CEF of Florida's Heartland

09/22/2026

Thanks to Dorothy McGinley, a wonderful fellow worker in the ministry who leads the Cracker Trail GNC in Sebring, I had the pleasure of meeting a CEF pioneer here in Florida.

Myra Laird was one of the early Directors in the state. She served in the 60’s and 70’s by going all over the state teaching volunteers how to reach children with the Gospel in their communities. Along with Theresa Keller, they formed the powerhouse teaching duo, K & L Training Team, that laid the foundation for the work that continues today.

Ms. Laird also organized clubs and taught children in Liberia through the Serving in Mission (SIM) organization for many years before returning to Florida.

It was such a blessing to sit with her, hear some of her stories, and be reminded that what we are doing today is part of a much bigger story. Faithful servants have gone before us, investing in children and equipping others to share the Gospel, and we are privileged to continue that work.

09/09/2026

Our first club of the school year started yesterday at Lake Shipp Elementary in Winter Haven 🙌

May the Lord fill our cup with living waters that overflows into the lives of the children we minister to this year 🙏

08/31/2026

To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my wife and I took a road trip up the East Coast, including a couple of days in Washington, D.C.

Of course, I had to represent Good News Club wherever I went! 😊 I proudly wore my GNC shirt throughout the city, including in front of the United States Supreme Court. The very place where, also 25 years ago, the Good News Club v. Milford Central School case was decided.

That landmark ruling affirmed that public schools cannot exclude religious groups from using their facilities when other community groups are allowed to meet there.

It opened doors.

Although it’s still a challenge to walk through those doors, the difference is we get to knock knowing that we have this important ruling behind us.

Today, those doors are still being opened. Across the country, Good News Clubs are starting up again and thousands of children are hearing the Gospel.

What a privilege. What a responsibility.

The door has been opened. Now let’s keep walking through it!

08/06/2026

We had a great time setting up at Orientation today. What a joy to see students again who were excited to see us and are eager to attend Good News Clubs again 🙌 We can’t wait to get started!

07/29/2026

Praising God for this summer and for all the children that our CYiA team were able to reach through 5-Day Clubs! So proud of our young missionaries' commitment to sharing the Gospel in our area and for all the hard work they put into it.

07/21/2026

Last week I was in the Dominican Republic with a church group from PA. Some of us put together a weeklong basketball clinic for local boys of Villa Tapia, ages 12-19. We did basketball drills in the morning and ran games in the afternoon each day. During lunch, as the players ate, I had a chance to share with them the Gospel message. I used the Spanish Wordless Book curriculum from CEF and to have the boys follow along each day, I used the colorful Butch Morley Gospel basketball I received from Butch at J316 Ministries It was such an impactful tool to use each day as the message of Salvation was shared, reviewed, and discussed.

The last day we had a tournament and handed out trophies to the winners. Everyone received Bibles, basketballs, medallions, wordless book bracelets, headbands, Nike socks, and sportscards as prizes. The clinic MVP was presented the colorful Butch Morley basketball. The best part about the last day was that 24 young men prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior! 🙌

Thank you to all that supported this mission and made it possible for this team to go down to the DR. Your generosity and love helped us to be a blessing to the local kids of Villa Tapia 🙏🇩🇴🏀❤️

07/08/2026

Today we were short a couple of CYiA missionaries for 5-Day clubs, leaving just Leo and Natalya to lead. They stepped up with confidence, grace, and a heart to serve. I couldn’t be more proud of how they trusted the Lord and faithfully shared the Gospel!

The 2 clubs we had are very different so they had to adapt and have a strategy for each club. Our second club at the Haines City Boys & Girls Club was packed, which can be a huge challenge, but they remained calm, focused, and intentional with every child.

What a joy to see God move! Around 25 children responded to the invitation and 15 kids made a personal decision to trust in Jesus, praying to ask for His forgiveness and inviting Him into their lives! 🙌

God’s grace truly is sufficient for every challenge we face in life. It was so good for them to see God work through a difficult situation today.

Thank you for praying for these young missionaries as they boldly make Christ known to the children in our community. Please continue praying as we share the Gospel with even more boys and girls this week!

07/02/2026

It was great spending time with this wonderful brother, Pastor Rob. He gifted hundreds of books to the chapter to hand out to students this year at Good News Clubs 🙌

Delivering children's books with a friend!!!