By Guy Page

A spokesperson for Child Evangelism Fellowship says an individual connected to the organization in Vermont has been terminated and that the organization is cooperating with law enforcement following allegations of misconduct.

Daniel Moyer of Hamilton Strategies did not name the individual, but his August 17 press statement is a clear reference to Andrew Buzzell, state director of CEF and a Rutland Baptist church elder, who was arrested last week for distributing child porn, as reported by Mike Donoghue of Vermont News First.

The FBI says Buzzell had sent a one-minute video of a man committing a sex act on a young girl, possibly 6 to 10 years-old, in 2024.

According to its website,  CEF is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been dedicated to seeing every child reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, discipled and established in a local church since 1937. CEF is located in all 50 American states and in most countries around the world, with over 3,500 paid staff and tens of thousands of volunteers around the world.

CEF issued the statement through Hamilton Strategies, a Pennsylvania-based public relations firm, after Vermont Daily Chronicle published a story mentioning the organization.

“Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is aware of the situation in Vermont, and the individual in question has been terminated,” the organization said. “CEF has zero tolerance for such misconduct and is fully cooperating with law enforcement.”

CEF did not identify the individual in its statement or provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the termination.

The organization said it remains committed to standards of conduct established during its nearly 90-year history.

“CEF is committed to upholding the highest standards of morality and personal conduct that have guided the ministry since its founding in 1937,” the statement said.

CEF also pointed to its Child Protection Policy, which establishes standards and procedures intended to protect children and govern the conduct of people serving with the organization.

“CEF maintains a strict Child Protection Policy designed to protect children and guide the conduct of those serving,” the organization said.

CEF said it would not provide additional details because of the possibility of future court proceedings.