A senior leader of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) says the global Christian ministry is making steady progress toward its long-term goal of sharing the good news about Jesus with 100 million children worldwide, a target tied to its broader “Billion Soul Partnership” initiative.
Fred Pry, CEF Vice President of Administration, said the organization’s expanding global workforce and volunteer base are positioning it to reach five percent of the world’s estimated two billion children. Pry made the comment in a New Year 2025-2026 update reflecting on the ministry’s worldwide outreach, training efforts and growth across the U.S. and most countries around the world.
“With 3,600 staff and hundreds of thousands of volunteers worldwide, we are well on the way to our long-term goal of sharing the Good News of the Gospel with 100 million children,” said Pry.
Founded in 1937 by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, it has grown into the world's largest evangelistic outreach to children, reporting that it reaches at least 25 million children annually across nearly every country.
Looking to the previous year (2025), CEF disclosed the ongoing outreach of its global programs to youngsters in local communities, which included Good News Club, 5-Day Club and Christmas Party Club, as well as online (the U-Nite streaming platforms) while training future leaders at its Children’s Ministries Institute (CMI).
Good News Clubs are reportedly “thriving worldwide,” in countries including Australia, Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, and many more.
Pry said that as the organization reflected upon events of the prior year, ”we see how God moved in ways big and small.”
“We see how He’s using our workers globally through our training programs and how He’s used them to expand our organization,” he said.
“God is blessing the ministry of our education teams all around the world and our regional education directors, who’ve been working hard this year to increase the number of teachers trained.”
More than half a million teachers have been trained by CEF international instructors during the past two years. Training is ongoing at various locations, according to CEF. In 2026 the goal is to train a million teachers through online and in-person training.
God is not only doing work all around the world, but “He did some amazing things at CEF Headquarters through CMI,” according to CEF. Hundreds of students completed CMI modules both on campus and online to prepare for furthering God’s kingdom among children. The training equips CEF workers and volunteers to share the Word of God.
Pry recalled how a student told him that attending CMI training had been one of the most meaningful seasons of his or her life.
“‘I’ve seen God answer prayers and show his faithfulness in ways that still leave me in awe,’ the unnamed student said, as quoted by Pry. “‘From the moment I arrived, I was surrounded by teachers who love the Lord deeply and serve with humility and joy. Seeing that consistently modeled among staff has been amazing and the standard I want to set for my CEF chapter and my team.’”
“Today, hundreds of thousands of teachers around the world are being prepared to join our workforce; to grow our impact and expand our outreach to children globally,” said Pry.
More than 31 million children were reached in 2024 through CEF’s combined ministries, while at least 533,000 teachers were trained worldwide, according to the organization.
