Category: Newsletter Updates

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.

In this letter, you will read about our year-end school Good News Club statistics, updates from May’s Chicken Barbeque Fundraiser and June’s Appreciation Dinner, and information on coming events.

Prayer requests are listed throughout, and at the end.

Thank you for your support, CEF of GBA

Buffalo Public Schools:

Highgate Heights Elementary School (PS #80). It met every Monday.
This club was coordinated by Megan Kester, and she was assisted by Mary Scherrer. It was sponsored by The Chapel at Crosspoint. This school year they had 14 students attend, and 3 trusted Christ as Savior.

Eden School District:

One club available for the students of both Eden Elementary (grades 2-5) and Grover L Priess Primary School (grades K-2). It met every Tuesday.

This club was coordinated by Jen Keller from Old Time Baptist Church. She was assisted by Jessica Guadagno (also from Old Time), Sam and Victoria Hazlett (Faith Bible Baptist), Pastor Chris Baran (Faith Bible Baptist), and Pastor Rob Perrotti (Center Road Baptist).

This club was finally able to restart after Covid! They had 2 children “officially” registered, but 10 came throughout the year. Two of these trusted in Christ as their Savior.

Lake Shore Central School District:

The AJ Schmidt Elementary School Club met every Thursday. It was coordinated by Amanda Smith. She was assisted by her daughers Ceili and Chloe, Dave Wrazien, and Judy Driscoll. It was sponsored by the Hilltop Baptist Church.

They had 7 students registered, but one never attended. Of the 6 that did attend, five of them trusted in Jesus this school year.

The Highland Elementary School Club met every Tuesday. It was also coordinated by Amanda Smith. She was again assisted by Ceili, Chloe, and Dave Wrazien, and Kristen Freeman also taught at this club. It was also sponsored by the Hilltop Baptist Church.

They had 12 students registered, and 5 were saved this school year.

The JT Waugh Elementary School Club met every Tuesday. It was coordinated by Rebekah Tablante. Eva Buckland was the main teacher, and they were assisted by Hope Thompson, Calvin Tablante, and Analise Uptegrove. It was sponsored by Faith Bible Baptist Church.

They had 12 students, and 3 were saved this year.

Frontier Central School District:

The Blasdell Elementary Club was open every Thursday. It was coordinated by Julie White, and her husband Charles and friend Darlene were trained and available to help. It was sponsored by Blasdell Church of Christ.

This club did not have any students registered. However, the library has been allocated for our use every Thursday afternoon, so Julie has faithfully gone and prayed in that room. She has built relationships with custodians and other school staff.

The Cloverbank Elementary School Club was also open to any students who attended Big Tree Elementary School. They met every Tuesday. It was coordinated by Jen Keller. The team included her, Beth Wainwright and Jon Bitner. It was sponsored by Old Time Baptist Church.

They had 10 students attend, and 3 put their faith in Christ during the club.

65 children attended GNCs this school year.

21 of these put their faith in Jesus for salvation!

Please rejoice with us!

Pray for these precious children to grow closer to the Lord over the summer. Pray for those who got saved to be able to grow in their new faith. Pray for our teachers to be excited for the next school year.

A first-grader in one of our schools, explaining last week’s lesson to a student who had been absent: “Joseph’s brothers hated him so much that they sold him to a well. Not all of his brothers, though. His youngest brother Peter didn’t do anything wrong.”

After our Good News Clubs ended for the year, we invited our GNC teachers, donors, and church partners to a dinner in their honor. This was our first attempt at this sort of event, but we were happy that about 40 people came out. Our chapter chairman, our ministry coordinator, and our treasurer (who also works for a local school district) each took a turn showing appreciation to our church partners, encouraging our teachers, and thanking our donors.

A delicious meal was served, followed by dessert and a time of open testimony. Many of the GNC teachers told stories of children trusting in Christ as Savior, then giving evidence of that salvation. Some highlights of testimony time included….

–  A little boy wanted so badly to share Jesus with someone that he got permission from the GNC teacher to immediately give a gospel tract to the school custodian.

– A parent thanked a GNC teacher for the influence they had in her son’s life nearly a decade ago, crediting the club with many of her son’s good decisions in college.

– The son of one of our teachers (who also attends club) is known in his school for letting his little light shine for Jesus.

– A girl from an unchurched home begged her parents to allow her to attend club a second year, saying “I need to know more about God!”

– A pastor allowed his church members to start clubs in their local schools, though he knew he personally would not be able to be involved, and the children that have been saved because of it.

– A sister who trusted Christ one week at club, and her little brother who came forward for counsel a few weeks later, and also trusted in Christ.

Praise the Lord for what He has done through us in our local public schools. Pray for more schools to open to us next year, and churches to partner with us.

We are pleased to report the success of our first fundraiser of 2024 – a Wendels chicken barbecue held at the West Falls Bible Church. A steady stream of vehicles came through the church parking lot, starting even before we opened at noon. We sold out by 4:00pm, and netted a strong profit.

Thank you to all who attended and supported this effort. If you are in the area, please plan to support our next fundraiser:

Chiavetta’s Chicken BBQ

Friday, September 13, 3:00pm – Sold Out

Old Time Baptist Church, 5599 Camp Rd (Route 75) in Hamburg

Please pray for the financial stability of our chapter.

Of course, you don’t have to attend a fundraiser to support CEF of Greater Buffalo! Your help is needed and appreciated any day of the year.

Lord willing, we will have eight 5-Day Clubs in Buffalo and around Erie County this year! These will take place in public parks, in people’s backyards, on church properties, and hopefully even in homeless shelters. We pray that our next letter will be full of stories of how God did amazing things in our neighborhoods this summer.

Please pray for those coordinating 5-Day Clubs to have wisdom in planning. Pray for many children to come, and many souls to be saved.

A training seminar for anyone interested in teaching at a Good News Club will be held on Saturday, August 17, at the Center Road Baptist Church, 412 Center Rd, West Seneca NY. More information will be forthcoming. Please contact us if you are interested.

A few months ago we hired a “Ministry Coordinator” to oversee our gospel-sharing efforts in Western NY. He is already doing a tremendous job reaching out to local schools and churches, and evangelizing children. (We hope to soon start sending monthly updates from him, along with these quarterly newsletters.)

With added staff comes added financial responsibility. We are praying for 25 individuals that will pledge $50 per month, and 10 churches or businesses that will pledge $100 per month to our chapter. Donors may choose to give to our chapter, or directly to our coordinator.

A Note to our Current Supporters: We have recently switched to a different giving platform that will handle financial donations. If you have set up “recurring donations” with us before, you will need to reenter your information into our new system. This should take just a few minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity. We could not do what we do if not for you.

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!