In one Rhode Island school district, kids can meet after school to raise funds for Planned Parenthood Global’s abortion mills, but they cannot hear Bible stories or sing Christian songs.

Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit in our ongoing effort to END the censorship of Christian viewpoints and the outrageous attempts to eliminate people of faith from public places. We have never lost a case involving Child Evangelism Fellowship's (CEF) Good News Clubs (GNC).

These Good News Clubs for elementary and middle school students are incredibly important. Every public school should be so blessed to have one of these after-school clubs.

We need YOUR help to defend religious freedom. Thankfully, a special Challenge Grant has been established to DOUBLE THE IMPACT of every donation made to our legal fund today. Please, donate NOW to help us litigate for religious freedom, then read on for the news. — Mat

Statistics show that the majority (nearly 85%, in fact) of people who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior make that first commitment before the ages of 12-14. And about 70% of people who are called to the mission field also feel the initial call between the ages of 4 and 14. This “4-14 window” represents the critical formative years in young lives.

CEF is ministering in more nations than any other ministry. This critical 4-14 window is supported by George Barna’s independent research. He concludes (1) a person’s moral foundations are generally in place by age 9, albeit with some adjustments these values are formed early; and (2) a person’s response to the meaning and personal value of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection is usually determined by age 12.

Proverbs 22:6 tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Even the secular philosopher Aristotle agreed, saying, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.”

And those pushing the LGBTQ agenda know the importance of reaching children. In her article “Future Shock” in The Advocate magazine, Patricia Warren writes, "Whoever captures the kids owns the future.”

The Providence School District in Rhode Island allows free after-school access to the Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, and Girls on the Run, but had denied equal access to the Good News Clubs because it is a Christian group.

Don’t let after-school Christian clubs be eliminated from our public schools! Support our legal fund today!

Modern psychology and behavioral science describe the ages of 4 to 14 years as the critical time for founding a child’s personality and future behavior … and the enemy knows it.

The Providence School District in Rhode Island allows many secular programs to meet in its school facilities, including the Girl Scouts and their fundraising initiatives, which flow into the pro-abortion World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

WAGGGS then uses the donations to fund programs on youth sexuality and pro-abortion causes in America and around the world.

A Twitter feed from Girls on the Run states: “Programming is open to any child identifying as a girl and to children identifying as non-binary, gender-fluid and gender-expansive.” This group has pushed the false idea to girls as young as 8 that they can change their “gender” like they change clothes. They are welcome to meet. Good News Clubs are not. THIS WILL CHANGE.

The Providence School District has no problem hosting groups that fund the murder of babies or push the LGBTQ agenda but refuses to allow the Bible-based Christian the after-school program known as Good News Clubs to meet on their campus. And this despite a Supreme Court opinion entitled Good News Clubs v. Milford School District.

Good News Clubs are after-school enrichment programs providing religious and other teaching and activities to encourage learning, spiritual growth, and service to others, as well as social, emotional, character, and leadership development.

There are currently more than 4,800 Good News Clubs in public elementary and middle schools, including several in Rhode Island school districts.

Good News Clubs typically meet once per week immediately after school, and are led by trained and vetted volunteer teachers, requiring only written permission from parents. School administrators tell us that they have witnessed positive changes in the behavior of the children who attend Good News Clubs. Every school should have one.

All staff members are thoroughly vetted, with background checks and safety training. They meet all qualifications for after-school programs within the district. Yet the district has dragged its feet for nearly two years, refusing to approve the Good News Club.

Liberty Counsel has been successfully defending Good News Clubs for decades. In June 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that public schools violate the First Amendment by not providing equal access and equal treatment to Good News Clubs when the school opened the forum to secular clubs.

The Providence School District’s attempts to prevent the Good News Club from meeting while allowing multiple other after-school clubs to meet is an egregious violation of the Constitution. We are confident we will win yet again on this Rhode Island matter.

Liberty Counsel represents CEF nationally, and we have never lost a case involving Good News Clubs.

The law is clear that public schools cannot discriminate against the Christian viewpoint of Good News Clubs. Equal access means equal treatment in terms of use of the facilities, including fee waivers, time of meetings, and announcements. The Good News Club must be given equal treatment.

Liberty Counsel is fighting to protect our children and our right to religious freedom. We need your help as never before. Please consider a recurring monthly donation or a one-time donation to fund our critically important religious freedom legal work. A special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE YOUR GIFT’S IMPACT today.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Sources:

Brown, Michael. “LGBT Activists Are Coming for Your Children.” Townhall, September 29, 2016. Townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2016/09/29/lgbt-activists-are-coming-for-your-children-n2224949.

Jones, Emily. “Girl Scouts Group Gives Top Award to Teen for Pro-Abortion Project.” CBN News, March 7, 2019. Cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2019/march/girl-scouts-group-gives-top-award-to-teen-for-pro-abortion-project.

“RI School District Sued over Discriminating against Good News Club.” Liberty Counsel, March 10, 2023. Lc.org/newsroom/details/031023-ri-school-district-sued-over-discriminating-against-good-news-club.

‌“World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).” Accessed March 13, 2023. Mygirlscoutcouncil.com/uploads/3/2/6/7/3267198/wagggs.pdf.