Campus Evangelical Fellowship (CEF) was established in 1957, inheriting the following three traditions:

1. China Inland Mission (CIM) missionaries;
2. student ministry of Chinese University Christian Student Association at the end of the Anti-Japanese War; and
3. the revival of independent churches in China after the 1920s.

When the KMT government was defeated by the communist and retreated to Taiwan in the 1940’s, many universities were established, creating opportunities for the development of student ministry. There was another factor for the rise of student ministry. During Taiwan's long-term martial law (1949-1987), CEF was one of the only two organizations which had permit to run inter-school activities. Therefore, 1960s and 1970s were considered the golden age of CEF. CEF excelled in comparison to the local churches and contributed much to the development of churches in Taiwan and even overseas, because of the cultivation of local pastors and lay leaders, as well as the development of many evangelical organizations. After the 1980’s, CEF faced great challenges. Taiwan experienced economy boom, and local religions were also on the rise. Martial law was lifted in 1987, and society was becoming more open and diverse. CEF’s ministries stagnated or even regressed. Many senior staff left CEF, which brought about challenges to human resources. CEF staff were less inclined to treat student ministry as a lifelong vocation, more like a temporary stage of ministry, just like other IFES movements. Many thought the decline in student ministry a sign of possible end of CEF. Yet, CEF went through a stage of renewal in terms of theology and ministry. Nonetheless, CEF was no longer the only major force of youth work in Taiwan’s Christian churches. Many churches and organizations began developing their own youth ministries. After CEF survived its crisis, it introduced the concepts of "holistic mission" and "cultural mandate" to Taiwan churches. It encouraged university fellowships to apply for the status of school clubs so that Christians were visible on campuses. Junior high school ministry had a revival in the 1990’s, and then senior high school ministry also experienced a 10-year revival in the 2000’s. In 2017, the sexual harassment scandal of an important senior staff exploded, causing both internal and external crisis. At the same time, the headquarter office in Taipei was under reconstruction. Then Covid-19 came and the ministry as a whole was affected. As a result, CEF decided to restructure its organization and currently evaluating its campus ministry strategy.