WELCOME TO CHILD EVANGELISM FELLOWSHIP OF MANASOTA
CEF® Manasota is a chapter of the world’s largest children’s ministry, “Child Evangelism Fellowship”, a Bible-centered organization composed of born-again believers whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in the local church for Christian living.
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With more than 3,000 workers in nearly every country around the world, CEF has personal, individual ministry with nearly 20 million children each year. To date, more than 200,000,000 children have been ministered to.
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For over 85 years God has given CEF a number of unique ministries that have proven to be effective tools in our effort to evangelize and disciple children.
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CEF has many different ministries for children, but the primary ones are Good News Club® and 5-Day Club®.
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In the United States, an estimated 50 million young people are in public school each day. Many of these boys and girls are unchurched, come from broken homes, and have never heard a clear Gospel message. They represent one of the largest mission fields in the world today. Together, with your help, we can reach out to each boy and girl with the hope of Jesus Christ.
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Locally, the Good News Club has been used effectively to reach thousands of children here in the Manasota area of Manatee, Sarasota, and Hillsborough Counties. Trained teachers meet with groups of children in elementary schools with their parent’s permission. We are so thankful to be able to minister to children at many schools across these counties.
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CEF is a faith-supported ministry. Support comes through local churches, organizations, and individual believers who are led by God to faithfully pray, give financially or volunteer their time.
Our Strategy
TRAIN
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Child Evangelism Fellowship is committed to training and developing volunteers on how to conduct effective and meaningful ministry to children. Our Bi-Annual Good News Club Conferences (August and January) prepare volunteers from local area churches for the Good News Club program. We also train and prepare students to serve in local missions through our Christian Youth In Action program. Our statewide and national locations also offer online and regional training classes for those desiring to dive deep into children's ministry.
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EQUIP
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Once training is complete, our partners aren't left empty-handed. CEF equips each team with the needed materials to sponsor an after-school program. These Biblically-sound materials are produced by CEF Press. The materials include Bible Lessons, Song Videos, Small Group Activities, Game Resources, and colorful visuals (digital and print). Resources for children are also provided to assist them in furthering their walk with the Lord. In addition to the curriculum, CEF also provides our partners with practical materials for the organization and administration of the program.
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SUPPORT
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Ministry should never be done alone - nor is it fun attempting to do so! Regular communication, site visits, and leadership meetings occur throughout the year to ensure each outreach is supported and cared for well. CEF's staff assists in onboarding new volunteers and handling the relationship between the church and CEF.
Our Vision
Our ministry vision is to reach:
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Every Child, Every School, Every Day.
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Every Child:
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God has given His people a clear commission—to reach every creature with the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our special mission in CEF is to evangelize every child. In the last ministry year our workers worldwide reached nearly 20.0 million children! CEF is committed to reaching 15 percent more each year. Strategic ministry choices such as Good News Club in public schools and concentrating on high potential growth countries will help us reach this goal.
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Mark 16:15, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
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Every School:
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CEF is a worldwide ministry serving in every region of the world in an ever expanding way. Our desire in CEF Manasota, and in all locations, is to have a program in every school where elementary children are on campus.
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Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”
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Every Day:
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We are committed to leading children to be in God’s Word every day. As children grow in their relationship with the Lord through meditating on His Word, they develop godly character, which produces much fruit to the glory of God, including spreading the Gospel to their peers.
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Psalm 119:2, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
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Only as we trust in God and call upon Him are we empowered to do His will. Programs come after prayer, never before it.
Our Statement of Faith
We Believe
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1. That “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” by which we understand the whole book called THE BIBLE; that it is inerrant in the original writing and that its teaching and authority are absolute, supreme and final. That the Holy Spirit guided the holy men of old in all that they wrote. 2 Timothy 3:16; Deuteronomy 4:2; 2 Peter 1:21.
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2. The Godhead eternally exists in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having the same nature, attributes and perfection. Romans 1:20; Matthew 28:19; Deuteronomy 4:35; John 17:5.
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3. In the Personality and Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, truly God and truly man. John 1:1,14; John 10:30; Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:30-31; Philippians 2:5-7; 1 Timothy 3:16; Colossians 1:19.
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4. In the Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, the source and power of all acceptable worship and service, the infallible interpreter of the infallible Word, who indwells every true believer, and is ever present to testify of Christ, seeking to occupy us with Him and not with ourselves or our experiences. John 15:26; Acts 5:3, 4; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26, 27; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:13; John 16:13, 14.
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5. That man was created in the image of God, after His likeness, as stated in the Word of God, but the whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. Not only was his moral nature grievously injured by the fall but he totally lost all spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and subject to the power of the devil. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7, 8). Therefore, he cannot see nor enter the kingdom of God until he is born again by the Holy Spirit. That no degree of reformation however great, no attainment in morality however high, no culture however attractive, no humanitarian and philanthropic schemes and societies however useful, no baptism or other ordinance however administered, can help the sinner take even one step toward Heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word is absolutely essential to salvation. Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3; John 3:3, 6, 7; Titus 3:5.
6. That Jesus Christ became the sinner’s substitute before God, and died as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. That He was made a curse for the sinner, dying for his sins according to the Scriptures, that no repentance, no feeling, no faith, no good resolutions, no sincere efforts, no submission to the rules and regulations of any church can add in the very least to the value of the precious blood or to the merit of that finished work wrought for us by Him, who tasted death for every man. 1 John 2:2; Hebrews 2:9; Galatians 3:13; Romans 3:25; Romans 4:4-5; Romans 5:8; Colossians 1:13, 14, 20, 21.
7. In the resurrection of the crucified body of Jesus Christ; that His body was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God as the believer’s high priest and advocate. Luke 24:39; Acts 1:10-11; Ephesians 4:10; Hebrews 1:3; 1 John 2:1.
8. That Christ in the fullness of the blessings He has secured by His death and resurrection is received by faith alone and that the moment we trust Him as our Savior we pass out of death into everlasting life, justified from all things, accepted before the Father according to the measure of His acceptance, loved as He is loved and made one with Him. At the time of acceptance of Christ as Savior, He comes to dwell within the believer and to live out His life of holiness and power through him. Hebrews 9:15; John 5:24; Romans 3:28; Romans 4:3, 23-25; Ephesians 1:3; John 17:23; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 4:6-7; Galatians 5:16; Acts 1:8.
9. That the Church is composed of all those who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. It is the body and the bride of Christ. That every believer, whether Jew or Gentile, is baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, and having thus become members of one another we are responsible to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, rising above all sectarian prejudices and denominational bigotry and loving one another with a pure heart fervently. Ephesians 1:22, 23; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Corinthians 12:22-27; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Romans 12:4, 5; Ephesians 4:3-6; Ephesians 5:32; Philippians 2:1-5; Galatians 5:13-15.
10. That all believers in our Lord Jesus are called into a life of separation from worldly and sinful practices and should abstain from such amusements and habits as will cause others to stumble, or bring reproach upon the cross of Christ. Believers are created in Christ Jesus unto good works. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). 1 John 2:15, 16; Romans 13:14; Romans 14:13; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 2:10.
11. In the evangelization of the world; that the supreme mission of the people of God in this age is to preach the Gospel to every creature. That special emphasis should be placed upon the evangelization of children. Mark 16:15; 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19; Matthew 18:14.
12. In the personal return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; that the coming again of Jesus Christ is the “Blessed Hope” set before us, for which we should be constantly looking. Our citizenship is in Heaven from whence we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20). Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; John 14:1-3; Titus 2:13; Philippians 3:20, 21.
13. That the souls of those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul and body re-united shall be with Him forever in glory. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Luke 16:22, 25; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18.
14. That the souls of the lost remain after death in misery until the final judgment of the great white throne, when soul and body reunited at the resurrection shall be cast “Into the lake of fire” which is “the second death,” to be “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9). Luke 16:22-23, 27-28; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:5, 11-15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.
15. In the reality and personality of Satan, “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9) Ephesians 6:11, 12; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10.
