Her grandfather asked: “Who do you look like?” The four-year-old happily replied: “I think I look like you.” Then her grandfather showed her a mirror and repeated the question. She thought for a while and said, “My Dada.”
Her grandfather probed further: “So, whose daughter are you?” Previously, her answer would always be “I am my grandpa’s daughter”, smartly worded to please her grandfather. But this time, she piped up: “I am Jesus Appachan’s daughter!” (Appachan means “Father” in their dialect.)
This four-year-old’s uncle, who had been trained through Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), had just shared the Gospel with her using the Wordless Book. Praise be to God! This testimony affirms CEF’s belief that young children, if properly instructed, can believe in Jesus and be regenerated.
In fact, George Barna’s User-Friendly Churches emphasises that ministering to young people is key to a growing, healthy church. Children represent the highest potential for conversion. Ministering to them is also one way of attracting adults. Children also frequently have a profound effect on the spiritual development of their parents, and they have a dynamic impact on the church environment. Importantly, today’s children and youth are the leaders of tomorrow.
Good News Clubs
CEF was established to reach and teach children. In the early days, we held Good News Clubs® (GNC) in homes and churches. Each week, our trained teachers would meet with groups of children to present an exciting Bible lesson. The teacher would reinforce the lesson with songs, Scripture memory, a mission story, review games or other activities. However, it has become increasingly difficult to get such groups together with Singaporeans being so busy. So our desire is to start GNC in our mission schools. Will you join us in prayer?
The MM Camp for young people
Meanwhile, we seek to reach students by training young people to witness to their friends. We provide training in how to share the Gospel using proven tools like the Wordless Book and the ‘Gospel Flipper-Flapper’. In 2015, we developed an Android app called ‘The Romans Road to Heaven’ (view the html version at www.cef-singapore.com/RR5).
In our inaugural Make Your Mark (MM) Camp, we trained 16 students and 13 Singapore Youth for Christ staff and volunteers to use the app. We also held an evangelistic party for our participants and four guests. Our students put their training into practice, and one of our guests made a confession of faith in Christ and was willing to meet for follow-up.
This year, we will be organising the MM Camp again on 18-19 Oct (during the PSLE marking days). Participants will be encouraged to invite their non-Christian friends for an evangelistic fun party on Saturday, 22 Oct. Your church is welcome to send a delegation of students to this camp.
We have also prepared a series of digital booklets specifically for teens and young adults to help them grow in their relationship with and service to the Lord. You can access these booklets on our website.
The ASST Programme for Sunday School teachers
We launched the Academy of Sunday School Teachers (ASST, pronounced “assist”) in February 2014. The aim is to assist teachers to reach and teach children. We want to help create a vibrant Sunday School where children look forward to coming for lessons. Sunday School should be where they have fun while learning about God, and where their lives are being transformed. We also visualise Sunday School as the catalyst for a growing number of children coming to know and love our God. ASST was developed to realise this vision.
Following the success of ASST courses, we are launching a two-year training programme in 2017. The programme caters to Sunday School teachers and those ministering to children in various capacities, and is designed to strengthen their grasp of the Bible as well as the principles and methods for teaching children effectively. It will have two tracks, the Bible track and the Methods track. Check it out at www.cef-singapore.com/ASST.html and decide if ASST is an appropriate training vehicle for your Sunday School teachers.
We also provide free online training videos on our website. Pastors and children’s ministry leaders can organise training around these videos. They can use these resources to develop the skills of new and experienced teachers, rounding off with a discussion on how to apply the lessons learned to their own church settings.
Workshops for parents
We also run parenting workshops. One of the favourites is ‘Dramatised Family Devotions’, where we share with parents of pre-schoolers and children in lower Primary levels how they can teach the Word of God in the casual setting of their homes, by acting out Bible stories.
To find out more about our various programmes, and to let us know how we can be of service to you in helping to reach children, just get in touch with us.
Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14, NASB)
What is CEF?
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is a Bible-centred, worldwide organisation comprising born-again believers whose purpose is to:
- evangelise boys and girls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- disciple them in the Word of God
- establish them in the local church.
Presently, we have ministries in 195 out of 208 countries. In 1970, CEF reached the shores of Singapore and CEF Singapore was officially established in March 1977.
How can you help? You can support us financially. CEF Singapore is supported entirely through local funds – individual gifts from the Lord’s people and contributions from local churches. Our policy is “Ask God and tell His people”.
Child Evangelism Fellowship (S) Ltd
164 Bukit Merah Central
#04-3647 Singapore 150164
Tel: 6276-1201
Website: www.cef-singapore.com
Email: cefsing@yahoo.com.sg
Photos courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship Singapore
Alan S. L. Wong –
is the National Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship Singapore. He worships at Faith Methodist Church and serves as a Sunday School teacher. He is also the webmaster of an education and parenting website, ‘Parenting the Next Generation’.