Our Beginning

They spent over 20 years reaching and ministering to children with the Gospel, then in 2004 took another leap of faith. Mike & Betty Morris, Moundville, MO, began Childrens Evangelistic Ministries, Inc. with a burden to produce a children's film to expand their outreach and reach more children.

The Lord placed on Mike's heart the idea of the "Ball of Many Colors". It was developed at their dining room table. They believed the Lord directed them to a web site where they were able to purchase customized soccer balls. As a result of this contact, many thousands of the "Energia" soccer balls have been produced. Each color on the soccer ball is a part of the Gospel message. The gold color represents God, the dark color reminds us of the sin of mankind, the red is representative of the work of Christ on the cross, the clean color signifies our new life in Christ, and the green color reminds us of our need as believers to grow in Christ.

As things go in their walk with the Lord, things often change. It seems the film project has been put on the side burner and the distribution of soccer balls and thousands of tracts has moved to the forefront. The tracts go along with the soccer balls with an explanation of the Gospel. These tools are now into over 115 countries worldwide. Several other ministries have taken their idea of the "Ball of Many Colors" and developed their own version. Mike and Betty have had many reports from children's workers and missionaries from all over the world of people of all ages coming to faith in Christ as a result of the tools being used. There have been many ups and downs since 2004, but the good way outweighs the heart attacks. They are reminded of the scripture in Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die (to self) is gain."