By Clint Cooper
Staff Writer
Shortly after Child Evangelism Fellowship of Chattanooga erected its first booth at the Riverbend Festival, it was threatened with expulsion by a lawyer if it didn’t add a disclaimer as big as its sign.
The controversy only piqued the interest of children, who formed a line snaking out of its booth and around a nearby building.
“They’ve never asked us to have a disclaimer again,” said organization director Brenda Vogt.
Child Evangelism Fellowship is one of two faith-based groups to have booths at the nine-day festival this year. The other is Scenic City Ministries, the resort and leisure ministry arm of the Hamilton County Baptist Association.
Both ministries have had booths, for which they pay $6,000 annually, for at least 15 years.
Other churches and ministries have booths during the festival’s Family Faith Night.
“Every year you have on the armor,” said Ms. Vogt. “You know you’re not in your territory.”
Child Evangelism Fellowship, according to information on its Web site, www.cefonline.com, is the world’s largest mission agency ministering to children.
Ms. Vogt said the Riverbend Festival is the Chattanooga chapter’s largest outreach to unchurched children.
Each year, some 100 agency volunteers from area churches paint faces and share a message of salvation with some 1,500 children.
The children are told that various colors tell the story of God, are presented a “true story” that “comes from the Bible” and are given an opportunity to respond, Ms. Vogt said.
The agency reached around 2,000 children before its booth was moved to a more remote location within the festival several years ago, she said.
Still, she said, 89 children made decisions to accept Christ in 2005. And the volunteers receive as much out of the experience as the children, she said.
“It’s the novelty of going and painting faces,” Ms. Vogt said, adding that the volunteers learn to speak in “children-ese” and not “church-ese.”
“We love to see children come to the Lord. It becomes life-changing (for the volunteers). They’re so excited, and their churches start doing their own festivals.”
Only rarely has the organization had a detractor, she said.
Occasionally, people laugh and jeer, according to Ms. Vogt, and one year a volunteer had a Bible ripped out of his hand and thrown on the floor.
“But we know God will draw the kids,” she said.
Stan Braley, pastor of White Oak Baptist Church and coordinator of activities this year for the Riverbend outreach of Scenic City Ministries, said the organization’s booth will give away colorful friendship bracelets, create balloon sculptures and apply temporary tattoos for those who visit.
Cards that accompany the bracelets and tattoos tell the significance of colors within the Christian faith story. Background is offered in different ways, depending on the age of the listener.
“It’s a seed-planting ministry,” Mr. Braley said. “We’re able to share information and the good news in places where (people) don’t usually intersect with the gospel.”
Before the festival, volunteers are trained to watch for any hesitancy on the part of parents when their children are given information about salvation, he said. The children are asked to secure their parents’ consent to receive the information and, lacking that, are told to freely take the giveaway item.
“We want to be very sensitive, especially with children,” Mr. Braley said. “We don’t want to do any harm.”
Some 100 people from 12 churches will help staff the booth this year, he said.
Sallie Beckes of Friends of the Festival, which produces Riverbend, said she doesn’t believe the festival organizers have received complaints about booths sponsored by faith-based groups.
“They have been wonderful to work with, and people love them,” she said.
E-mail Clint Cooper at ccooper@timesfreepress.com
Staff Writer
Shortly after Child Evangelism Fellowship of Chattanooga erected its first booth at the Riverbend Festival, it was threatened with expulsion by a lawyer if it didn’t add a disclaimer as big as its sign.
The controversy only piqued the interest of children, who formed a line snaking out of its booth and around a nearby building.
“They’ve never asked us to have a disclaimer again,” said organization director Brenda Vogt.
Child Evangelism Fellowship is one of two faith-based groups to have booths at the nine-day festival this year. The other is Scenic City Ministries, the resort and leisure ministry arm of the Hamilton County Baptist Association.
Both ministries have had booths, for which they pay $6,000 annually, for at least 15 years.
Other churches and ministries have booths during the festival’s Family Faith Night.
“Every year you have on the armor,” said Ms. Vogt. “You know you’re not in your territory.”
Child Evangelism Fellowship, according to information on its Web site, www.cefonline.com, is the world’s largest mission agency ministering to children.
Ms. Vogt said the Riverbend Festival is the Chattanooga chapter’s largest outreach to unchurched children.
Each year, some 100 agency volunteers from area churches paint faces and share a message of salvation with some 1,500 children.
The children are told that various colors tell the story of God, are presented a “true story” that “comes from the Bible” and are given an opportunity to respond, Ms. Vogt said.
The agency reached around 2,000 children before its booth was moved to a more remote location within the festival several years ago, she said.
Still, she said, 89 children made decisions to accept Christ in 2005. And the volunteers receive as much out of the experience as the children, she said.
“It’s the novelty of going and painting faces,” Ms. Vogt said, adding that the volunteers learn to speak in “children-ese” and not “church-ese.”
“We love to see children come to the Lord. It becomes life-changing (for the volunteers). They’re so excited, and their churches start doing their own festivals.”
Only rarely has the organization had a detractor, she said.
Occasionally, people laugh and jeer, according to Ms. Vogt, and one year a volunteer had a Bible ripped out of his hand and thrown on the floor.
“But we know God will draw the kids,” she said.
Stan Braley, pastor of White Oak Baptist Church and coordinator of activities this year for the Riverbend outreach of Scenic City Ministries, said the organization’s booth will give away colorful friendship bracelets, create balloon sculptures and apply temporary tattoos for those who visit.
Cards that accompany the bracelets and tattoos tell the significance of colors within the Christian faith story. Background is offered in different ways, depending on the age of the listener.
“It’s a seed-planting ministry,” Mr. Braley said. “We’re able to share information and the good news in places where (people) don’t usually intersect with the gospel.”
Before the festival, volunteers are trained to watch for any hesitancy on the part of parents when their children are given information about salvation, he said. The children are asked to secure their parents’ consent to receive the information and, lacking that, are told to freely take the giveaway item.
“We want to be very sensitive, especially with children,” Mr. Braley said. “We don’t want to do any harm.”
Some 100 people from 12 churches will help staff the booth this year, he said.
Sallie Beckes of Friends of the Festival, which produces Riverbend, said she doesn’t believe the festival organizers have received complaints about booths sponsored by faith-based groups.
“They have been wonderful to work with, and people love them,” she said.
E-mail Clint Cooper at ccooper@timesfreepress.com
