Child Evangelism Fellowship Story
Lauren, who is a recent high school graduate, had read the book study “Let the Nations Be Glad” by John Piper with other seniors in her youth group led by Pastor Adam Siskey. In his book, he says “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” That quote placed a conviction on Lauren Thrasher’s heart telling her that she needed to do more to share God’s word. Not only could she do so by spending the summer sharing the Gospel with kids, but also with little actions that let God’s love shine through her. The Bible study was based solely on being bold in their faith and knowing what missions really are. Lauren says that the book was so encouraging because it made her aware “that most Christian” people struggle with being bold and going.
Lauren Thrasher is currently serving as a local missionary for the summer with Christian Youth in Action, in connection with Child Evangelism Fellowship, in Spartanburg. As preparation for beginning her ministry work, she trained for two days at the local CEF office in Spartanburg learning the Wordless book and digging deeper into what prayer really is. After that, she went to Columbia International University where she learned to properly teach memory verses so that it would be easier for children to understand. She also learned more about the five bible stories that she will be using this summer and how to present them effectively. They include the story of Finding the lost sheep, Lazarus, feeding the 5000, Bartimaeus and Officials Son.
After their training with CEF and Columbia International University, the team will be hosting 5-day clubs in various Upstate locations where they will teach children songs, memory verses, the bible, and missionary stories. She will get the opportunity to serve with children of various ages. Lauren finds that seeing children and adults find salvation in the Lord is her greatest reward. She enjoys seeing the moment when a lightbulb goes off for the children as they begin to ask questions about the Lord and how they can get to know Him better. As someone who has always said “Believe in Jesus”, Lauren has learned through CEF to say “Believe in Jesus.” They believe in doing this because kids believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy. They want to show children the truth about Jesus, He isn’t a fairy tale or a myth, He is the Savior of the world.
Lauren asks that her church family be in prayer for this journey as she spends the summer teaching God’s word to future generations. You can support Child Evangelism Fellowship and learn more about the ministry at this link, https://www.cefonline.com/. You can also follow them on social media to learn about some unique ways you can support them. Pray for the Child Evangelism Fellowship Ministry as well as Lauren and her team as they go and teach local children about the love of Jesus Christ.
