4/14 Window News - Volume 2, Issue 1

4/14 Window Global Summit II, Sept 2 - 5, 2010

4/14 Window Global Summit II, Aug 22 - 25, 2010

UPDATE: The dates for 4/14 Window Global Summit II has been moved to September. Please reschedule your calendar accordingly. We apologize for your inconvenience. (This notice was added on April 3, 2010)

2nd 4/14 Window Global Summit is approaching fast. More information will be available shortly. This is invitation-only event, but who knows? You should be one of the invitees. Mark your calendar and watch for the announcement.

4/14 Window Argentine Summit (Nov. 11, 2009)

By Gaston Bruno

On November 11, 2009, a summit of Argentine leaders was held at the headquarters of the Association of Evangelicals in Argentina and affirmed the evangelizing and discipling of the 4/14 age group as a strategic priority of the Church worldwide. The meeting was the first step in the process of developing and implementing a strategy to address that priority.

Participants included Hugo Baravalle (President of ACIERA), Christian Hooft (ACIERA Vice President), Juan Pablo Bongarra (Interministerial Relations Director),  Ruben Proietti, recent & future president of  ACIERA, Vice President Walter Guiriani, a specialist in child evangelism, and Bruno Gaston (Director of Passing The Torch). All except Guiriani and Proietti participated in the 4/14 Global Summit in NYC in September.

4/14 Global Summit Steering Committee members Rob Hoskins, President of One Hope, and Ricardo Luna as well as Luis and Doris Bush participated in the Summit as well.

A detailed analysis of the needs of children and adolescents locally, regionally and globally was presented and discussed. It was concluded that unless we change the course of the next generation, as the Church of Jesus Christ, the outlook in the coming decades will be desolation.

See below for some of the research study conclusions that clearly demonstrate the actual pain of childhood and adolescence.

We believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord who is mobilizing us to address these needs through a profound process of transformation of through the Body of Christ working  in unity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusions of research in Argentina

1. The young people aged between 4 and 20 years are called the "interactive generation" or "generation of the screen", as their lives pass through the mobile phone, computer, television and film screens, in that order.
2. A very high proportion of content accessed is highly violent, pornographic and with a total absence of Christian values.
3. According to unofficial research, the most often sent SMS codes are related to touching, and kittens, and are high in sexual promiscuity.
4. The average age of the target market for this content is 13 to 15 years. In boys, the access to this information generates a "sexual overstimulation" that seriously distorts his appreciation of the opposite sex, guiding thoughts into the practice of permanently promiscuous sex. In the case of girls, according to psychological studies, the result of access to these images generates a negative assessment of males, and an approach towards its own gender. Could it be that this is a factor in the growing reality of young lesbian couples?
5. In addition, Harry Potter is a major media icon that influences children and adolescents through references to  sorcery, witchcraft, spiritualist invocations, and the lack of a Christ centered dimension of life.
6. The content of the online games or via interactive play station is overwhelmingly highly violent. Research has shown that exposure to these screens of entertainment generates "habituation" and "insensitivity" against indicators such as violence, bloodshed and even death.
7. In schools and in training manuals, all references based on a Christian lifestyle have been erased, and it is now easier to find invocations to the worship of the earth, spirit guides, shamans, etc., than any mention of Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.
8. In parallel, according to research, we found that the age of sexual initiation has fallen to the fringe of 14 to 16 years in both sexes, and that the practice of sex among teenagers is highly promiscuous.
9. The leading cause of adolescent depression and suicidal thoughts and initiation into drug use stems from the failure of the model family as an institution.

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4/14 Window Summit in Cameroon (Jan. 2010)

In early January, Lisa Nagle (Facilitator of the 4/14 Parent Track) and Sheryl Grunwald (International Trainer for Kidzana) led a team to Cameroon with the purpose of launching the 4/14 Window movement in Cameroon. A 4/14 Summit was held in Bamenda, Cameroon on January 4-5, 2010. The purpose of the summit was to bring the vision of the 4/14 Global Movement to church leaders in Cameroon. Eighty leaders representing 25 churches and ministries gathered to hear about this new global mission strategy. Ten leaders gave presentations on the importance of the 4/14 Window and strategies to raise up a new generation to transform the world.

"4/14 Window came to Cameroon especially to Bamenda. I want to say that the impression they made is a great one, because we began to hear church leaders call and parents testify of how people who attended the Summit were able to go back home and minister to their children. We are now able to start something new. I think 4/14 has come to stay. The kids between the ages of 4 and 14 in Cameroon will never be the same. We are going with all of our strength, God helping us, to reach out to many more children during this time. There will be transformation while these children minister to their peers. We are believing God for the nation of Cameroon. New leaders are coming up with new strength for the Lord, with new grace to be able to stand for Jesus. And we are sure to see that this nation will own the 4/14 vision." This is the charge given by Mrs. Lydia Wonget, Cameroon Director of Book of Hope and the National Children's Coordinator for the Full Gospel Church.

One presenter explained the urgent and critical importance of the 4/14 Window by using three candles to illustrate a truth. She held out three candles of all different lengths but each cost the same price. She asked: "Which would you buy?" The short candle represents an adult because he has used up his life.  By the time he understands and grows in faith, he can only shine for a short time.  The mid-length candle represents older youth.  Many youth in Cameroon are now on the streets. When a youth comes to Christ, he may have already spoiled his life.  The long candle represents children in the 4/14 window.  But this child can begin to shine for Christ and follow Him the rest of his life.

Before the summit started several meetings were held with leaders from many different churches to design the program. Invitation letters were sent out to many ministries and churches. On the Sunday before the summit, members of the Cameroon 4/14 Window Steering Committee drove to nine different churches to remind leaders and ministry workers about the 4/14 Summit.  At each church the steering committee members had about ten minutes to talk about the 4/14 Window.

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A Way Forward in Cameroon

The two-day 4/14 Summit ended with a call to action for leaders to prioritize ministry to children. The final speaker at the summit asked participants this question: "If we want to make a palm oil grove, do we take a fully grown tree and transplant it?" The answer from many attendees was: "No! You start with a tender plant and nurture it and grow it up." In the African context this illustration perfectly describes the importance of this age group as a mission strategy in Cameroon.  Leaders who attended the 4/14 Summit agreed to "join hands" – across denominations – to focus on the 4/14 Window. Strategic leaders attending the summit were invited to attend a strategy meeting the following day to make plans for the future expansion of the 4/14 movement in Cameroon.

At the Strategy meeting, leaders discussed several key questions including the following:

• How can we work together?
• How would it work if we were to join together as a network?
• Could we raise the quality of what is being done with children's ministry?
• Can we work together as denominations to face our challenges together?

The Steering Committee for the newly-formed 4/14 Window movement in Cameroon met even on the day of our team's departure from Cameroon. They see the vision and are deeply committed to pressing ahead for a national summit later this year in the capital city of Yaounde.

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A 4/14er Inspires Our Team

Our team met a young man in Cameroon named Samuel who was dressed up in a nice suit and tie. The team asked him if he had been at church, since many of the Cameroonian churches have all-night New Year's Eve services. "No," was his reply. "I have just come from preaching and ministering in one of the villages." Samuel is only 15 years old. As Sheryl Grunwald talked to the youth he shared that his father, a pastor, had died when he was only nine and that his mother was raising him. His pastor was mentoring him in ministry.

Samuel is an example of the vision we sought to cast on this trip, of raising up a new generation from the 4/14 Window (children between the ages of 4 and 14) to transform the world. Our team shared the critical importance of investing in the discipleship of our children, speaking in eleven churches, at one crusade, at the two-day 4/14 Summit, and in countless one-on- one meetings. And the Holy Spirit moved and touched people's hearts, challenging and convicting them to make the children of their homes, churches and communities a greater priority. There is still so much work to be done. The idea of being intentional with our children runs against the cultural norm in Cameroon. But God can change hearts, and that's what we're praying for.

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Kid's Festival Reaches Out To 4/14

The recently concluded Festival of Hope Crusade held in India's southern city Chennai showcased the importance of reaching out to young children.

Mr. Charles Chandran, reports from Chennai of the 20,000+ children who gathered at this special program during the Crusade week where the Gospel was preached and several hundred children came to Christ. The day-long program had several programs exclusively for the children of Chennai and Franklin Graham's message impacted his audience.

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The Hispanic Church in Central Florida & the 4/14 Window

Diana Barrera said: "Esto es una cita divina." This is a divine appointment. As a catalytic servant of the Hispanic community engaged in mission in Central Florida she spoke at the Congreso Misionero Unido at which more than 1,000 gathered from as far away as Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

The theme was "Cambiando la Historia"-"Changing History." Participants considered the challenge made by Luis Bush. His challenge was to raise up a new generation from the 4/14 Window from the Hispanic World to become agents of change. The vision was inspired from Scripture, fueled by the dramatic growth of the Hispanic churches in Central Florida in the past two decades, the spirit of revival and the unity of the church and mission leaders who represented a wide spectrum of Christ-followers. These included the Church of God, the Assemblies of God, the Southern Baptists, the Mennonites and others who served in the fraternity that convened the event. A report from the Pew Research Center reinforced the conviction that this was a kairos moment for the Hispanic Church in the area and in the nation. The Pew Research Center overviewed their findings in a report dated December 11, 2009 which was entitled Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America. It contained the following statements. "They are the largest and youngest minority group in the United States. One-in-five school children is Hispanic. One-in-four newborns is Hispanic. Never before in this country's history has a minority ethnic group made up so large a share of the youngest Americans. By force of numbers alone, the kinds of adults these young Latinos become will help shape the kind of society America becomes in the 21st century."

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4/14 Window Launched in Eastern and North-Eastern India

200 Bishops, Mission Leaders and Servant Catalysts gathered at the famous Puri city, in Orissa State of Eastern India on February 17, 2010 to consider the implications of the 4/14 window. Hosted by the Compassion East India country office and by the Director Mr. DG Jebaraj this summit is one of three which is planned for the Indian sub-continent over the next 12 months.

Participants were encouraged to consider the strategic importance of the 1.2 billion children across the globe who are part of the 4/14 window. A plea was made to open hearts and minds to the idea of reaching and raising up a new generation from within that vast group – a generation that can experience personal transformation and can be mobilized as agents for transformation throughout India and especially the Eastern and North Eastern regions of India.

Resource persons and agencies came together to inform, discuss and challenge each other of the need to address a host of issues or challenges facing children in India. Among the agencies represented were Trans World Radio, EFICOR, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, National Prayer Network, Transform World India Connections, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, International Justice Mission, Holistic Child Development, NEICORD and West Bengal VHAI.

• Pray for ongoing follow up especially in the areas of Prayer, Education, Poverty, MDG/Church in Mission, Media, Governance and Justice.
• Pray for the North Indian Summit and also the South Indian Summit to be held in the next few months.

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Special Prayer Request for 4/14 Window National Summit in Pakistan

4/14 Window National Summit in Pakistan is approaching soon (March 4 - 6, 2010). They are expecting 140 participants from 44 organizations and 17 denominations. Please also keep 35 volunteers in your prayers who will be helping us during the summit.

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4/14 Window Movement on the Map

Last updated on Jan 18, 2010

4/14 Window's 2010 Events at a Glance

Some of these events' date and location can be changed without notice.