Greetings!
"This is a great gathering of Christian history in this time."
"Now is the time for children."
"Children are a treasure."
"Children are the next generation."
"Without sowing there is no harvest."
"Without children there is no future of Christianity."
"We cannot lose. . .because we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. "We can transform the world in one or two decades."
"Our church has 150 intercessory prayers praying for this vision."
"We are working for the Kingdom."
 With these words of affirmation and challenge, Pastor Kim of Full Gospel Church / Promise Ministries International set the stage for a day of worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God for what He has done, is doing, and will do in the lives of children around the world. Pastor Kim and the 4,000 members of his Flushing, New York, USA church welcomed more than 300 delegatesPromise Church Choir from around 65 countries for a full day of celebrating God and His love, concern, and compassion for children; repenting for sins of omission as well as commission in our failure to see children as God sees them; and to commit officially launch an initiative to reach children between the age of 4/14 with the Gospel to bring about reconciliation, restoration, and transformation in and through them to change the world.
Testimony after testimony confirmed that this was indeed a leading of God's Spirit. From a seed planted in the heart of Pastor Kim over 10 years ago, to an urging of the Spirit to a child advocate before that, to the work of God being done through his people in countries on every continent, to divine encounters of a Korean, and Indonesian and an Argentinean, God's Spirit has been moving around the world to cultivate and prepare the soil for planting and harvest. Now is the time for children
As Bambang Budijanto, chair of the 4/14 Steering Committee declared:
Children are the primary agents of transformation
Children are a mission force; not a mission field
Martha Anderson
Transform World newsletter editor
National Director, Centurions Program of Prison Fellowship / BreakPoint
Children Matter in the Kingdom of God
Wess Stafford - Commpassion International,
 The comments below are excerpted from Wes' keynote address to the 4/14 Window Global Summit.
We have sensed the presence of God here.
We are on the brink of the future of the Kingdom of God; on the edge of a complete paradigm shift.
This is a moment in history we will look back on and say "that's when it changed."
Proverbs 31says: Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. It is a mystery why we don't.
Children matter in the Kingdom of God.
Children's ministry is the great omission of the Great Commission
At a 1992 conference of various ministries, I kept waiting to hear about work in reaching children, but no ministry mentioned it. Finally I decided to count the number of times the word child or children was mentioned in any presentation. I only counted 12 mentions, and those were in passing, not strategic. Children were not in the strategies or vocabulary of ministries.
 Picture the 10/40 window - as you look at that sea of humanity focus and realize every other person is a child. Studies show that 85% of Christians come to Christ as a child. Only 15% of mission activity is spent on children
How did we get so far off on this? Because there aren't enough children? Because they are too small to be noticed? Because we are not smart enough? Because God or Scripture is silent? Do we not love them? If not, then why?
Everything that goes wrong in society affects the children the most. They pay the greatest price. But they have no voice to speak up and protest.
The pay the greatest price for our sin of omission.
Children are a low priority in missions, churches, government. They are a high priority to the hosts of heaven and hell. It's a battle for hearts and minds.
All major movements of mankind have understood the power of children.
We need a paradigm shift
Paradigm shifts are different and uncomfortable
Grasp this, turn around, and preach it to others.
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Recognizing the Potential in Children
Based on a presentation by Scott Todd,
In the early part of the 20th Century, Germany saw the formation of the Nazi Youth Movement and Hitler's Youth Movement and a government rose to power on the fuel, energy and zeal of that youthful generation, with devastating consequences.
In the 60s, the Chinese Youth Movement gained momentum, and through it the Red Guard attacked old ideas, habits, values through a 10-year Cultural Revolution.
In the United States in the 1950s, the youth market was small. Today it is a $200 billion market. Children ages 2 and up are targeted by advertiser's in a $15 billion industry. Today, the average US child spends 14 hours a week watching television and less than an hour in conversation with family. This youth movement has led to a culture of greed, consumerism, materialism
North Korea, Mao, Hitler, Madison Avenue all see the potential in children. Now the church must see it too. Children are critical. Children are vital.
We must stand shoulder to shoulder as advocates for children.
$15 billion is nothing compared to the resources of the Kingdom
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Building Effective Partnerships
 The task of world evangelization is huge. As the Body of Christ we can no longer think individually. We must fulfill God's prayer in John 17:20-23 by working together, showing God's love for one another and thereby helping the world see the Kingdom of God in their midst.
How do you build lasting partnerships? Bill Sunderland, an expert in building and maintaining effective partnerships, suggested 5 main points:
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Sense God's heart for unity as expressed in His Word.
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Understand the role of vision -- this is what drives a partnership.
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Building a partnership is not an event -- it is a long, up and down process
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Don't go too far too fast -- take small steps and build trust.
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Partnerships are only as solid as trusting relationships built through prayer and time.
Bill described four key phases in the development of a partnership: exploration (research), formation (consensus), operation (involvement), and maturation (celebration and growth). For instance, in the "operation" phase, Bill stressed that "communication in partnership is critical . . . . Once your group has decided to take action, it is imperative that those who have agreed to 'act' have a way to keep everyone in the partnership informed and engaged."
Bill pointed out that so much of what people like Luis Bush and Dino Toughang had presented to 4/14 track facilitators in the past day focuses on the Church working together. Indeed, a core value of Transform World and the 4/14 movement highlights working with each other. The massive 4/14 Window endeavor won't be accomplished by a few large Christian organizations working independently. It will take the collaboration of millions of Christians worldwide -- Christ's global body networking and partnering together.
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Summit Blogs
If you want "real-time" updates from the Summit, visit Phillip Gonzales' Global Summit Blog, or Summit updates that will be posted on The Story of God and Man. See the links to each blog in the "Quick Links" box below.
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Quick Links
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