WHO WE ARE
Heartland of Florida is a local chapter of 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 a local church for Christian living.
Heartland of Florida is a chapter of
Child Evangelism Fellowship of Florida
that serves the counties of Polk,
Highlands, Okeechobee, and Hardee
Counties.
With more than 3,000 workers in nearly every country around the world, CEF had personal, individual ministry with more than 20 million children last year. To date, more than 200,000,000 children have been ministered to.
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Over the past 87 years God has given CEF a number of unique ministries which have proven to be effective tools in our effort to evangelize and disciple children.
Local Director
WHAT WE DO
CEF has many different ministries for children, but the primary ones are the Good News Club and the 5-Day Club.
The Good News Club and 5-Day Club ministries take place in a variety of places including, but not limited to: schools, daycares, community centers, and churches. These fast-paced, one-hour programs are designed to bring the Gospel of Christ to children on their level in their environment.
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In our chapter alone, there are 96 public elementary schools! We have the potential to make a eternal IMPACT on the lives of thousand of children!
HOW WE DO IT
TRAIN
Child Evangelism Fellowship is committed to training and developing volunteers on how to conduct effective and meaningful ministry to children. CEF West Central offers extensive training to prepare volunteers to serve in the Good News Clubs. (More information on this is available on our "Get Involved" page.)
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
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. The materials include Bible Lessons, Song Music 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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ASSIST
Ministry should never be done alone - nor is it fun! Each partner is assigned a Ministry Coordinator that will walk alongside them as the church impacts their community. Regular communication, site visits, and leadership meetings occur throughout the year to ensure each outreach is supported and cared for well. CEF's staff assist in onboarding new volunteers and handling the relationship between the church and CEF.
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SUPPORT
Child Evangelism Fellowship is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Our organization is not funded through Government grants or any federal funds. Funds are raised by the local staff and board and are provided through Christian individuals, businesses, and churches who believe in our mission and seek to partner with us as we reach the community.
Would you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly supporter?
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Every
child
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."
Mark 16:15
every
school
"So it is not the will of My Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
Matthew 18:14
every
day
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? ...As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Romans 10:14-15
Our Roots
An Excerpt from CEF Founding Father, J. Irvin Overholtzer
A recently discovered message reveals the heart of the founder of Child Evangelism Fellowship, J. Irvin Overholtzer. In it “Mr. O” speaks about his conviction to evangelize children and tells the wonderful story of how CEF was born.
“I was told that a child of five, if properly instructed, can as truly believe as anyone. I saw, that if there was any truth in this statement, there was a door of opportunity lying open before us that we were not entering at all. I knew of no one, at this time, that was leading small children to Christ.
Finally, when I could not get away from the conviction to do something about it, I decided to make an experiment. I decided to lead some children to Christ, and watched them to see if there was any evidence of their being regenerated. I knew that the members of my church would not believe in what I was doing, so I attempted to do this secretly.
We had quite a large Sunday school, and a good many children were attending Sunday school from non-Christian homes. I gave them the Gospel as simply and as fairly as I knew how to, and then led them to a definite acceptance of Christ. Now I didn’t try children as young as five years old; the children that I dealt with were 9, 10, 11 and 12.
I did keep this much of a record– I dealt with twenty-one children before I was convinced. What finally convinced me, was that I had led two little girls, nine and eleven, to Christ. Their father was an infidel, and mother had never attended church. I led these girls to Christ.
The following Sunday, the mother of these two little girls came to church. After the first invitation that was given, she was the very first one to accept Christ. I went to her and said, ‘Would you mind telling me what has influenced you to come to Christ?’ and she said, ‘the changed lives of my two little girls.’ That is what started me in child evangelism.”
–J. Irvin Overholtzer
