.

Pray for more open doors into schools.

Student: “Did Jesus have any brothers or sisters?”

Teacher: “Yes, He did! The Bible tells us that Mary had four more boys, and at least two girls.”

Student: “How old was Jesus when He became a big brother?”

Teacher: “…..Wow….I don’t know….and I’ve never thought of that before….”

Hello, Friends and Supporters!

In this newsletter you will read a testimony from a summer “5-Day Club”, updates on our Good News Clubs, an invitation to our Chicken Barbeque fundraiser, an invitation to a Super Saturday training seminar, and an appeal for Prayer Partners.

Prayer requests are listed throughout, and at the end.

Thank you for your support, CEF of GBA

5-Day Club Testimony

This July we were contacted by a lady named Debbie who wanted to hold a children’s Bible club at her house. She used to host CEF “5-Day Clubs” when her now-grown children were young, and wanted to get back at it. She has a burden for the children in her neighborhood, and sees their great need for Jesus. We quickly provided her with curriculum and about 2 weeks later she had a club up and running.

Debbie recruited her neighbor Maryann to help her, and together they invited their community kids. Nine different children came for games, crafts, prizes, Bible lessons, and – of course – the Gospel. Four children put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation…and three of them were Maryann’s grandchildren! Praise the Lord!

Are there children in YOUR neighborhood that need Jesus? What about YOUR kids or grandkids? Let Debbie and Maryann be an inspiration to you! You don’t have to be a pastor or teacher or someone with extensive training. You just need to step out in faith and do something. We would be glad to provide you with lesson plans and ideas. You can do it!

Praise the Lord for the precious children saved during this year’s summer ministry, and pray for their growth. 

Pray for more people to see the need in their own circle of influence.

Good News Clubs

School is back in session, and our GNC teachers are gearing up for another fun-filled year of public school ministry!

Re-Starting this October:

• AJ Schmidt Elementary (Lake Shore District)
• Blasdell Elementary (Frontier District)
• Cloverbank Elementary (Frontier District)
• Highgate Heights Elementary (Buffalo)
• Highland Elementary (Lake Shore District)
• JT Waugh Elementary (Lake Shore District)

Please pray for many students to sign up and attend. Pray for our teachers to be spiritually ready for this year. Ask God to bless these schools and their administrations.

Opportunities Abound 

There are 30 school districts in Erie County. We have clubs in three of them.* If you live in or around these areas, would you prayerfully consider the need?

o Akron

o Alden

o Amherst

o Buffalo*

o Cheektowaga

o Cheektowaga-Maryvale

o Cheektowaga-Sloan

o Clarence

o Cleveland Hill

o Depew

o East Aurora

o Eden

o Grand Island

o Hamburg

o Holland

o Iroquois

o Kenmore-Tonawanda

o Lackawanna

o Lancaster

o North Collins

o North Tonawanda

o Orchard Park

o Springville

o Sweet Home

o Tonawanda City

o West Seneca

o Williamsville

*There are 35 elementary schools in the Buffalo school district, and we have a club in just one of them.

Please pray for God to open the doors into these districts, and His people to walk through them.

Teacher Training

You are invited to a “Super Saturday Seminar” on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 9:30am-3:00pm. It’s free and lunch is provided, but registration is required. It will be held at the facilities of Revive Wesleyan Church, 4999 McKinley Pkwy, Hamburg NY.

Sessions will cover various aspects of teaching the Bible to children and sharing the gospel with them. This course is required for anyone who wants to teach or assist in a Good News Club, but is great for anyone who wants to effectively communicate Biblical truths with children.

Pastors and church leaders – would you please let your people know about this? Someone in your congregation might benefit from it. There is no obligation to you.

Please pray for more GNC teachers in Western New York, so we can make a greater impact for the Kingdom of God!

Prayer Partners Needed

It is no secret that Satan’s army is well-funded, well-organized, and extremely powerful. Our God is greater, but He moves on the prayers of His people. Satan does not want us sharing Christ with children in the public schools. If we are going to succeed in this spiritual battle, we must have an invincible army of prayer warriors.

Would you partner with us in prayer? In the near future we plan to send out weekly or bi-weekly emails with very specific requests, so those on our Prayer Team can bring them before God’s throne. Will you join? There is no requirement except a desire to pray. Contact information is listed below.

Please pray for CEF of GBA to have power and victory in our fight for the souls of children!

Our GNCs have come to an end, along with the 2022-23 school year. Here are some facts from this year:

3  School Districts open to Good News Clubs – Buffalo, Frontier (Hamburg), and Lake Shore (Evans)

7  Public elementary schools served through GNCs

23  Teachers and helpers in these clubs

63  Children who attended a GNC during the 2022-23 school year

10  Students put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation

Though many challenges presented themselves this year, we rejoice at what God has done in our public schools!

Please praise the Lord for what He has done, and pray that these numbers will all greatly increase next year!  

A note about our teachers: 

Twenty-three different people taught or helped in a Good News Club this school year. These include teenagers, senior citizens, parents, men, women, school employees, people who have done this for many years, and people who have done this for the first time. Some are retired, and some squeezed this around a full-time job. Several teachers this year had serious health problems or physical limitations. The one thing they all have in common is a love for children, and desire to see them know Jesus. We appreciate each one of them.

Thank you, Teachers! 

by some of our GNC teachers

This was our first year back in the school since Covid, and most of the kids who signed up for GNC were brand new. We had only 3 returning students. These three had attended when in Kindergarten or 1st grade. Now they were in 3rd and 4th grade.

All school year we prayed that our students would come to know Jesus as Savior, and praise the Lord some of the new kids did! The three returning kids were a concern though. None of them talked to a teacher during an invitation time, although all three participated in the other aspects of the club.

Finally during one of the last meetings of the year, one of our teachers bluntly asked the entire class “Who here has asked Jesus to save them?” (note that this is not recommended! A one-on-one approach is better when dealing with children and salvation 😉 ) Thankfully the kids were all honest in answering. A few said they had not, and still had questions. A few answered that they had done so in a recent club.

Then one of the 4th graders spoke up: “I did that before, in the other club.”

The third grader chimed in: “Yeah, me too.”

When the teacher asked them to explain, they both told how they had accepted Christ during our pre-Covid GNC, when they were younger. Even though we had not seen them in three years, they still remembered their salvation experience, and were holding on to it for their assurance of salvation! We were so thrilled that the Lord had saved AND sealed these sweet girls. Please pray for the third student, a boy, who is still unsaved.

Please pray for this boy, and all the other students who attended a GNC but for various reasons have not yet put their faith in Christ. 

On Saturday, April 22, we held a chicken barbeque fundraiser at the Hilltop Baptist Church in Angola. The weather did not cooperate and the day was cold and rainy. In spite of this, we did still manage to make a small profit, and introduce our ministry to some people in the community. We are grateful to the pastor and staff of Hilltop Baptist for allowing us to use their facilities. We are also very grateful to the teachers of the Highland Elementary Good News Club for their help in serving the food.

We may have another fundraiser like this towards the end of summer. Hopefully the weather will be better. We’ll let you know!

Please pray for the finances needed to continue spreading the gospel to children in WNY.