Why CEF is Important to Me

What is so special about CEF training?

This testimony comes from Carol Smith, who is currently serving on our CEF of Peninsula staff as Chapter Prayer Coordinator and GNC Area Coordinator for Newport News/Hampton. The Lord deepened Carol’s love for Him and desire to share the Gospel message through CEF and has used her mightily in the lives of others!


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

When I was a child, my mother taught a GNC 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 CEF training and taught 5 Day Clubs (three clubs per day, for 2+ months) for 4 summers. Mrs. Hawk poured her life into us teens as a mentor and encourager. As a senior in high school I also taught several Good News Clubs in homes. Both hostesses are now highly involved CEF leaders.

I heard God’s call to teach missionary children when I was still a young teen and ended up being a missionary in both the Philippines and Germany for 25 years. While overseas, 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. They embraced the idea and adopted the nearby school for a GNC. I am now excited to be part of the VA Peninsula team God is raising up to reach the children in all of our 84 schools.

Praising the Lord for CEF and its impact in my life and throughout the world!

Written by: Carol Smith – Chapter Prayer Coordinator and GNC Area Coordinator for Newport News/Hampton