As Pastor Arnaldo Silva drove down the road, he suddenly saw a sign that reminded him of his home and his teenage years in Paraguay. It wasn’t a panaderia or supermercado that caught his eye, it was the Child Evangelism Fellowship® office.
As a teen, Arnaldo was invited to attend a training hosted by Child Evangelism Fellowship of Paraguay where he learned how to share the Gospel with children using five simple colors. The training had left a big impact on Arnaldo, and now, many years later as an adult living in America, the Father was literally bringing Child Evangelism Fellowship into his path again.
Several weeks passed before Arnaldo finally stopped by the CEF ® office and rang the doorbell. He remembered the excellent curriculum that CEF had to offer, and he remembered the impactful training that he had received as a teen. But today, the burning question on his heart was, “How can I share these resources and this training with others in the Hispanic community where I live now?”
Over time, the Greenville/Piedmont chapter worked with Arnaldo to begin organizing trainings for the Hispanic community in our area – trainings that would equip faithful believers to go and teach others also. Among those who were trained was a young thirteen-year-old girl named Suany. Suany took in the training like a sponge and then eagerly returned to her church ready to share the Gospel with the children using the same simple colors that Arnaldo had learned years ago. As Suany shared, she showed the children a Wordless Book containing the five colors and carefully included every point that she had learned at the training the week before. The children listened intently as Suany shared the Gospel with them, but Suany didn’t want the Gospel message to stop with the children in her class. How could she equip them to share it with others also? She had an idea, and she spent the next week busy at work preparing handmade Wordless Books for all the children in her class. The following Sunday, the children squealed with delight as Suany presented the Wordless Books to them. The children couldn’t wait to share the Gospel with others!
Because of the training that Suany received from CEF, Suany has been given more responsibilities at her church, and now she is even training her mom to serve in children’s ministry.
Arnaldo, Suany and CEF know the importance of obeying Paul’s instructions to Timothy when he wrote,
“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV)
As the Greenville/Piedmont chapter works to carry out our mission of enlisting, equipping an encouraging qualified leaders to evangelize, disciple and establish children in local churches, we are grateful for your prayers on our behalf and for your selfless financial gifts that are impacting people like Arnaldo and Suany and helping them take the Gospel to every child, in every neighborhood, every day.
