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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."
911:"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 -
244:
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.
366:' 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
63:
49:, 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.
875:
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.
267:
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.
243:
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,
334:
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
266:
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,
841:
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
874:
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
321:
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
343:
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.
228:
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."
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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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291:. 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.
729:"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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494:"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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926:"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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956:"Do Evangelical Kids' Clubs Deserve Freedom of Speech in Public Schools?"
422:"Raising Up a New Generation from the 4-14 Window to Transform the World"
225:
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1003:"How Christian fundamentalists plan to teach genocide to schoolchildren"
520:"Review of George Barna, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions"
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found that 71% of Christians in the US converted before the age of 14.
618:"Compare prices from many stores on computers, electronics, and more"
1076:
The 4/14 Window: Raising Up a New Generation to Transform the World
1078:
by Luis Bush (Author), Wess Stafford (Foreword), September 1, 2009
327:
217:
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Religion and children § Religious indoctrination of children
326:, wherein those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to
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1029:"The proper teaching of the story of Saul and the Amalekites"
712:"THE "4/14 WINDOW" - Child Ministries and Mission Strategies"
553:"Book notes - TRANSFORMING CHILDREN INTO SPIRITUAL CHAMPIONS"
275:
The 4/14 window was originally conceived by Bryant Myers of
826:"Are You Really Born Again? - How False Conversions Occur"
625:
604:"Lausanne-Themenheft Nr. 47 - den Kindern eine Chance!"
580:. Barna Research. October 11, 2004. Archived from
800:"Fundraising and the ethics of child evangelism"
453:"The Great Commission to Reach a New Generation"
705:
703:
27:Christian evangelism movement founded in 1937
8:
216:In April 1994, a two-day conference held by
394:"4/14 Window - a Golden Age of Opportunity"
249:Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
888:"Common Pitfalls in Evangelizing Children"
670:Evangelism among Children - Lousanne Forum
443:
441:
415:
413:
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578:"Evangelism Is Most Effective Among Kids"
147:Learn how and when to remove this message
1059:by Mark Griffiths, Monarch Books, 2009,
783:. Victory Baptist Church. Archived from
161:
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1105:The Emerging Story of the 4/14 Movement
384:
262:In 2005, Christian relief organization
232:A survey conducted in 1995–1996 by the
83:Please improve this section by adding
466:Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
362:criticized various practices of the '
347:In the 19th century, the philosopher
311:Criticism of religion § Children
234:Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
7:
461:Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
954:Katherine Stewart (Mar 12, 2013).
25:
1001:Stewart, Katherine (2012-05-30).
781:"Why We Don't Use The Altar Call"
890:. Grace community church. 2004.
255:for conversion, and created the
61:
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1035:from the original on 2014-05-21
1009:from the original on 2013-10-12
936:from the original on 2014-05-20
894:from the original on 2016-11-20
861:. February 2011. Archived from
855:"'The leavers' - Kent Philpott"
832:from the original on 2014-08-28
806:from the original on 2014-05-20
798:Randal Rauser (28 March 2014).
688:from the original on 2014-05-23
652:from the original on 2013-10-21
559:from the original on 2014-05-23
500:from the original on 2013-10-28
475:from the original on 2011-12-24
427:. 4/14 Movement. Archived from
399:. 4/14 Movement. Archived from
372:extermination of the Amalekites
1027:Kauffman, Reese (2012-06-11).
976:David: A Man After God's Heart
1:
1031:. London: The Guardian (UK).
1005:. London: The Guardian (UK).
924:Beth Hawkins (22 June 2012).
85:secondary or tertiary sources
1099:History of the 4/14 movement
710:Dan Brewster (August 2005).
979:. CEF Press. Archived from
717:. Compassion International.
518:Noel B. Woodbridge (2003).
392:Luis Bush (June 18, 2013).
287:, who also coined the term
96:"Child evangelism movement"
43:Child Evangelism Fellowship
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420:Luis Bush (18 June 2013).
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279:and later popularized by
218:Awana Clubs International
162:Age at conversion (1996)
45:(CEF). It focuses on the
32:child evangelism movement
1163:Evangelical ecclesiology
973:Pongracz, Linda (2011).
1124:by J. Irvin Overholtzer
913:On Religion: A Dialogue
1082:4/14 movement articles
72:relies excessively on
824:Kent Allan Philpott.
779:Laurence A. Justice.
640:"lausanne LOP47 2004"
451:(December 19, 1997).
1087:4/14 movement videos
406:on October 14, 2013.
281:Christian missionary
53:Strategy and history
434:on 14 October 2013.
349:Arthur Schopenhauer
1168:Christian missions
755:"1 www.9marks.org"
859:Evangelical Times
360:Katherine Stewart
354:In her 2012 book
341:John F. MacArthur
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70:This section
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1094:by Luis Bush
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551:David Mays.
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429:the original
401:the original
387:
355:
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346:
337:
316:
314:
292:
289:10/40 window
277:World Vision
274:
264:World Vision
261:
259:initiative.
256:
253:global South
246:
241:George Barna
238:
231:
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167:Before age 6
143:
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71:
46:
31:
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1120:Worldcat -
682:"Aim Lower"
449:Thom Rainer
324:altar calls
283:strategist
271:4/14 window
47:4/14 window
18:4/14 Window
1173:Evangelism
1157:Categories
1143:2013-10-13
1065:1854249290
1039:2012-06-11
1013:2012-06-13
987:2012-05-15
940:2014-05-20
898:2019-01-13
869:2014-05-20
836:2014-05-20
810:2014-05-20
765:2019-10-04
656:2013-10-13
563:2014-05-23
504:2013-10-13
479:2014-05-24
379:References
305:See also:
222:Streamwood
199:Ages 15–19
191:Ages 13–14
183:Ages 10–12
107:newspapers
74:references
39:evangelism
301:Criticism
285:Luis Bush
257:Aim Lower
239:In 2003,
36:Christian
1137:Archived
1033:Archived
1007:Archived
934:Archived
930:MinnPost
892:Archived
830:Archived
804:Archived
686:Archived
647:Archived
557:Archived
498:Archived
470:Archived
226:Illinois
175:Ages 6–9
1133:7910391
739:May 23,
588:May 23,
121:scholar
1131:
1063:
692:23 May
536:23 May
309:, and
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397:(PDF)
328:Jesus
128:JSTOR
114:books
1129:OCLC
1061:ISBN
741:2014
694:2014
590:2014
538:2014
210:19%
202:10%
194:15%
186:26%
178:24%
100:news
30:The
220:in
170:6%
76:to
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