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stories, songs, biscuits, and a fizzy drink. I recall the black, red, and white felt hearts displayed on the flannel boards she had set up in her living room—one felt heart laid on top of the next. First, there was the black heart, the sinful heart which we did not want, since we could not go to heaven with a black heart. Next, there was the red heart, which was formerly the black heart, but now it was coated with the blood of Jesus. Then there was the white heart, the one we wanted, since we could not go to heaven and be with Jesus unless we had a white heart. There was not one child who did not want a white heart, so we prayed to be washed in the blood of Jesus. Mrs. B made sure every one of us prayed; every summer my brothers and I would pray for a white heart so we could go to heaven. I believe what my brothers and I experienced were introjections rather than conversions. Introjections occur when someone, in the presence of a powerful person or group, feels very anxious and reduces his anxiety by conforming to the expectations of that person or group. He does not realize that his new beliefs are motivated by an unconscious desire to relieve the tension produced by anxiety. Mrs. B wanted to make sure we would go to heaven—so she scared the wits out of us! If we did not have a white heart we would go to hell. As children, we were scared not only that we would disappoint Mrs. B but that we would also burn in the devil's hell. As a result, she racked up a good number of "conversions."
900:"And as the capacity for believing is strongest in childhood, special care is taken to make sure of this tender age. This has much more to do with the doctrines of belief taking root than threats and reports of miracles. If, in early childhood, certain fundamental views and doctrines are paraded with unusual solemnity, and an air of the greatest earnestness never before visible in anything else; if, at the same time, the possibility of a doubt about them be completely passed over, or touched upon only to indicate that doubt is the first step to eternal perdition, the resulting impression will be so deep that, as a rule, that is, in almost every case, doubt about them will be almost as impossible as doubt about one's own existence."- Arthur Schopenhauer -
233:
in contrast to the tactics of many churches focusing on teaching older children. Barna wrote that "habits related to the practice of one's faith develop when one is young and change surprisingly little over time", and that "the older a child gets, the more distracted and vulnerable he or she becomes" to what he described as "nonfamily influences". Barna also found that children who converted to
Christianity before their teenage years were more likely to remain "absolutely committed" to Christianity.
355:' after-school Bible study program, including young participants being rewarded for recruiting friends of other faiths and denominations whose parents have not enrolled them in the program. She argued that children in schools were encouraged to bully children who did not share their faith. Stewart has also criticised the efforts of politically conservative biblical literalists to convert young children to forms of Christian belief that advocate a literal reading of
52:
38:, which centers on evangelizing children between the ages of 4 and 14 years. The movement focuses on targeting children, as they are considered both the most receptive to evangelization and the most effective at evangelizing their peer group, with groups supportive of the initiative arguing for the need to refocus evangelization efforts on the 4-14 age group worldwide.
864:
counted among the de-converted? They had been told as children that they were now
Christians and needed only to be baptised and join the church. Many did, and some may have been genuinely converted, but I suspect many were not. They must walk away at some point, for to be in a church in their state would be uncomfortable at best.
256:
poverty and conflict have disrupted their lives. The paper included basic ethical considerations, such as not evangelising children without parental consent, or where their families are entirely dependent on
Christian charities for financial or material support, or in a way that disparages their local culture.
232:
published the results of his research, showing that children were the most important population segment to minister to, as they were considered the most likely to absorb spiritual teaching due to developmental vulnerability. Barna argued that a child's moral development was "set" by the age of nine,
323:
has criticized the practice of "conversionism," which emphasizes immediate change in religion, rather than a gradual transformation of life and belief. He has also criticized the targeting of young children, who can be "easily manipulated" into confessing belief in things they do not understand to
255:
declared the child evangelism movement "very important" in the 21st century. Dan
Brewster, a director of World Vision, argued in a paper in 2005 that "The poor and exploited tend to be much more receptive to the Gospel", and that children and young people should be targeted in areas where disease,
830:
As a child, I "accepted" Jesus many times. I remember Mrs. B, who conducted vacation Bible schools every summer in the
Portland, Oregon, neighborhood where I grew up. She was a large person with a big voice and aggressive ways. She would gather up the children and take us to her house for Bible
863:
As a pastor, I was very good at getting confessions of faith out of kids. At Bible camps, I could get every boy and girl up front praying the sinner's prayer. What about those kids later on, when they got to be 20- and 30-somethings? Might some of them have walked away from
Christianity, to be
310:
to communicate religious concepts to children too young to read. Critics of this practice argue that children too young to read for themselves are too young to be able to make informed, independent decisions about religion; in the same vein, some
Christian authors are critical of the use of
332:
has been critical of evangelists coercing a profession of faith from children, especially when the evangelist oversimplifies parts of the religion in order to get a large number of children to "convert", in response to a formulaic presentation light on details of the faith.
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as used to justify genocide. In response, the
Childhood Evangelism Foundation stated that they encouraged a literal reading of the extermination of the Amalekites, but did not encourage children to view it as an endorsement of historical or current genocides.
217:
hosted children's ministry leaders from 54 organizations, focusing on ways to evangelize children between the ages of 4 and 14. The conference was sponsored by
Christianity Today International, along with six other groups co-sponsoring the event.
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Protestant criticism has expressed concern that young converts grow up to have a false understanding of the religion, and that widespread secularisation of Europe and North
America is the product of false conversions in childhood.
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in Thailand, a group of Christian evangelists examined the state of evangelism among children. The Lausanne committee published a paper arguing that evangelists should target children under 14 in the
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in 2009 that "Mission strategies developed for the 4/14 Window would be implemented by parents, pastors and other role model figures who play key roles in shaping a child's worldview."
382:
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and the Christian faith are invited to come forward publicly. Some theologians argue that altar calls may give converts a false understanding of religious salvation. Theologian
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280:. The 4/14 window is a subset of the child evangelism movement, focused on evangelizing children between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. Bush commented in the
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narratives; in 2013, Stewart argued that biblical literalists teach children to read from the Old Testament in order to understand the divinely-ordered
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Proponents of the 4/14 window encourage children from the age of four to be converted to Christianity. Evangelists often use techniques such as a
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by J. Irvin Overholtzer, Publisher: Pacific Palisades, Calif. : International Child Evangelism Fellowship, 1953.
718:"Mission Strategist: New Focus Should be on 4/14 Window By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter September 9, 2009"
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argued that teaching some ideas to children at a young age could foster resistance to doubting those ideas later on.
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A modern weeping prophet : history of the Child Evangelism movement up to April 1940. Written as of 1947
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A modern weeping prophet: history of the Child Evangelism movement up to April 1940. Written as of 1947
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483:"The 4-14 Window New push on child evangelism targets the crucial early years. By John W. Kennedy"
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7 Reasons Why I believe the 4/14 Window is our Priority Missional Focus to Transform the World
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movement founded in 1937 by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer, who founded the Christian organization
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915:"Katherine Stewart: How Christian clubs in schools turned into faith-based bullying"
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One Generation from Extinction: How the Church Connects with the Unchurched Child
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The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children
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945:"Do Evangelical Kids' Clubs Deserve Freedom of Speech in Public Schools?"
411:"Raising Up a New Generation from the 4-14 Window to Transform the World"
214:
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992:"How Christian fundamentalists plan to teach genocide to schoolchildren"
509:"Review of George Barna, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions"
225:
found that 71% of Christians in the US converted before the age of 14.
607:"Compare prices from many stores on computers, electronics, and more"
1065:
The 4/14 Window: Raising Up a New Generation to Transform the World
1067:
by Luis Bush (Author), Wess Stafford (Foreword), September 1, 2009
316:
206:
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Religion and children § Religious indoctrination of children
315:, wherein those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to
45:
1018:"The proper teaching of the story of Saul and the Amalekites"
701:"THE "4/14 WINDOW" - Child Ministries and Mission Strategies"
542:"Book notes - TRANSFORMING CHILDREN INTO SPIRITUAL CHAMPIONS"
264:
The 4/14 window was originally conceived by Bryant Myers of
815:"Are You Really Born Again? - How False Conversions Occur"
614:
593:"Lausanne-Themenheft Nr. 47 - den Kindern eine Chance!"
569:. Barna Research. October 11, 2004. Archived from
789:"Fundraising and the ethics of child evangelism"
442:"The Great Commission to Reach a New Generation"
694:
692:
16:Christian evangelism movement founded in 1937
8:
205:In April 1994, a two-day conference held by
383:"4/14 Window - a Golden Age of Opportunity"
238:Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
877:"Common Pitfalls in Evangelizing Children"
659:Evangelism among Children - Lousanne Forum
432:
430:
404:
402:
147:
567:"Evangelism Is Most Effective Among Kids"
136:Learn how and when to remove this message
1048:by Mark Griffiths, Monarch Books, 2009,
772:. Victory Baptist Church. Archived from
150:
1099:
1094:The Emerging Story of the 4/14 Movement
373:
251:In 2005, Christian relief organization
221:A survey conducted in 1995–1996 by the
72:Please improve this section by adding
455:Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
351:criticized various practices of the '
336:In the 19th century, the philosopher
300:Criticism of religion § Children
223:Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
7:
450:Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
943:Katherine Stewart (Mar 12, 2013).
14:
990:Stewart, Katherine (2012-05-30).
770:"Why We Don't Use The Altar Call"
879:. Grace community church. 2004.
244:for conversion, and created the
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1128:from the original on 2016-04-04
1024:from the original on 2014-05-21
998:from the original on 2013-10-12
925:from the original on 2014-05-20
883:from the original on 2016-11-20
850:. February 2011. Archived from
844:"'The leavers' - Kent Philpott"
821:from the original on 2014-08-28
795:from the original on 2014-05-20
787:Randal Rauser (28 March 2014).
677:from the original on 2014-05-23
641:from the original on 2013-10-21
548:from the original on 2014-05-23
489:from the original on 2013-10-28
464:from the original on 2011-12-24
416:. 4/14 Movement. Archived from
388:. 4/14 Movement. Archived from
361:extermination of the Amalekites
1016:Kauffman, Reese (2012-06-11).
965:David: A Man After God's Heart
1:
1020:. London: The Guardian (UK).
994:. London: The Guardian (UK).
913:Beth Hawkins (22 June 2012).
74:secondary or tertiary sources
1088:History of the 4/14 movement
699:Dan Brewster (August 2005).
968:. CEF Press. Archived from
706:. Compassion International.
507:Noel B. Woodbridge (2003).
381:Luis Bush (June 18, 2013).
276:, who also coined the term
85:"Child evangelism movement"
32:Child Evangelism Fellowship
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409:Luis Bush (18 June 2013).
293:
268:and later popularized by
207:Awana Clubs International
151:Age at conversion (1996)
34:(CEF). It focuses on the
21:child evangelism movement
1152:Evangelical ecclesiology
962:Pongracz, Linda (2011).
1113:by J. Irvin Overholtzer
902:On Religion: A Dialogue
1071:4/14 movement articles
61:relies excessively on
813:Kent Allan Philpott.
768:Laurence A. Justice.
629:"lausanne LOP47 2004"
440:(December 19, 1997).
1076:4/14 movement videos
395:on October 14, 2013.
270:Christian missionary
42:Strategy and history
423:on 14 October 2013.
338:Arthur Schopenhauer
1157:Christian missions
744:"1 www.9marks.org"
848:Evangelical Times
349:Katherine Stewart
343:In her 2012 book
330:John F. MacArthur
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540:David Mays.
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390:the original
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344:
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305:
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281:
278:10/40 window
266:World Vision
263:
253:World Vision
250:
248:initiative.
245:
242:global South
235:
230:George Barna
227:
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156:Before age 6
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35:
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1109:Worldcat -
671:"Aim Lower"
438:Thom Rainer
313:altar calls
272:strategist
260:4/14 window
36:4/14 window
1162:Evangelism
1146:Categories
1132:2013-10-13
1054:1854249290
1028:2012-06-11
1002:2012-06-13
976:2012-05-15
929:2014-05-20
887:2019-01-13
858:2014-05-20
825:2014-05-20
799:2014-05-20
754:2019-10-04
645:2013-10-13
552:2014-05-23
493:2013-10-13
468:2014-05-24
368:References
294:See also:
211:Streamwood
188:Ages 15–19
180:Ages 13–14
172:Ages 10–12
96:newspapers
63:references
28:evangelism
290:Criticism
274:Luis Bush
246:Aim Lower
228:In 2003,
25:Christian
1126:Archived
1022:Archived
996:Archived
923:Archived
919:MinnPost
881:Archived
819:Archived
793:Archived
675:Archived
636:Archived
546:Archived
487:Archived
459:Archived
215:Illinois
164:Ages 6–9
1122:7910391
728:May 23,
577:May 23,
110:scholar
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681:23 May
525:23 May
298:, and
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317:Jesus
117:JSTOR
103:books
1118:OCLC
1050:ISBN
730:2014
683:2014
579:2014
527:2014
199:19%
191:10%
183:15%
175:26%
167:24%
89:news
19:The
209:in
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