Camp Good News Makes a Big Impact on Local Kids

The day after 4th of July, 5 children who had participated in our local Good News Club during the school year, boarded a van to make their way to Camp Good News near Lake Lopez in Arroyo Grande. Alina Raynor, Levy and Mai Cabrera, Ruby Celio, and Abbey McKee, along with Michael Ishimaru, the Good News Club leader who had the privilege and distinction of leading all 5 children during the school year at the three different clubs they attended, delved deeper into Bible study while at the same time having great fun! 

The best part of the camp, according to the campers, were pool and recreation time with basketball and bumper wrestling and the food. Each activity there was full of meaning, from a full Thanksgiving meal served on the traditional day of Thursday, to the Bible lessons that were described as "almost being there",  the sensation of experiencing the people come to life 2000+ years later.

Camper Alina told us that it was "one of the best camps she had ever attended and hopes to be able to go back next year!"  Camp Leader Michael truly enjoyed getting to the know the kids better and growing in Christ with them each day.

Camp Good News is led by the San Luis Obispo County CEF Chapter and is open to all kids throughout the state.  It is the only Camp Good News in the southern and central California areas, though there are other states that also lead a summer camp ministry. Camper Abbey may have started a legacy of Camp Good News in her family as her aunt also attended the same camp years ago as a young girl.

This summer marks the first time in many years that children from Good News Clubs in the Santa Barbara area have attended.  This wonderful experience for these 5 children was made possible by the generous donations of many people in the Santa Barbara.  Thank you to all who have made this time of growing closer to the Lord possible for these children.  You have blessed them abundantly!

Back to School Goals-GNC in 15 Schools! 

The 2010-11 school year was great for CEF of Santa Barbara. We had 10 elementary school clubs reaching over 300 children and over 75 decisions for Jesus Christ, not counting the families reached - moms, dads and siblings. 

Our work never ends, however, until we see a Good News Club in EVERY elementary and even junior high school in our area - that's a current total of more than 25 clubs!  

For this coming year, we our focusing on 15 elementary and junior high schools total.  This will require permission from the schools - the permits were submitted to 20 schools last May - and recruiting as many as 45 to 60 volunteers. This is a 50% increase from last year. Sounds ambitious, right?!  It is, but we know who will do it.  We also know that we are fulfilling the Great Commission in the most practical and one of the most fruitful ministries. All we have to do is ask, and obey that small voice that is calling us to do our part.

How you can help: 

Pray- Join us every Wednesday to pray during the noon hour for Good News Clubs in Santa Barbara. CLick HERE to take the prayer pledge., if you do we pledge to pray for you!

If you also feel so led, join some of us in fasting during that time as well.  You don't need to travel any where to make a prayer meeting, you can join us in spirit, wherever you may be, praying just for 15 minutes that God would supply all that we need - permission at the schools, volunteers support, financial support, and of course, the most important element - kids!

Get the Word Out-Talk to your friends, neighbors, pastors and anyone you think would be interested in hearing about our ministry. We need to get the word out to our community about the great work God is doing here. When was the last time you heard about a mission trip more successful? 

Volunteer- We are going to need volunteers with all kinds of gifting. We will need teachers, helpers, snack coordinators, administrators etc. Volunteering will change you, it will enrich your life and draw you closer to God. Just ask ANY current volunteer!  

Donate- We need money. No way around that. It takes almost $9/month per child to run a club. It takes about $1,000 to underwrite a club. This includes snacks, curriculum, supplies and special rewards for achievement.  If you don't have a lot of extra cash but love sweets or baking consider donating snacks. It takes money but it also takes a lot of little things that we all have access to. Contact Colleen to coordinate donations, or donate money online HERE. 

When we report back next month, we will see the fruits of our efforts!  

10th Anniversary of Supreme Court Ruling Affirming GNC Right to meet in Public Schools.  

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that upholds the right of Good News Clubs to meet in public school buildings after school hours. 

These Christian clubs are for elementary-age children and are sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship, the largest Christian ministry for children in the world. 

Since the ruling by the Supreme Court, the number of GNCs around the country has substantially increased. On June 11, 2001, the day the ruling was handed down, there were 1,155 GNCs in the United States. Today, there are over 3,500 clubs serving over 145,000 children around the country. Certainly, the easy access to the clubs the ruling affords contributes to this high number: by being in the public schools the clubs meet where the children already are. But once established, the popularity of the clubs is due to the demand by parents, who must give their permission for their children to attend. 

The remarks by this parent of Chicago, Illinois, are typical: "I want you to know that we are not a Bible family. I mean, we don't do Bible in our house, and we don't go to church. My son found out about your Good News Club from a friend and then asked me if he could join, and since I didn't think it could hurt him any, I said yes. Well, every Thursday after club he comes home so excited and then tells us all about what he learned. In fact, we are starting to name him our little 'Bible Man' since he is teaching the Bible to us. We kind of like it." 

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Summer Clubs  

Summer is normally a time to rest and relax, but not for CEF of Santa Barbara.  July in particular has been busy with CEF 5 Day Clubs. These clubs are a VBS that are designed to take anywhere there are kids, i.e. parks, neighborhood recreation facilities and even the YMCA.  Yes, the Santa Barbara Family YMCA once again hosted a 5 Day Club - this is the 5th year in a row!

The week started out easy with 7 kids the first night, however by the end of the week we almost 30 and on the last night, Friday, we had 8 professions of faith!

Rosario Zapata, owner of Queen of Clean Service in Santa Barbara and one of our newest board members, was busy inviting everyone in her neighborhood to the club.  Staff at the YMCA were also helping with promotion and publicity, directing kids each night to our program on the patio.

During the same week, Calvary Baptist Church also hosted a club, with almost 40 children attending throughout the week and then just a couple of weeks later, Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara had their turn with 30 more children.

Kids who participated throughout the week and who memorized each day's Bible verse were rewarded on the last day with a free movie ticket!  All toll, between the three clubs, over 25 children met the challenge to recite 5 verses during the week - some children as young as 5 years old!

Down in Carpinteria, we had a one day Party Club, hosted by the Nazarene Church, having fun with a lesson about Jesus using a watermelon as a teaching tool.  Yes, a watermelon!

A big thanks to all the volunteers, including Beverly Fox, Katie Clause, Cyndi Struven, Marge Smith, Becky Cohen, Gabriel Gonzalez, Sam Maxwell, Si and Michael Ishimaru - all who assisted at more than one club and Dan McDavid, Mark Skovorodko, Mike and Dawn Munden, Margi Fairchild, Joshua Ratelle, Cyndy Duerner, Sandra Ward, Mollie Moore, Melissa DeSoto, Rod Walters, Hank Aizpuru, Felicia Chukwuka and many, many more who helped the make the program fun and challenging.