July Greeting Friends,
We pray you are doing well, staying cool and are blessed by our great God. I hope you have plans to enjoy this week celebrating our nation’s 248th Independence Day.
As we look back on our nation’s history, we have much to thank God for in our nation’s Christian foundation. Our nation was founded on prayer and Biblical truth. As we consider the current state of our nation, we see the decline of the influence of God’s people, due to national complacency and apathy toward Biblical truth, both in the church and culture.
When was the last time that you read the Book of Nehemiah? It’s good to reflect on this book as we celebrate the 4th of July. In chapter 1, we find the powerful prayer of Nehemiah. This prayer is a great example of how we are to stand in the gap for our wayward sinful nation. Nehemiah prayed for his nation, repented on their behalf as well as his own, and reminded himself of the promises of God. Evil had overtaken the people of God because of their national sin of complacency toward sin and apathy towards God.
The importance of Nehemiah’s story isn’t his prayer, as important as prayer is. The important point of the story is that Nehemiah was not complacent nor apathetic to the plight of his people. Nehemiah vigorously went to work to rebuild and restore the walls of Jerusalem for his people’s future. He was patriotic, and as Christians we are to be patriotic too. We can take pride in our nation’s heritage of freedom and liberty for all, but we must also take responsibility for our nation’s future. Of course, the best way to do that is to pray and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, especially our children. They are the future.
I am excited to report that ‘More in 2024!’ is going strong and great things are developing through the end of the year. Summer Ice Cream Parties are happening, sharing the Good News with hundreds of children, and will continue through July and August. In June, 47 children were counseled for salvation. Our training ministry is going amazingly well with 190 volunteers trained in the past six months – 101 through our Hispanic ministry. We are looking forward to a few new Good News Clubs locations in September, with two in Aubrey. Our Back-to-School Children’s Ministry Conference is scheduled for August 3, as we plan ahead for the new school year. And, we are already thinking ahead towards Good News Christmas Parties in December.
To finish the year strong, we need your prayers and financial partnership so that more children will come to know Jesus is the hope they need for their future, especially in these troubled times. We cannot afford to be complacent or apathetic, which is why we are always inviting you to “Change the future with us!”
Have a blessed and safe 4th of July!
In Christ for the children!
Brian Considine, Director – CEF Dallas
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