Understanding the 4/14 window: Challenging the church to rethink its position on children's ministry.

May 11th - 13th 2011 in Johannesburg

*Photograph courtesy of Open Doors

For the last 2000 years the church has read the Bible with the adult as the focus. As a result most of its church services, ministries and budget allocations are not aimed at children. Yet research shows that about 80% of those who make commitments to Christ do so as children and only a very small proportion of adults respond to the gospel.

Thankfully there is movement called the 4 to 14 Window Movement, which is responding to this challenge, and this year’s conference hosted by the South African Theological Seminary will focus on their solutions. The aim of this national initiative will be to mobilise South African organisations and churches to respond to the challenges surrounding "Generation Z".

The “4/14 Window”:

Some years ago, Dr. Bryant Myers, Director of World Vision’s MARC Ministries, made an excellent presentation to the EFMA Executive Retreat. The title was “The State of the World’s Children: A Cultural Challenge to the Christian Mission in the 1990’s.” Bryant painted a sobering picture of the numbers and conditions of children and youth throughout the world today, and noted some of the implications that this huge and often suffering people group presents to mission strategists today. But the most significant portion of his presentation was that in the USA, nearly 85 percent of people who make a decision for Christ, do so between the ages of 4 and 14!

This is a call to the church to completely rethink its position on children.The topic of this conference will be much debated in the next few years and we urge to you take advantage of learning about it at this ground-breaking stage.

NOTE 1:

If you would like to read more about the 4/14 Window initiative please click on the following link:
http://www.hcd-alliance.org/

NOTE 2:

The following papers are available from the 4/14 conference held in Kenya earlier this year. Reference was made to these papers at the SATS conference. Please go to the following link: http://www.hcd-alliance.org/nowandnext/download/category/3-plenarie where you will be able to read and download the following papers:

Opening Paper - Marcia Bunge (100.50 kB)
Paper 1 - Child as Signs of the Kingdom - Keith White (124.00 kB)
Paper 3 - Child Theology - Victor Nakah (59.00 kB)
Paper 4 - Children in Mission - Ruth Padilla De Borst (154.41 kB

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