June 24, 2026
Faith and freedom: As America turns 250, CEF® reflects on landmark legal victory for religious liberty
Twenty-five years after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Good News Club® ministries in public schools continue opening doors for children to hear the Gospel
ST. LOUIS — As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF®) is also commemorating the 25th anniversary of its landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory. In that decision, the Court held that public schools may not engage in viewpoint discrimination by excluding religious organizations from school facilities made available to other community organizations for after-school use.
After the Court’s 1962 ruling against school-sponsored prayer, many schools became increasingly cautious about religious activities on campus. In 2001, CEF challenged a New York school district’s decision to deny Good News Club® access to school facilities for after-school events while allowing other community groups to meet there in the Good News Club v. Milford Central School case. The Court ultimately ruled that the school district had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by excluding Good News Club®, establishing an important precedent protecting the equal treatment of religious organizations in public schools.
“Religious freedom has a real impact on people’s lives,” said Fred Pry, Vice President of Administration for CEF. “The Good News Club decision ensured that children could continue hearing the Bible taught in public schools after the school. For countless children, that opportunity has opened the door to life-changing encounters with Jesus.”
Good News Club® is a CEF flagship ministry, providing children with impactful Bible lessons, Scripture memorization, songs and fun character-building activities in an engaging after-school setting.
The decision had a lasting impact. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of school-based Good News Clubs grew from 536 to 4,029. In the quarter century since this landmark case, CEF conducted more than 133,000 clubs worldwide, including nearly 80,000 after-school clubs in the United States, reaching more than 3.7 million children with the Gospel.
The anniversary also provides an opportunity for families to reflect on the responsibilities that accompany religious freedom. To help parents have those conversations, CEF is offering an Independence Day resource that teaches children the discipline, character and personal responsibility needed to become responsible, independent adults.
CEF is also highlighting its new “Sea to Shining Sea” mini devotional, which includes eight powerful testimonies that demonstrate the life-changing power of God’s Word in the lives of children and families across America.
Among the stories featured is Samantha, a girl from a religiously confused home who arrived at a Good News Club® with many questions about God. Week after week, teachers patiently answered her questions and prayed for her. Eventually, Samantha placed her faith in Jesus Christ. Although her decision brought difficulties at home, she continued growing in her faith, later thanking her teachers for showing her how to pray and teaching her about God.
Another testimony highlights a public-school teacher who noticed a dramatic change in one of her students after she began attending Good News Club®. Curious about what had made the difference, the teacher visited the club, where she eventually placed her faith in Jesus Christ. She later joined the ministry herself, helping share the Gospel with children in the same Good News Club®.
“At a time when many believers around the world face significant barriers to practicing their faith in Christ, we do not take the freedoms we enjoy in America for granted,” said Pry. “As we mark these important milestones, we’re reminded what a blessing it is to openly live out and share our faith. Yet no matter the circumstances, our mission remains the same: to share the message of true freedom, found only in Jesus Christ, with children and families around the world.”
Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF®), founded in 1937, has been establishing the Good News Club® in countries around the world for decades.
In 2025, more than 34 million children worldwide were impacted by the Good News through CEF ministries.
For more CEF news, see the ministry’s latest edition of the online magazine Impact.
CEF is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been dedicated to seeing every child reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, discipled and established in a local church since 1937. CEF is located in all 50 American states and in most countries around the world, with over 3,800 paid staff and tens of thousands of volunteers around the world.
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To interview a representative from Child Evangelism Fellowship, contact Hamilton Strategies, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
