Since you follow me, you know what's on my heart, but I'd like to know what's on yours. You all come from different backgrounds. Tell me about your family. What fills most of your time?
Here's a little bit deeper question. Do you believe Christians in this day and age are fulfilling the Great Comission (Christ's command to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth)? I have several differing opinions on the subject, different ways to answer that, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Where is your place in the Great Comission? Where do you see yourself? What are some ways you've been used of God?
Did you know that 85% of people who come to know Christ do so before the age of 14? That's a staggering statistic! With all the upheaval of 2020 so far, God has really redirected my husband and me, and we have a burden to reach these young people with the gospel during their formative years. We will be serving as home missionaries with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Arkansas. We'd love to have your partnership with us, because, as Paul said to the Philippians, Not that I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. (Philippians 4:17). We'd love to share the spiritual fruit with you.
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| A Child Evangelism Fellowship sponsored 5-day club in Le Mars, Iowa, 2018. |
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) was founded in 1937 by J. Irvin Overholtzer. The goal of CEF is "To evangelize children with the gospel of Christ, to disciple them in the word of God, and to establish them in a local church for Christian living." CEF is organized in all 50 US states, and in every nation on earth, except North Korea (and they're praying for opportunities there!). I have been involved with CEF in several capacities over the years. My husband and I will be serving in Little Rock Arkansas. I will be serving as the local director of the ministry, and Walter will be a ministry ambassador, representing it to churches and other ministries. We will be setting up and conducting Good News Clubs, camps, and training classes in order to get the gospel to the children of Arkansas.
When I think about the impact I've seen CEF have, I always think of Heather. I met Heather in 2002, when she signed up to be a summer missionary with us. She attended our Christian Youth in Action training. When the time came for her to teacher her first 5-day Bible club, she was enthusiastic and happy as she stared, but when she got to the end of the story, the part where the gospel was shared, she burst into tears. Through her tears, she told the children what Jesus had done for us. By the end, everyone was crying! Five children gave their lives to Christ. Heather was on fire! At the time, I thought, Wow, she's passionate!" About six months later, Heather shared with me that she hadn't truly been saved until that moment. That was the first time she understood the gospel for herself! Wow! I had had no idea our ministry had done that in her life! Heather continued being involved, and is now a fulltime missionary with CEF in San Diego county.
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| Heather and her husband Ferdinand. They have served the Lord in the Philippines and now the San Diego area. |
The last few years have been a little bit uncertain for us. My husband has been chasing a graduate degree, and, for various reasons, programs have closed. We spent two years in South Dakota and one year in Albuquerque. Just last year, my husband got a job he was really excited about, and that led us to move to Texas. All seemed well for several months. I thought we were finally getting our footing. However, Covid-19 threw us all for a loop. Walter's job closed down permanently, and he was unable to get unemployment. We have been living on our savings account these months. We decided to do the Experiencing God Bible study together, and that really opened our hearts to the idea that God had something else in store. In the midst of this, our beloved pastor from South Dakota, Steve Walters, passed away after a short battle with cancer. This grieved us, and also lit a fire in us to do ministry. Then, another tragedy struck when a good ministry friend of mine, Lisa Belk, was murdered in Iowa in mid-April. Lisa had been the local director of CEF in her area, and I had gotten to work with her when we lived in South Dakota (right on the Iowa state line). After some prayer, I asked the ministry people up in Iowa if there was a need we could fill. We were told that they were okay in that department, but that there were needs in Arkansas. Another good friend of mine from Iowa had moved down there, and was involved in CEF. I contacted her. One thing led to another, and God opened the door for us, just at the right time! We move June 17, and start ministry July 1.
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| South Dakota |
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| New Mexico |
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| Entering Texas September 2, 2019. It turned out to be a much shorter chapter than planned. |
One of CEF's key scripture verses says, Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:14). This verse always makes me think about Liam*. I met Liam when he was in fourth grade. He was part of our ministry, but made it every clear he was Jewish and didn't believe in Jesus. His parents weren't even seriously practicing Judaism, but he enjoyed the identity it gave him. One day, I told him, "Liam, did you know Jesus was Jewish?" He looked surprised at this, but then laughed and said ,"I don't need that stuff!" I shrugged and turned to walk away. "Wait!" Liam called out after I'd gotten about three steps. "Come back!" I did. "I think I do need Jesus," he said humbly. That day, Liam received Christ as his Savior. After that, he told everyone, "I'm related to Jesus in two ways! I'm Jewish like him and I'm His child!" The last time I saw him, he had graduated from sixth grade and was moving on to Junior High. He hugged me and said, "I'm so glad I'm going to Heaven!"
I'll never forget the day I met two of my dearest friends, Paul and Loni. They joined our church when I was eighteen so I can honestly say I have known them all of my adult life. When I met them, I had just gotten back from my first overseas mission trip. I had the honor of teaching their grandchildren in AWANA and children's church. We enjoyed spending time together, and they quickly became good friends with my parents as well, becoming almost a second set of parents to me. When I made the choice to go into the ministry, they were behind me 100%. They helped me in very practical ways. At the time, we all lived in the same area, and Paul offered to do my car repairs for free. They offered me emotional and spiritual support as well, being trusted friends I could talk to about ministry. I remember one time, as Paul was working on my car, he cheerfully told me, "I do this because I know it's saving souls."
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| My 1990 Toyota Corolla, which Paul did many repairs on, took me all over the county to share the gospel before it breathed its last!. |
Children are the future's leaders. They will inhabit tomorrow. My husband always remembered a defining moment as a teenager. His youth pastor told them on a particular evening, "You are the future doctors, professors, leaders. You are the future." He has since always felt a burden to make sure these future adults had the Lord in their lives, and had the chance to receive Him at that critical time in life when they were most likely to do so. By praying and partnering with our ministry, you are reaching tomorrow's leaders.
Some years ago, I was teaching a Good News Club in an RV park. The little general store had a back room, and they opened it up for us to do the Bible club. Children came from all over the neighborhood, and at first I was really excited. I quickly became overwhelmed, though. It was a rowdy group, and very hard to maintain. One particular day, it got so out of control the store owner had to come in and yell at all the kids. I began to dread my weekly Bible club there. One day, though, as I was getting out of my car, a three-year-old who came with his big brother and sister spotted me and yelled, "Hi church!" I was his church! This Good News Club was the place he was hearing about the Lord. My heart softened, and I was able to have a better perspective. This little boy's family took an interest in what their children were learning. A solid, Bible-teaching church in town adopted our Bible club, and the pastor showed up and introduced himself to the children and their families. The family of this little boy who said, "Hi church!" ended up all coming to know Christ, joining that church, and growing in faith!
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| It is thrilling to see children and families join a local body after our basic evangelism to them. |
I had shared at the beginning that I would love to have your partnership with us in this ministry. What does that look like? Well, with you as our partner, here are three things we would do for you: First, we would be an extension of your ministry. You would be part of that impact of reaching Arkansas' children for Christ. Second, we would communicate with you--not just in this type of way but personal one-on-one emails, letters and phone calls. We want an actual friendship with you. The third thing we'd do goes along with that, and that is, we would pray for your regularly. We'd be someone you could share your needs with and know we'd be praying for you. As our partners, there are three things you could do for us as well. The first would be to pray for us. We will definitely need it and greatly value it. Second is to financially invest in this ministry. The third is to advocate for our ministry--share these stories I've shared with others who might also want to be part of this work.
If you would like to partner with us, we would be overjoyed. Below is our missionary prayer card, with information for contacting us as well as supporting us (you can give online or write a check and mail it in). If it is too small to read, click on it, and it should be larger. Please reach out to us as a friend. We long to share this spiritual fruit with you, as well as friendship. My basic email address is jstoermer1982@gmail.com
