Alan Wimbish State Coordinator of Child Evangelism Fellowship in New Mexico forwarded this to me. This article is written by Moises Esteves, VP of USA Ministries and Good News Club Teachers. This is a response to the Satan After School Clubs.
Dear Good News Club teams,
Thank you for all you do to help teach God’s Word to the boys and girls in Good News Club®.
The article concerning “after school Satan clubs” published on Saturday in the Washington Post was written by Katherine Stewart*. Sourcing that article, many other media outlets (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc.) have run similar pieces. The people behind this new effort are also atheists.
It is my absolute conviction that this is another wave of attacks on Child Evangelism Fellowship® with the specific goal of closing after-school Good News Clubs. The original article and its two dark videos are designed to scare the community and the parents so they will put pressure on schools not to accept the Satan club. This pressure can cause schools to have no choice but to close the door on all after-school clubs (including ASGNCs).
The people behind the after-school Satan clubs are atheists dressed up in scary costumes. This isn’t a Satanist club, this isn’t a devil worshiping club, these are atheists trying to scare parents with pitchfork and devil horns. The original article by Katherine Stewart, an atheist journalist, reads, “The Satanic Temple doesn’t espouse a belief in the existence of a supernatural being that other religions identify solemnly as Satan, or Lucifer or Beelzebub. The Temple rejects all forms of supernaturalism….”
This is a parody, a publicity stunt. These atheists have opposed the Good News Clubs for years. Last year their new atheist club in New York State failed and this effort will also fail because God is the head of this ministry and He is very protective of this ministry to the children that He deeply loves.
I am fully convinced that parents will not sign up their kids for a Satan club, just like they did not sign up their kids when the atheists in New York State started an atheist club. After starting with much media attention, it closed after a few weeks with no children attending. The Satan clubs will have the same end. Schools and parents should not overreact, but recognize this for the stunt it is.
Here’s how Good News Club teams can help:
Let’s mobilize prayer. Pray for wisdom in responding to the media. Pray that the school districts will recognize the public relations stunt and not overreact. Pray that the school districts will be determined to keep the ASGNCs open. Pray that the public relations around the country about GNCs (even if negative) will get many believers excited about joining the work of CEF. Pray for the salvation of these deceived atheists. Pray that God will turn to good the evil intended against CEF.
The CEF family needs to be assured that God is going to protect His CEF ministry. He is the Almighty God. “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Thank you for all you do for the sake of the children, even in the midst of spiritual warfare. Remember that Christ is always victorious!
Moisés Esteves
Vice President, USA Ministries
Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc.
* Katherine Stewart wrote a book in 2012 opposing Good News Clubs and CEF and since then has fueled attacks on GNCs in schools with her atheist friends.
The Gift of a Child by Alan Wimbish
What kind of gift can a child give? They don’t work so they can’t buy a gift from the store. Unless the child is a master carpenter, they probably can’t make you a gift with their own two hands. I have four children, so the gifts that my child bring to me are usually scribbled on paper with a dozen colors of crayon and, if I’m lucky, dobs of not-yet-dried glue on it. To my children, their gift is a masterpiece; to me, it’s a hodgepodge of colors in various art mediums. So I proudly hang each “masterpiece” on the wall by the kitchen table.
On July 23, my wife and I welcomed our fourth child into our family. Of course, she is beautiful and always brings a smile to my face. As I was in the delivery room on the night of my daughters birth, I couldn’t help but think of the miracle of everything going on in that hospital room. My beautiful wife who was getting ready to bring another life into the world. The doctors and nurses whom God had given wisdom to to help bring this little life into the world. The way God has caused the female body to literally morph itself to allow a baby to be delivered. As my daughter was born, God reminded me of his grace and mercy to every person. It’s a miracle that any of us survive the birth process. How helpless we all are after we are born. Human children are proof that evolution is false. When a horse, a giraffe, or just about any animal for that matter is born, it is able to stand up, feed, and follow the herd. Human babies, on the other hand, are completely helpless. There’s no standing up on their own, or being able to feed themselves within minutes. We hope and pray that after eighteen years of that child living with us, they maybe able to survive on their own. For a “species” that is at the top of the food chain, we would not have survived as a “species” if we had our babies to rely on to further our “species”. Our children need us. We need God. Without Him in our lives, we are helpless and without hope. Paul says in Ephesians 2 that before the Gentiles knew Christ, they were “separated from Christ” (ESV), and “strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in this world.” These are some of the saddest words in the Bible. Unfortunately, we are not all children of God. We don’t become children of God until we are “born” into His family through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Then comes a daily trusting and dependence upon God for everything. My children are totally dependent upon me and their mother for everything. They trust us for daily food, shelter, and instruction and training in how to eventually be adults. My children are teaching me a lot. Really, they give me gifts everyday. I see myself reflected in them. Not just physically, but also spiritually. Sometimes they behave, sometimes they misbehave. Sometimes I have to discipline them because I love them. Sometimes, they obey completely (it does happen on occasion) and even finish it up with a “Yes sir.” They like to do a lot of different things, but their most favorite thing to do is to be with me, in my presence. Please let me explain what I mean by that. As I am writing this, my oldest son is sitting beside me just “hangin’ out”. He has video games he could be playing or a backyard with toys to go play with. Instead, he wants to sit next to me and just talk. Our Heavenly Father desires the same thing from us. And because Christ has made peace between the Father and us, we can come before the Father and just “hang out” with Him and be in His presence.
My kids give me gifts every day.
Alan Wimbish is the State Coordinator of Child Evangelism Fellowship of New Mexico
