CEF of West Texas Historical Timeline
Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, founder of Child Evangelism Fellowship
God is always working, and through the years He has brought together many people in West Texas to reach out to boys and girls with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and disciple them in His Word. Below is a timeline and brief history of how He has worked through those who served on staff, as donors, prayer partners, volunteers, local committee and state board members of Child Evangelism Fellowship in West Texas.
1937
Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) was incorporated in the USA. (Later, CEF became a worldwide ministry.)
1938
Founder Jesse Irvin Overholtzer traveled across the country sharing his vision of child evangelism. He visited Amarillo Bible Church in Amarillo, Texas, to present CEF. Later that year, the Amarillo CEF Chapter was formed.
1950s - 1960s
The Lubbock County CEF Chapter was formed. Lois Harbison served as local director for several years. The El Paso County Chapter started in El Paso, Texas. The local director was Mrs. Paschall. There were Good News Clubs and Backyard Bible Clubs in Wichita Falls and Abilene, but chapters were not yet formed. *On March 3, 1961, CEF of West Texas was incorporated and became an affiliate of CEF USA. The first state directors were two teacher trainers who shared the role for 8 years – Leona Hooper and Louise Paulger, both from Big Spring. From 1969 to the early 1980s, state directors were: Larry Lorenson, Ross White, and Bill Whitener. Children were also reached through Good News Clubs in Pampa, Spearman, and other smaller communities in the Panhandle. During those years and into the coming decades, two amazing volunteers were instrumental in training teachers and reaching many hundreds of children! They were Mrs. Virginia Kelley and Mrs. Virgie Kelly (who also started Camp Good News).
1970s – 1980s
CEF clubs started in the Midland-Odessa area, and the Midwest Chapter was formed in 1989. (It was renamed the Permian Basin Chapter in 2000 but was dissolved in 2013 due to no staff and no local committee.) During these years, Fair Ministry was very active in WTX and thousands of children were reached with the gospel in Abilene, Amarillo, Big Spring, Lamesa, Lubbock, and San Angelo. In 1980, the Amarillo Chapter was renamed to the Panhandle Chapter and included 26 counties in the Texas Panhandle. Hal & Rita Carpenter were local directors. In 1985, the Lubbock County Chapter was renamed to the South Plains Chapter and included 18 counties. In 1988, the directors of the El Paso County Chapter decided to break away from CEF and start Southwest Gospel Ministries to Children. So, this chapter was dissolved but was restored years later. In 1989 Hal Carpenter became the West Texas state director. GNCs were held in homes in several small to mid-sized cities: Big Spring, Snyder, Lamesa, Dalhart, Morse, Pampa, Sweetwater, and Wickett.
1990s – 2000s
Good News Clubs and summer ministry (CYIA) were happening in the Panhandle -- along with Camp Good News –and in Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, but more staff and committee members were needed. Changes were soon coming in how and where Good News Clubs were held and conducted.
June 11, 2001 Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of Good News Clubs in public elementary schools in the landmark case Good News Club v Milford Central School. This ruling opened the doors to have GNCs in the schools! But this also caused CEF leaders to develop a new way to do ministry – in partnership with local churches! In 2006, CEF headquarters in Missouri released the “Plan for Church Partnerships.” It included procedures and training guidelines already being implemented by Mrs. Dawn Badger, local director of CEF in Greenville, South Carolina. The model of having one person teach the full Good News Club to children in a neighborhood home would change to recruiting a team of 8-10 people from a local church to teach a large group of children right in the school. The Red River Chapter was formed in fall 2005 in Wichita Falls and then chartered in May 2006 after the boundary line between West and East was moved. Janet Johnson was the first local director. Peter Poff began serving as local director for the South Plains Chapter in 2008. (He resigned in July 2014.) In 2010, Rita Carpenter retired as local director in Amarillo, and Trina Froshheiser was hired as director.
2011-2020
Janet Johnson was hired as WTX state director in August 2012. CEF USA introduced organizational improvements in fall 2012 and required all local chapters to be chartered with the state’s federal tax ID number. These changes were made in WTX by the end of the year. In 2015, a local committee was formed in El Paso, and Ana Santiago was hired to be local director for the new Rio Grande Chapter serving six counties. (Ana resigned in Dec. 2017 after she and her husband adopted two children.) At this time, Hal & Rita Carpenter served with CEF at Fort Bliss Army Post in El Paso. Jennifer Dunn started on June 1, 2016, as local director for the Red River Chapter. Vicki Johnston was hired in March 2018 as the new local director for the Rio Grande Chapter. In February 2019, the Midland Basin Chapter was formed to serve eight counties in the Midland area. In August 2020, Pierce Meadows was hired to be local director for the South Plains Chapter. Andrew Louis was hired as first local director for the Midland Basin Chapter in December 2020.
2021-2030
In June 2021, Bunny Baldwin was hired as local director for the Panhandle Chapter.The Permian Basin Chapter was formed in November 2021 to serve nine counties in and around Odessa. After much prayer for Abilene, a local committee was formed, and the Big Country Chapter was chartered in March 2023! The Lord provided a new state director, and Caprice Gatea started on July 1, 2024, as assistant state director. Janet Johnson retired in December, and Caprice moved to the state coordinator role in January 2025.
Staff through the years:
Our timeline includes some staff members who are still part of the team and others who served and then moved on to their next assignment from the Lord. We are thankful for the work all staff members in West Texas have performed so that children will hear the Good News of salvation. Here is a list through the years:
CEF in El Paso
1960s
Mrs. Paschall
1970-1972
Ruth Salvador
1972-1979
Ken & Doris Dowdy
1979-1985
Mr. Lacy Justice
1985-1988
Ken Dowdy
2015-2017
Ana Santiago
2018-2019
Kitty Saenz
2020-2021
Rita Rojas
Current Staff
Rio Grande Chapter
Vicki Johnston, Local Director
Eve Marie Chavez, Office Assistant
CEF in Midland-Odessa
1970s
Gene Ball
1980-1983
Carl & Karen Snider
1989-1992
Lee Bartel
2001-2002
Curtis & Betty King
2019-2020
Jeanna Malone
2020-2023
Andrew Louis (Midland)
2022-2023
Omar Arreola (Odessa)
Current Staff
Midland Basin Chapter
LaDawnia Scott, Local Coordinator
Neville Peyton, Ministry Coordinator
CEF in Big Spring
1960-1980
Leona Hooper & Louise Paulger, teacher-trainers
1973
Katie Raspier
CEF in Abilene
1970-1972
Bob & Helen Hohmeyer
Current Staff
Big Country Chapter
Vernon Ferguson, Local Coordinator
CEF in Del Rio
1980s or 1990s
Mr. & Mrs. Link
CEF in Lubbock
1960s-1975
Lois Harbison
1975-1978
William Whitener
1980-1981
Alice Ortiz
1981
Bobby Meacham
1982-1984
Jim Shelby
1988
Karla Zapata
1993
Darleen Whitener
2008-2014
Peter Poff
2017
Anjanette Franklin
2018-2020
Terry Hilliard
2021-2022
Kim Kissinger
Current Staff
South Plains Chapter
Pierce Meadows, Local Director
Carol Farris, Ministry Coordinator
Jami Davis, Office Manager
Hannah Tillery, Graphic Design Office Associate
CEF in Amarillo
1960-1980?
Mrs. Merle Waner
1980-2012
Hal & Rita Carpenter
1999-2008
Marcia Stevens
2006-2011
Tabitha Carpenter Lee
2005-2009
Adrienne Woodward
2005-2018
Jalayn Martens
2009-2010
Trina Froshheiser
2012-2013
Joy Williams
2014
Kyla Fournier (Intern)
2014
Casey Matthews (Intern)
2015-2017
Juliana Johnson
2015
Darlene Plank
2022-2024
Jan Johnson
Current Staff
Texas Panhandle Chapter
Bunny Baldwin, Local Director
Brenna Rodriguez, Ministry Coordinator
Jesicka Hernandez , Office Assistant
Carson Davis, Ministry Assistant
CEF in Wichita Falls
2005-2012
Janet Johnson
2010-2015
Keri Stewart Kintner
2012
Cheyenne Cannedy (Intern)
2013
Judy Maxwell
2014-2018
Teresa Byas
2015-2023
Steven Marsh
2019-2023
Pamela Bellew
Current Staff
Red River Chapter
Jennifer Dunn, Local Director
Lisa Oldham, Ministry Coordinator
Nancy King, Office Manager
State Office Staff
1961-1977
Leona Hooper & Louise Paulger
1968-1970
Larry Lorenson
1970-1978
Ross White
1978-1988
Bill Whitener
1989-2012
Hal Carpenter
2010-2012
Rita Carpenter
2011
Tabitha Carpenter Lee
2012-2024
Janet Johnson
2015-2021
Tara Swagerty
2022
Desirea Brito
Current Staff
CEF OF West Texas
Caprice Gatea, State Coordinator
Pam Miller, Office Manager
Sandra Lea, Administrative Assistant