Dear Friends,
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter about what is happening in CEF of Greater Buffalo. In this newsletter you will read two reports from our “Good News Clubs” teachers, a report on our annual Chicken BBQ fundraiser, and see what I’ve been up to lately!
God is still working here in Western New York! Thank you for your part in making this possible.
Sincerely, Brian Ide, CEF of Greater Buffalo.
Count It All Joy!
We have been living for more than a year with Covid-19 looming over our heads. This has certainly been a time of challenges, uncertainty, and sometimes trials. In the midst of social distancing, masks and quarantine there was a bright ray of sunshine: the online Good News Clubs.
Most clubs used the CEF Power Point CD which includes everything needed for a fun and informative Bible lesson and club. What fun! The lessons, memory verses and Gospel Spotlight are colorful, interactive and easy to understand. The review games are so “cool!”
There was one little glitch, however – singing songs! The teacher would sing the song, but it was not received by each student at the same time. As the children repeated the song, they were heard at different times by everyone. It sounded like an orchestra during warm-up! We learned to ask the students to mute their mics to sing along, and do the hand motions. Much better!
So many businesses, programs and projects were paused or abandoned altogether during this Covid trial, but the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is still reaching our students, their siblings, and sometimes even parents.
We thank the Lord that we can still “Count it all Joy” ( James 1:2) – J. Lindsey
(Buffalo Public Schools)
The Positives
This year was definitely a year of challenges for our afterschool “Good News Clubs.” Meeting online instead of in-person was not the best way to build personal relationships and teach students, but instead of focusing on everything we didn’t like about this past year, here were some positives:
More schools represented. Usually we drive to one school, teach a class to whoever can attend from that school, and then move on. This year our virtual club was attended by students from three different schools plus a homeschool family!
Kids moving wasn’t a problem. Halfway through the school year, one of our students moved into a different school district. In a normal year, we would have said good-bye to her, then prayed that there was a club in her new school. This year she was able to keep attending without any problem.
Time was flexible. If a child logged on late or had to log out early, there was minimal disruption to the rest of the class.
Location was flexible. It became a fun game for us to try and guess where the kids were when they logged in. One week a mom apologized that her daughter was in the car while they were picking up groceries J We were just glad she was there!
This was also nice for us because we were able to teach from wherever we found ourselves – our home, our parents’ home, our church office…and the only thing the kids could see was the wall behind us. (Another side perk was that our one-year-old daughter could crawl all around our feet and not distract a single child: an impossibility in person haha!)
Visuals were very visual. Having the kids sit in front of screens may not be ideal, but it was nice to put up a picture and know that everyone would be able to see it, and there would be no arguments about who’s head was in the way!
We got to see children in their “natural habitat” J. Each week we could see inside the kids homes, see parents and siblings floating through the background, even meet pets! It gave us a nice connection that we can’t get when we meet in a school setting.
Better communication with parents. Each week we had to send an email or text out to the parents, with that week’s login information. It was just a little thing, but as the year went on, that small contact helped build a connection.
We still got to teach the Bible to children. The goal of our afterschool clubs is to teach God’s Word to children, and see them grow in the knowledge of Him. It was a different style this year, but we trust the goal was still accomplished.
But…we hope we won’t have to teach this way again next year! 🙂 – The Tablantes
(Lakeshore Public Schools)
Chiavetta’s Fundraiser
For the second year in a row, we held a chicken barbecue drive-through in West Seneca. May 15 was a beautiful day, and we had many people stop in to purchase a barbecued half-chicken with potato salad and cole slaw diner. This was a great opportunity to get the CEF ministry out and more visible to the public. Over 450 chicken dinners were sold. And, with each dinner, information about CEF was given. Over $2,000 was made and many new contacts.
Graduation
On April 24, I graduated from Carolina University with an earned master’s degree in ministry. I enjoyed learning and the growth in my spiritual walk. I was asked by someone what was my one big take away for my time in learning. Well it is very difficult to narrow down my experience in learning to one item, I’ll keep it to keep it as it applies to the ministry and my walk with the Lord.
First, I tried to select my electives for my degree so they would apply to the CEF ministry. This would improve my ability to lead CEF Greater Buffalo. The courses that I selected were Evangelism, Mentored Internship, and Leadership/ Vision Casting.
The course that benefitted the ministry the most was Leadership and Vision Casting. The most important thing that I learned about leadership is to lead as Jesus led. Jesus said, “ Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28. In the book of John it is recorded that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. In the same way we need to be willing to “wash other’s feet.”
The most significant course I took in regards to my spiritual walk was Apologetics. In this course I learned how to answer some important questions that most people have. I grew from taking this class. This is not because I can now answer some questions, but I understand how research and find the answers I seek.
Summer/Future Plans
We hope to have some summer outreaches in the next few months, maybe some “Backyard Bible Clubs” in the areas where we had Good News Clubs this past school year. Please pray about this with us.
I am looking forward to next school year. I have been working to get new school systems and schools started with Good News Clubs. Among these are Buffalo public school 93, Pinehurst Elementary, and the entire Orchard Park School district. I also will be working to reopen the school districts where we have had Good News Clubs established. These are: Lake Shore Central School District, Eden Central School District, Frontier Central School District, and Buffalo School 43 and School 83. Please be in prayer that these schools and districts will be open for in-person Good News Club this coming fall.