Greetings!
Thank you for your continued prayers for and interest in raising up a new generation of Christ followers from the 4/14 Window to transform the world. As you know, almost 400 ministry leaders from around the world will gather in New York City in September to develop a global strategy for reaching and discipling this critical age group for Christ. Due to tremendous response to this invitation-only event, registrations are now closed.
Please do continue to pray for this endeavor, and ask God what role you are to play in collaborating with others around the world in equipping children ages 4/14. After the conference. We will send you action items and ideas for involvement after the summit.
In this issue we will look at the Characteristics of the 4/14 Window, examine the physical and health challenges facing children around the world, and see how one model of transformation has changed the health of a nation's children by applying a biblical worldview to the issue of HIV and AIDS.
Once again we invite you to join others around the world in fasting and praying on the 4th and 14th of each month as we find strength, direction, and wisdom from God in reaching the 4/14 Window.
Martha Anderson
Transform World newsletter editor
National Director, Centurions Program of Prison Fellowship / BreakPoint
Join Us in Prayer and Fasting on the 4th and 14th
Praying the Apostolic Prayers for the 4/14 Window
Biblical prayers reveal the burning heart of God. The apostolic prayers are a great gift to the Church, giving us a wealth of insight into the language of God's heart, revealing His great passion and strategy for His Kingdom.
The Bible promises us that prayers according to God's will surely come to pass (1 Jn. 5:14-15). We have certainty that God-authored prayers (canonized in the Bible) encompass the perfect and pleasing will of God, which He has graciously given us to co-labor with Him to see His purposes released in the earth.
Ephesians 3:16-19 declares:
(16) that He would grant you (His son or daughter, a servant leader to His Body through Transform World), according to the riches of His glory (boundless and limitless power and grace), to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man (supernaturally strengthening the heart, mind, will, and emotions of all the servant leaders of Transform World),
(17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (the exchanged life--no longer I but Christ who lives in me, Gal. 2:20); that you, being rooted and grounded in love (unshakable in Him, fully understanding the greatness of His love; perfect love casts out fear, 1 Jn. 4:18),
(18) may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--
(19) to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
"Father, saturate us with revelation of the love of Christ which far surpasses our mental capacity. Soak our souls, our minds, our wills, and our emotions. Grace us to get away to the secret place to feast on Your love and goodness, and transform our striving labor into trusting, joyful co-laboring. Your yoke is easy."
At the end of this newsletter, please also see "Praise Reports and Prayer Requests."
back to top 
The 4/14 Window Global Summit - New York City, September 2009
By Luis Bush
September 6-8, 2009 at the Promise Church in Flushing, New York. Hundreds of servant leaders will gather from over 70 countries to participate in a Transform World Global Summit. The focus: raising up a new generation from the 4/14 Window to transform the world. This first annual summit will highlight approximately 1.2 billion children and youth, many of whom live in places marked by stark physical, social, and spiritual need.
In June 2009, a group of facilitators met in nearby Fort Lee, New Jersey, to plan for this groundbreaking September summit. Subsequently, 16 major tracks have formed focused on areas for holistic transformation that include spiritual, education, health, parent & family, pastoral, poverty, justice, media & technology, community, prayer, children in ministry, academic & theological, literature, seven spheres (of cultural influence), national, and government & political. Each track has mobilized members from the major regions of the world. Three task forces will support track activities, with reference to Generation "X", missiology, and knowledge management & connections.
The 4/14 Window Global Initiative has defined ten major outcomes for a 7-year period (2010-2017). The 16 tracks will develop and implement action plans to fulfill their particular 7-year outcomes. Toward this end, each track has drafted a strategic 7-year plan. These plans include vision and mission statements; assessment of strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities; long-term outcomes; major and supporting goals; key and supporting strategies; and strategic action programs.
The 4/14 Window Global Initiative seeks to mobilize the Body of Christ in reaching, equipping, and empowering the 4/14 generation to help bring holistic transformation worldwide. The overall 7-year strategy to be presented in New York this September includes: acknowledgement and encouragement of existing and emerging 4/14 initiatives; the September 2009 Global Summit; a global summit each of the seven years through 2017; national and regional summits, consultations, and conferences worldwide led by national facilitators; a 2012 Global Conference; the publication of resources; and research and mapping activities.
New York City. September 6-8, 2009. The official launch of a Global 4/14 Window Initiative that promises, by the grace of God, to transform the world by reaching out to, nurturing, and raising up a new generation in Christ. To Jesus be the glory!
back to top
The Opportunity
Characteristics of the 4/14 Window: Viewing Children as a Strategic Force for Change
The world's 4/14ers present us with several pressing realities. These years represent a "season of awakening" in which a person's understanding of life emerges and one's conscience is awakened to judge right from wrong. But the life circumstances of today's typical 4/14er is a cross between a minefield and an obstacle course.
A disturbing number of 4/14ers in the 10/40 Window are condemned to a life of serfdom, brutal labor, sexual exploitation, spiritual oppression and emotional abuse. As maturing teenagers most of them quickly leave behind parents' supervision. When formal schooling ends they either enter the work force to make ends meet or further their education in an environment fraught with the dangers of secular ideology and materialism.
Parents and older siblings serve as the most potent and positive influence for many 4/14ers. But sadly, for many others, parents are negligent and siblings are morally damaging. This is especially true when those older brothers and sisters are themselves adversely influenced by today's toxic youth cultures.
While challenges and pitfalls abound, and the pessimism of many adults is amply warranted, the possibilities and potential of 4/14ers are astonishing. The tendency for many adults is to ignore or dismiss the potential of 4/14ers or to view them as a nagging problem to be endured. The majority of adults fail to grasp the inestimable value of these young lives made in the image of God. Most significantly, they fail to recognize that most people who decide to follow Christ do so during the critical years between the ages of 4 and 14.
From a missions standpoint our interest in 4/14ers is not only because they are the most receptive but also because, as we will see, they are often the most effective agents for mission. Jesus obviously understood their worth: "I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth," He said, "because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure" (Matthew 11:25-26).
In a three-year project called The Child in Law, Religion and Society, researchers examined the so-called "mystery" of the child. Their final report urges readers to reject the prevalent view that a child is a problem to be controlled. Instead, the authors contend, adults ought to nurture wonder in children while seeking their own "childlikeness," or "childness." They warn against the fallacy of reductionism; the philosophy that attempts to reduce a complex system to the sum of its parts. In this case reductionism endeavors to categorize a child through various problematic elements. For example, the incidence of delinquency, abuse or autism. Some reductionists go so far as to define a child as "the sum of neuron firings in the brain," or "nothing but a victim of original sin." Such thinking demeans the wondrous, mysterious nature of childhood.
Christ is the king of the kingdom and the faith of the child is the model for all who would enter and live under the rule of King Jesus. The gospel elevates children to a place of honor in the kingdom and acknowledges their moral agency. Children are addressed as responsible members of the family of God, as those who are "in the Lord" (Ephesians 6:1).
It is imperative that we see children and young people as a strategic force that can transform a generation and change the world. Jesus said, "to such (children) belongs the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:16). And yet from his time to the present day the church has often underestimated the value and potential of children. Time and again we have failed to effectively and strategically reach them. The challenge before us is to raise up today's 4/14ers:
-
to experience the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10b)
-
to free them from spiritual, mental, physical, relational, economic and social poverty;
-
to harness their immense potential:
-
to deploy them to change the world.
back to top
The Challenge: Physical and Health Concerns of the World's Children
A primary measure of human well-being is the Under-5 Mortality Rate-an indispensable gauge of children's health for Non Government Organizations (NGOs) around the world. (See The State of the World's Children 2008 UNICEF Report.)
One of the motivations for focusing on children is that they are suffering more than any other segment of society, often as a result of the sins of adults. Key statistics from the above mentioned report reveal the depth of this problem:
-
More than 91 million children under five suffer from debilitating hunger
-
15 million children are orphaned as a result of AIDS
-
265 million children have not been immunized against any diseases
Health interventions during childhood can prevent damage that is virtually impossible to repair later in life. Addressing the physical and emotional health issues of the young can result in significant advances in lifelong well-being and personal development. Working to improve the health of children not only provides them a more promising future; it also creates an invaluable opportunity to minister to their families and communities. In fact, strategic efforts to improve children's health can lead to the stability of entire nations.
Where do we begin to address this problem? One of the principal approaches is through the establishment of a biblical worldview. Following is a model of transformation from Swaziland focused on a biblical perspective on HIV and AIDS.
back to top
Model of Transformation
The Outcome of a Biblical Worldview: Transformation of a Nation's Health
A new initiative in Swaziland aims to teach every child a biblical perspective on HIV and AIDS. As of this writing, over 47,000 children have received this vital instruction-teaching that can literally save their lives. Each child is guided through an innovative program called "iMatter," a series of ten sessions aimed at instilling a healthy self-esteem, a sense of individual value and a biblical understanding of life.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been a well-publicized health crisis and many of its victims have been innocent children. U.N. officials estimated that in 2008 about 33 million people worldwide are HIV-positive, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. For years, the news about this pandemic grew steadily worse, but now things are changing in some hard-hit areas. In fact, the full-scale reversal of AIDS is underway in the country where the crisis began-Uganda. Dr. Edward Green, a medical anthropologist at Harvard University, acknowledges that this turnaround is due primarily to a change in values.
By 1983 AIDS in Uganda was commonly called "the slim disease" due to its physically wasting characteristics. By 1992 the life expectancy of Ugandans had dropped to 42 years and by 1993 nearly one in three persons in Uganda's capital, Kampala, carried the AIDS virus. No country in the world needed social transformation more than this nation.
Yet, in only a decade, significant transformation began to occur there. By 2004 only 6% of the population was reported to be HIV-positive-a remarkable reduction from the cases recorded in 1993. The story of this dramatic reversal can be attributed to various people who recognized the crisis and were moved to respond. One of these individuals was Stephen Langa, Ugandan businessman who now serves as the director of Family Life Network. Langa's approach was based upon a biblical worldview and a respect for, and obedience to, the Word.
Langa founded an NGO in partnership with Uganda's First Lady, Janet Museveni. Looking back to those critical days, she says, "This was more than a disease, it was a national disaster. Our only hope was to sound an alarm." So, sound an alarm they did-through the launching of a nationwide "True Love Waits" campaign that introduced abstinence education into the schools.
Says Langa, "Schools would close down for four hours at a time to allow us to bring True Love Waits in to teach the students." 41 Based unapologetically on a biblical worldview, True Love Waits made an impact, changing attitudes and transforming behavior. The simple acronym A-B-C was the basis of the curriculum: Abstinence from Premarital Sex, Being Faithful, and Christ instead of Condoms. Researchers credit the program with reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS by causing a manifold increase in abstinence and fidelity.
Langa says that behavioral change with a biblical worldview has three primary foundations:
1) The identity of a human being as a person made in the image of God;
2) The nature of the present reality, with an the appreciation of both the spiritual and physical world;
3) The future focus, with an understanding that history is going (biblically speaking) toward a glorious ending, in contrast to the traditional African cultural perspective that defines life as an indefinite and often vicious cycle.
Langa articulated these positions with several other authors who drafted a policy on abstinence and faithfulness entitled Uganda National Abstinence and Being Faithful Policy and Strategy on Prevention of Transmission of HIV.
On July 2, 2007, a debate raged in the U.S. House of Representatives over an amendment that would have reinstated funding for abstinence education programs to fight AIDS in Africa. Dr. Edward Green, one of the world's foremost experts on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, appeared as a witness at the hearings. Dr. Green stated that he was opposed to the ABC model at first, particularly with its emphasis on abstinence. However, he changed his opinion after he saw the success of the program in Uganda.
Dr. Green's testimony before Congress affirmed the transformational impact of the Ugandan model comparable to other nations. This approach also brought positive social change to six other African nations in their battle against AIDS: Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia.
back to top
Praise Reports and Prayer Requests
Praise Reports:
-
Praise God for the growing interest in the 4/14 Window among Christian leaders worldwide.
-
Give thanks to the LORD for how the Holy Spirit is connecting Christian workers in this massive and very strategic effort to help, evangelize, and disciple those from the 4/14 Window.
-
Continue to thank God for all the churches, organizations, and national/regional/local activities helping to raise up a new generation from the 4/14 Window -- for the Lord's glory and Great Commission.
Prayer Requests:
-
September 6-8 at the Promise Church in New York City, the Transform World 4/14 Window Global Summit will take place. Over 400 delegates from more than 70 countries will attend, with almost 300 of those from outside the United States. Please pray for all the final preparations and logistics for this special gathering to officially launch the Transform World 4/14 Global Initiative. Please seek protection, good health, wisdom, and a strong servant spirit for and among all those gathering. Pray for traveling mercies. Ask that the Holy Spirit would mightily lead in just what the LORD wishes to accomplish through this 4/14 Summit.
-
On September 4-5, the 4/14 Initiative Planning Team will gather near New York City in Ft. Lee, New Jersey. The team includes the various 4/14 track and task force facilitators, steering committee members, and resource staff. Please pray for the Lord's wisdom and grace in these meetings, in final preparation for the 4/14 Global Summit (September 6-8). Ask for safe travels, good health, and a strong team dynamic for all those participating.
-
Lift up the 4/14 Global Summit tracks and task forces during their meetings in September as they bond as teams and discuss items/issues specific to their part of the 4/14 Initiative. Pray for wisdom and the Lord's leading in covering what's needed in preparation for the months (and years) ahead.
-
Ask for the Lord's help during the 4/14 September meetings in considering how best to acquire, store, and share all the information and contacts needed for His 4/14 Window purposes; ask Him that we might establish the most effective and secure means for communication among ourselves in the weeks and months to come.
-
Seek sensitivity and effectiveness as track/task force facilitators work with leaders from "Generation X" (ages 26-44) and "Generation Y" (ages 7-25).
Quick Links
-
http://4to14window.com/
-
http://www.unicef.org/sowc08/
back to top
|
