This month we would like to highlight a volunteer who has meant so much to our chapter – Carol Allen Smith. I first met Carol at a Good News Club® (GNC) training where she was shepherding a new team formed at her church. We were paired to practice the Wordless Book together and were drawn into a special friendship.
Carol is a dedicated follower of the Lord Jesus who has a great love for the children that she has spent her life nurturing. She is a soft-spoken woman with a powerful voice for the Lord and will not be swayed from what is right. We were blessed with Carol’s leadership as a GNC Team Leader, a GNC Area Coordinator for Newport News/York Co, and a member of the Peninsula Committee. Carol is a powerful prayer warrior, leading prayer groups for her church and serving as Prayer Coordinator for our Chapter. A serious illness this spring forced Carol to step down from her Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF) commitments. She went through rehab and was recovering slowly. We were all rocked by the sudden death of her godly husband Jesse but are inspired by the grace and trust in the Lord she displays as she walks through a difficult time. Carol is a wonderful example of how God can use the life of a child who trusts Jesus early, is discipled as a teen, and then surrenders to the Lord’s purpose for her as an adult. This is Carol’s testimony on how much CEF has meant to her, written in 2017.
Why CEF is So Important to Me – Carol Smith
A rich CEF heritage has impacted my whole life. It has been and continues to be my life!
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:14-15
As a child my mother taught a Good News Club in our home. My father was on the local CEF board. My siblings and I also attended our friends’ club taught by Mrs. Hawk, the local CEF Director in Armstrong Co of Pennsylvania.
As a teen I attended training and taught 5-Day Clubs for 4 summers. Mrs. Hawk poured her life into us teens as a mentor and encourager. My senior year in high school, I also taught several Good News Clubs in homes. Both hostesses are now highly involved as CEF leaders.
As a young teen I heard God’s call to teach missionary children and ended up being a missionary in both the Philippines and Germany for 25 years where I continued to use CEF training and materials in presenting the gospel and raising up future missionaries.
Since returning to the U.S.A. and settling in Virginia, I had the privilege of introducing CEF to our church. The congregation embraced the idea and adopted the nearby school for a GNC. I am now excited to be part of the CEF of VA, Peninsula team God is raising up to reach the children in all 81 schools in our area. I want to let churches know that the time is NOW to sponsor a Good News Clubs in public schools. Praising the Lord for CEF and its impact in my life and throughout the world!
