A federal court granted a permanent injunction giving Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) and its Good News Clubs access to school facilities in Hawaii.
The U.S. District Court for Hawaii ruled:
Defendant, Hawaii Department of Education is required, under the First Amendment, to provide Child Evangelism Fellowship access to Defendants’ facilities that is equal to and on the same terms as other similarly situated nonreligious organizations offering programs to students in Hawaii.
The court also ruled that Hawaii’s DOE must pay $100,000 for attorney’s fees and costs. It’s yet another important victory for free speech and religious freedom – both of which are increasingly under assault by government agencies.
If, like this writer, you grew up in Sunday School or attending a Good News Club you may be familiar with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) songs like “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus – No Turning Back” and “Stop and Let Me Tell You” – with a red stop sign and lyrics explaining, “What the Lord has done for me.” The flip side of the sign is green, exhorting believers, “Go and tell the story, Of the Christ of Calvary.”
Or you may remember The Wordless Book, a visual tool for sharing the gospel with children, using colored pages to present basic Christian teachings: gold, representing God and Heaven; dark, for man’s sin and separation from God; red, illustrating the blood of Christ and his sacrifice; white, depicting cleansing and forgiveness through repentance and faith; and green, signifying growing in the faith.
CEF has been in ministry for more than 85 years, working “to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, disciple them in the Word of God, and establish them in a Bible-believing church for Christian living.”
The organization is primarily known for its Good News Clubs, where children gather after school for an hour, in churches, homes, schools and community centers, to hear a Bible lesson, memorize Scripture and sing gospel songs.
Other CEF ministries include 5-day Clubs that meet in June; Boxes of Books, supplying missionaries with children’s books; and digital television and radio ministries.
With more 3,500 workers, CEF reached more than 29.2 million children around the world in 2023. In the U.S. alone, CEF has 3,041 Good News Clubs in public schools.
But in Hawaii, the ministry was stymied by six different elementary schools and the Department of Education, which denied the ministry access to school facilities to run it’s after-school Good News Clubs. Hawaii’s DOE operates as a single state-wide school district, and use of facilities was denied even though they were open to other non-religious groups.
Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal aid group dedicated to advancing and defending the gospel, filed a lawsuit on behalf of CEF Hawaii in January 2024. The suit alleged the DOE and the schools discriminated against CEF, “violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, state laws, and school policies.”
The discrimination occurred in spite of the fact that the Equal Access Act, federal law since 1984, requires the nation’s public schools to create a level playing field for the creation of all sorts of student clubs. It is nothing less than amazing that 40 years later, public school administrators still violate it all the time.
In addition, Hawaii schools were ignoring a similar case, in 2001, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on behalf of CEF when a New York school denied the organization’s request to use school facilities for its after school program.
In that case, Good News Club v. Milford Central School, the court ruled in a 6-3 opinion that the school violated CEF’s constitutional rights. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the court’s majority, stated in his opinion:
This case presents two questions. The first question is whether Milford Central School violated the free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school. The second question is whether any such violation is justified by Milford’s concern that permitting the Club’s activities would violate the Establishment Clause.
We conclude that Milford’s restriction violates the Club’s free speech rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation.
In a statement about this recent victory, Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said:
This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Hawaii public schools. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities.
He added:
Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a safe space that offers moral and character development from a Christian viewpoint. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school.
The organization stated, “Liberty Counsel represents CEF nationally and has never lost a case involving Good News Clubs.”
Related articles and resources:
‘Equipping Parents For Back-To-School’ – Updated Resource Empowers Parents
Federal Judge Refuses to Protect High School Christian Club from Harassment, De-recognition
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Told to Change Its Theology at a Montana High School
Florida High School Won’t Recognize a Student Pro-Life Club Because It’s “Too Political”
Focus on the Family Broadcast: Protecting Your Child’s Faith in Public School
New York High School Rejects New Christian Club After Stalling for Months
The post Stop, and Let Me Tell You: Good News Clubs Win Victory in Hawaii appeared first on Daily Citizen.
Daily Citizen