About Us
Child Evangelism Fellowship® is a Bible-centered organisation 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.
Our History
Growing up in a religious family, Jesse at the age of 12 was convicted of his own sin and sought counsel from his mother. He was told, “Son, you are too young.” It wasn’t until Overholtzer was in college that he heard the Gospel and trusted Christ as his Savior.
Later as a pastor Mr. Overholtzer read one of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons which stated, “A child of five, if properly instructed can as truly believe and be regenerated as an adult.” The Lord used this statement in Mr. O’s life to lead him to begin the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship when he was 60 years old. The ministry has grown into the largest evangelistic outreach to children in the world.
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 neighborhood settings such as schools and community centers all over the world. These fast-paced, one-hour programs are designed to bring the Gospel of Christ to children on their level in their environment.
Along with these clubs, CEF also has fair, camping, open-air, and internet ministries for children. Last year through these combined ministries over 19.8 million children worldwide heard the Good News.
CEF provides classes to train their workers and other Christians who are burdened for evangelizing children.
In fact, training Christians to effectively minister to children has been core to our ministry since it was founded in 1937. Training is offered throughout the Australia and around the world through seminars, conferences, and formal courses.
