Summer Greetings Friends!
We pray this email finds you well, and blessed with health and happiness in the LORD!
As we head into the “Dog Days” of Summer, with all the 100+ degree days continuing, things are heating up for another great year of ministry ahead of us. We hope and pray you are planning to be a part of what God will do this next 12 months.
EQUIPPING THE SAINTS
This past Saturday, we launched our Teaching Children Effectively Level 1 training with 13 students, most of whom are new to CEF. One cool thing that God did in putting this training together was to assemble an ethnically diverse team of instructors and students. Our instructors are from Spain, Mexico, Korea, and India. Several of our students are Chinese. This is a wonderful representation of the ethnic and cultural diversity of our chapter region.
MULTIPLYING LEADERS
Two of our TCE leaders, Celia Kopenhaver and Grace Kim, are brand new Instructors who are now multiplying leaders. Our current TCE students have self-identified as leaders and we know God will use them as they step out in faith to reach and teach more children. But what about you? Are you a leader?
You may not think of yourself as a leader because you don’t hold a leadership position. Leadership is not about position but heart. “Leadership is influence,” according to John Maxwell the famed leadership coach. Maxwell has identified what he calls 21 Irrefutable Attributes of a Leader. Two of these attributes are passion and willingness to invest in others. Do you have passion for children to know Jesus and are you willing to invest in others? If so, we have leadership opportunities available for you.
REACHING THE NATIONS
Through our new Asian Ministry Coordinator, Grace Kim, who joined our team last winter, we are seeing God at work opening new doors in the Asian community. Several Chinese and Korean churches have received training. We’re working on plans with other communities here in North Texas and see a great opportunity to equip and serve our international churches. Reaching the nations among us is God’s heart and therefore part of our strategic plan. Here’s just a snapshot of the ethnic and cultural diversity of our chapter:
There are nearly 1 million children living in our chapter region, many are from regions with little Gospel access and live in non-Christian homes. God brought these families and children here for a reason. According to Acts 17:27 “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” The question is: How are we going to reach them to tell them all about Jesus and God’s love for them?
We must mobilize more prayer, more workers, more outreach! You can join our new initiative 1 Million Prayer and pray daily.
You can share the opportunity within your sphere of influence leading up to North Texas Giving Day.
You can get trained to reach children through Good News Clubs — and even start new clubs — through our Quick Start Training.
You can volunteer as an Ambassador to open new locations for outreach in your community.
You can use your influence, passion, and willingness to invest in others in the Battle for Today’s Child.
Will you let God use you in a greater way so that by working together we can reach more children, “win more of them,” and as God leads change the culture? Time is of the essence as eternity matters!
For the Children!
Brian Considine, CEF Dallas Director