Posted on 07/23/2014 11:09:55 AM PDT by Faith Presses On
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- An evangelical Christian group plans to try to convert children as young as 5 at Portland apartment pools, public parks and dozens of other gathering spots this summer -- a campaign that's got some residents upset.
They've banded together in recent weeks to warn parents about the Child Evangelism Fellowship's Good News Club, buying a full-page ad in the local alternative weekly to highlight the group's tactics.
"They pretend to be a mainstream Christian Bible study when in fact they're a very old school fundamentalist sect," said Kaye Schmitt, an organizer with Protect Portland Children, which takes issue with the group's message and the way it's delivering it.
CEF says Protect Portland Children is a shadow group run by atheists who seek to dismantle Christian outreach. The group said its methods are above reproach.
"Children are easy to manipulate, we all know that," said CEF's vice president Moises Esteves. "We don't use any of the schemes and high-pressure tactics that we're accused of. Nothing could be further from the truth."
Esteves' group decided to hold its annual summer mission program in Portland because of the area's irreligious leanings.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
You sure are a piece of work.
You are making things up out of thin air.
Your demeanor and reaction indicates you are quite anti-Christian.
If someone tried this on my kids they would get one warning then catch a severe beating.
Actually, unless they are acting in a very creepy manner (kind of like the one I described) I applaud their efforts. If they are just passing out tracts - go for it. In today's society, children are going to be exposed 24/7 to unfiltered sewage from their schools, and from their televisions. Exposing them to a glimmer of the Truth is a kindness.
I contribute to a CEF ministry consisting of a husband and wife team who have been presenting to kids for 30 years. Someone needs to tell them about Jesus. . .it is evident that parents are falling short. OK. . I know you are going to say. .”you’re judgmental” on my next statement. . .but it is a fact. Too many parents are more worried around Halloween time (satan’s hallowed eve) what costume they’ll send their kids out in begging for candy, money, fruit? . .spending I don’t know how much to adorn their children in the designer outfit of the month, and of course making sure they are equipped with the best iphone money can buy. Many parents also could care less what their children have been exposed to on their phones/computers or friends’. No Jesus there.
Are these same parents concerned about the PreK-Career Common Core/Data Base and beyond the pale sex ed programs in many states. No Jesus there.
I took the CEF Wordless Book on an education mission trip to Kazakhstan twenty years ago. Jesus was there. . . and they learned that He loves them very much.
Could it be that this parent complaining in the article doesn’t have a handle on the salvation message. It is about sin. .purposely stealing from a cookie jar does have consequences and over the years that sin turns into more and eventually prison time. Just ask the incarcerated when they got started in their criminal activity. . .wasn’t after graduation.
Seems downright creepy to me.
Why should I take the word of Child Evangelism Fellowship? Just leave the kids alone, regardless of what your agenda is.
Are you naïve, or is it you have issues with Christianity and side with the anti-Christians?
I have problems with people approaching children without their parent's knowledge or consent. Or do you have issues with a parent deciding what is best for their child?
“If someone tried this on my kids they would get one warning then catch a severe beating.”
I think we all understand that, but we also trust that your children would not need an introduction to Christ.
However, there are millions of parents who have failed in that responsibility.
You seem to be escalating to the level of insult pretty quickly. What is your problem with what I’ve said?
Thanks for clarifying your position and whom you support.
What if was the Greater Portland Muslim Outreach Project that was messing with the kids. Would you be OK with that?
Misrepresentation.
Propagating leftist propaganda.
Knee-jerk anti-Christianism and pro-leftism.
Not a problem.
And yet your post has added nothing insightful to the thread.
It's very easy to snipe .... particularly when you yourself present no alternative "right way" to do it.
Of course your method might then become subjected to criticism on the basis of what may be its own potential failings upon further scrutiny.
Tell us all about the abundant success you have achieved with your method.
FReegards!
News flash...Not everyone is Christian. Billions in this world aren’t. I’m sure all those billions are doomed according to you. We’ll all find out soon enough. In the meantime, please leave my kids alone.
“Could it be that this parent complaining in the article doesn’t have a handle on the salvation message.”
Without a doubt. And people need to understand that when parents do not believe in Salvation, they may very well be dooming their children.
When I was a kid, attending an Orthodox Jewish elementary school, Christian missionaries would wait outside the school and pass out tracts to the kids. My parents were (rightly) upset about this.
How have I misrepresented anything? If the article is incorrect about what’s been happening, then my comment is irrelevant. I didn’t vouch for the article’s veracity—I commented on what my reaction would be if it was correct.
If it’s at all accurate, I think people who are proselytizing—whether for Christianity, Islam, LGBT, obama, or Barney—deserve to be screened by me when approaching my children or grandchildren in a public place. There’s no exemption for anyone. If you don’t like that—tough. I don’t think anyone, no matter how right they think they are, gets special access.
I think that the idea of targeting children at pools and playgrounds to be deplorable. It is the same type of thing that we criticized when the PETA freaks targeted the 4H kids at county fairs.
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