Fall 2024 News & Prayer Letter

Hello, Friends and Supporters!

It was a good summer for CEF of Greater Buffalo Area. In this newsletter you will hear about our Summer 5-Day Clubs, a Super Saturday training event, our preparations for fall Good News Clubs, some potential church partnerships, and even how you can be involved in Christmas Party Clubs! (Is it too soon to start thinking about Christmas? J)

Prayer requests are listed throughout, and at the end.

Thank you for your support, CEF of GBA

A local hotel has been turned into temporary housing for those in need, and at a CEF of GBA Committee meeting, the idea was presented to host a one-day “Party Club” at this venue.

After securing permission from the building manager, a team of Committee members and staff planned an outreach on Tuesday, July 30. We stopped by on the Friday before to hand out fliers, make balloon animals, and promote the event.

That Tuesday we drew a crowd of over 30 children, and about as many teens and adults. They played games, sang songs, ate watermelon, and were taught the Gospel on a child’s level. Many hands were raised in profession of faith. The following week, a family from this location attended a Vacation Bible School at one of our partner churches, and two of the girls trusted Christ as their Savior. The next Sunday, the family attended a church service, and the mother was gloriously saved! Since this is transitional housing, that family has since moved on. Please pray that they can find another church to attend, so they can learn and grow.

With school back in session, we are preparing for our Good News Club restart. As always, there are obstacles. Districts that used to be welcoming are now trying to close their doors. New districts have presented nearly insurmountable piles of red tape for us to climb through. It can be discouraging when a church has teachers ready, but has no where to go. We have a very real enemy who seems to be holding our public schools hostage. The last thing he wants is for children to hear about Jesus. And yet! We also have a God who came to “set the captives free”! Please pray with us that our All-Powerful God will go before us, and open doors that no man can shut.

Our Ministry Coordinator Rob Perrotti has been pounding the pavement to connect with local pastors, and we are so excited for some of the emerging partnerships:

· A group of about a dozen inner-city pastors are burdened for the children of Buffalo and see the value of partnering with CEF of GBA.

· Three churches in the Northtowns are just waiting for schools to open up, so they can start Good News Clubs.

· A church in the Southtowns gave a substantial donation to our ministry.

· Two churches have expressed a desire to reach children in Chautauqua County.

This is in addition to the faithful church donors and GNC partners we already have! One purpose of our ministry is to come alongside churches and assist them in reaching the children in their communities. These partnerships are vital to reaching children.

On September 21, we held a “Super Saturday” training seminar at the Center Road Baptist Church in West Seneca. Attenders learned how to teach various segments of a typical Good News Club: songs, memory verse, a Bible lesson, an invitation to be saved, and review games. Although the turnout was not as high as we would have liked, those who did attend were SO excited to start or join Good News Clubs!

Every December, thousands of one-day Christmas Party Clubs take place around the globe. This year Child Evangelism Fellowship is praying for the most impactful Christmas season ever: to reach TEN MILLION children with the gospel! (In 2023, 8.8 million children attended a CPC!) There are 2 ways you can help:

1. Join the “50 Days of Prayer” Initiative. Starting Nov. 2, weekly prayer requests will be emailed to CEF prayer partners. Contact us if you would like to join this list.

2. Consider hosting a Christmas Party Club! There may be children in your own family or neighborhood that would come to know Jesus because of you.

Contact usContact Us to join this prayer team, or for more information/materials to host your own club.