*Go is a pilot program of CEF of North Dakota with the permission of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Inc.

A New Method. The Same Message.

This summer, we are making some exciting changes to our summer ministries!

5-Day Clubs are becoming Go Clubs!
Christian Youth in Action is becoming Go Training!

Along with the new names, we are making some changes to the programs themselves, all with the purpose of being more effective as we share the Gospel of Christ with the children of North Dakota!

So, what’s changing?

Check out our FAQs below!

FAQs

Why are you changing summer ministries to Go Clubs and Go Training?

Over the past couple of years, the CEF staff from around the state, with input from our older summer missionaries, have been asking, “How can we most effectively reach kids in today’s culture?”

One of the key answers we keep returning to is building trust and making connections with the children we serve. That trust allows us to have meaningful and potentially life-changing conversations about Jesus Christ.

We hope the changes we are making will allow us to better build that trust and make those connections with the children who attend our clubs.

Once we realized the changes were leading us to four-day clubs, we also realized the name 5-Day Club would no longer work. After much discussion, we decided on the name Go Clubs. We wanted our training name to be more closely connected to our club name, so it became Go Training. Plus, Go Training is at lot easier to say than Christian Youth in Action!

We are so grateful to all our past Christian Youth in Action teens and our past 5-Day Club hosts! You have helped make our ministry what it is today, bringing us to this exciting step. We couldn’t have done it without you, and that’s still true today!

What is changing with 5-Day Clubs/Go Clubs?

Club times are being extended to 2 hours (previously the clubs were 1.5 hours.) The extra time will give the club leaders and hosts more time to form connections with the children through games, activities and the brand new small group time.

The clubs will still include the core activities that we love, such as Bible lessons, missions time, memory verses, and songs.

We are also shortening the standard club week to four days instead of five. Often, Fridays have the lowest club attendance as families go on trips or have other weekend activities. In addition, teaching clubs can be exhausting for our teens who put a lot of energy into each club. In order to best use our time with the children and to prevent summer burnout for our teens, moving to four-day weeks seems like the best thing to do.

Even with the move to four days, the longer clubs means we actually get 30 more minutes each week with the children.

We know the kids won’t remember every Bible lesson or memory verse, but they will remember how the teens showed them the love of Jesus in the time they spend together. We want to make sure we allow time in the clubs for that to happen.

What is changing with CYIA/Go Training?

In addition to our regular track classes, Bible studies, and Day of Prayer, this year’s training will also include new classes on how to have spiritual conversations with kids and how to make connections with children during game time and small group time. We’ll also have a little more time for all of us to build friendships with one another.

In order to fit all this in, training has been extended to 10 days, all of which will be spent together at Mount Carmel.

Why did you choose the name “Go?”

The name “Go” captures the reason we do both clubs and training. We take the Gospel to kids in obedience to Jesus’ command to “Go!” We go to where kids can gather, like backyards, parks, and daycares. And we hope to equip kids to go and do the same thing – to tell others about Jesus!

What are CYIAers going to be called now that it’s Go Training?

We’re still figuring that out and we are open to suggestions! For now, we are calling them Summer Missionaries.

Why does your website address still say “CYIA?”

We wanted to make sure that the training applications and web pages were still easy to find, especially for our returning students and as we are announcing this change in the middle of the application period. We will be changing the website address this summer after the application deadline has passed.

Is Camp Good News or the Good News Club program changing?

No. At this point, neither Camp Good News nor the Good News Club program are changing in major ways.

Is your teaching of the Gospel changing?

While some of the methods we use to teach the Gospel are changing, the message of the Gospel we are teaching never changes! We will not and cannot change the truths that all people are sinners in need of forgiveness, that Christ, God’s only son, came and died for those sins, and that He rose again three days later.

This is the truth that we base everything we do upon. Our desire is to share that message in an even clearer way. Each Go Club will include a presentation of the Gospel and an opportunity for children to respond to what Christ has done for them.

If I have questions about this change, who should I ask?

We would love to answer your questions!

You can contact your local chapter director. Their contact information can be found here.

You can also contact the state office using the contact form or by emailing us at office@ndcef.com/com or calling (701) 557-0777