This past week I attended a fundraiser banquet sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF) of Northern Virginia.  Under the theme of “Send the Light,” the banquet sought to raise awareness of the awesome opportunity to minister to the children of Northern Virginia and raise the funds necessary to expand the work of CEF NOVA through Good News Clubs® (GNC). Good News Clubs provide children in public schools (yes, public schools!) an opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and learn how much God loves them.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2001 (in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School District) that Good News Clubs can meet in public schools after school hours on the same terms as other community groups with parental permission.  
Studies have shown that from 60 to 85 percent of all Christians make the decision to follow Jesus Christ before reaching the age of 12.  The 2001 Supreme Court decision helped open the doors to teach God’s Word to tens of thousands of children in this age group.  And in Northern Virginia alone, children from more than 80 different ethnic backgrounds attend public schools, effectively turning public schools into a mission field ready for harvest.  Good News Clubs indeed provide an awesome opportunity to get involved in “overseas” missions without having to travel overseas!  
Good News Clubs meet once a week in the public schools during the school year for about 90 minutes. They are led by a team of three to four volunteers who love children and desire that they come to know Jesus Christ personally and grow in Him.   Over 5,000 Good News Clubs are being held in public elementary schools across the USA.  In Northern Virginia, 28 schools (out of about 330 public elementary schools) have Good News Clubs, reaching close to 900 children each week. In Maryland, Good News Clubs are in over 70 schools (out of 900 elementary schools). This means there still remain over 1000 public elementary schools in Northern Virginia and Maryland without Good News Clubs, having forfeited the opportunity to reach children who may never hear the Gospel otherwise.
To get a GNC in every public school may seem like an impossible task, but it can happen if more volunteers and churches are involved.  I don’t have the exact numbers, but I believe if every church adopted one nearby elementary school, all the remaining schools will be covered.  We at NCFC spend thousands of dollars take the Gospel “to the ends of the earth” through overseas short-term missions, and we should.  But how about ministering to the children from the ends of the earth and are living right in our own backyards as well?  If you cannot volunteer your time, you can help other volunteers through your tax-deductible donations so necessary supplies and snacks can be purchased.  Do you know if your child’s school already has a GNC? If so, would you be willing to volunteer your time?  If not, would you be willing to prayerfully consider starting one?
Several members of NCFC Virginia Campus have also attended the CEF banquet, and I am super excited that a few of them are prayerfully considering adopting an elementary school in the Ashburn area.  Jesus has said, “It is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish.”  I pray that NCFC members become more active in preaching the Gospel to the children in our “Jerusalem” first, and then be His “witnesses in all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

From Pastor Sara’s Heart
March 29, 2015

“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14
There is a documentary movie in theaters now called The Drop Box. It’s about a South Korean pastor who has constructed a specially made drop off receptacle at his home entrance in Seoul where unwanted babies born with special needs or to unwed mothers can be anonymously dropped off. Day or night, when a baby is dropped off a bell tone sounds and this pastor and his staff rush to gather the infant child in their arms to pray over and begin the long and arduous journey of providing a lifetime of care and love. It’s both beautiful yet heart-breaking to see.
A month ago I had seen a news clip on the internet of this extraordinary Christian and the saga of his amazing devotion to these children. I didn’t realize it was a documentary movie that would be released in the US until it was mentioned at church staff lunch last week that people had recently seen it. My wife and I had already talked about this story because it has somewhat of a connection to me personally. When I had visited Seoul for two months back in ’96 on a law school internship it was the first time I had returned there since being adopted when I was about 2 years old. My wife (whom I had met that Summer!) had accompanied me to the Red Cross facility there in Seoul where I was prior to adoption to the US. To my surprise they actually had a record of me in their archives from 1969 (wow, I’M OLD!). There wasn’t a lot of information but it did indicate that I had been dropped off at the Red Cross station by a grandmother.
Many of the unwanted Korean newborns aren’t afforded at least this consideration. They are often abandoned on the street by the birth parents or simply disposed of. So much so that this Korean pastor felt compelled to devise this doorway drop box to rescue these precious lives. By grace he did not seek to condemn others but to simply save lives. Every nation struggles with this challenge of providing for unwanted pregnancies, including the US (for example, laws in many jurisdictions allow unwanted babies to be dropped off at police/fire stations without threat of criminal prosecution). However, these Korean children have very little support domestically. Furthermore there have been more than 150,000 international adoptions of Korean babies over the years.
There is obviously something about the culture and social mores that makes it difficult if not impossible for these children to survive and be accepted in their own country, by their own people. The strict adherence to family honor and bloodlines no doubt contributes to this tragic dilemma where lives deemed unfit by the very society that produced them are rejected outright. But there is hope. God’s will cannot be denied. Could it be that the steadfast unyielding work of faithful servants of the Lord such as this pastor will witness to a nation? There is still work to be done. Slowly but surely in God’s own timing may there come a day when God’s unconditional love will prevail over every tribe and nation. Lord willing, hearts and minds will be transformed to transcend cultural identity to an identity in Christ Jesus. Amen to that.

From Pastor Mark’s Heart
March 22, 2015