In the 1990s there was a big push to target the 10/40 Window for prayer and missions. For those who may not know, the 10/40 Window is the geographical band around the world located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator that is where the majority of the world’s people unreached by the gospel live.

This geographical window, including regions like South Asia and the Middle East, has always been a core focus of missions efforts, but recently another window of great mission significance has been identified – the 4/14 Window.

The 4/14 Window represents children between the ages of 4 and 14. Worldwide, there are 1.2 billion of these children needing to hear about Jesus and how much He cares for them.

As a result of this identification, the 4/14 Window Global Initiative was created. This initiative is dedicated to raising global church awareness about the strategic importance of reaching and raising up a new generation of Christ followers.

This is a generation that, by experiencing a personal transformation through Jesus, can be mobilized as agents for transformation throughout the world.

You may be wondering why is it so important to share the gospel message with children between the ages of 4 and 14. Besides the fact that God loves them, studies by well-known researcher George Barna have revealed these interesting facts:

• 85 percent of Christians in America who accept Christ do so before the age of 15.
• Most of a person’s moral beliefs are formed by age 9.
• People’s life-long spiritual identity is typically in place by age 13.

As a result of these findings, Barna concludes:

“The implication of these findings is clear. Anyone who wishes to have significant influence on the development of a person’s moral and spiritual foundations had better exert that influence while the person is still open-minded and impressionable — in other words, while the person is still young.”

Tragically, Satan also understands the importance of the 4/14 Window. That’s why he unleashes some of his most vicious attacks against children within this age span in the form of poverty, war, hunger, disease, neglect and abuse. He will do anything to ruin children’s lives and their potential for spiritual transformation in Christ.

Tomorrow we are joining other supporters of the 4/14 Window Global Initiative in a day of fasting and prayer for children who live in this critical window of time in our cities, churches, nations and world.

As a dedicated champion of children, you are invited to participate in this important effort to focus the Church’s attention on those children in the 4/14 Window through fervent, targeted fasting and intercessory prayer.

Will you join us by praying or fasting for these children?

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Here are some numbers for you to chew on today.

The Barna Group did a survey asking “born-again” Christians and other Americans what they had done in the past 12 months to help those in poverty. Among the results were:

• 75 percent of born-again Christians gave material resources, not including money, directly to the poor.
• 74 percent of other Americans gave material resources, not including money, directly to the poor.
• 50 percent of born-again Christians donated time to personally serve needy people who live in the community.
• 45 percent of other Americans did the same.

Hmmm … That’s not a big difference. Regarding the statistics, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group said,

Given the extensive comments in the Bible regarding the importance of taking care of the poor, we expected to see a larger distinction between the responses of born-again Christians and non-Christians.

This isn’t a beauty pageant — we’re not competing with those around us for “Best Do-Gooder.” But one would expect the followers of Jesus — the most compassionate man who ever walked this earth — to be a bit more radical in their compassionate deeds, a bit more out of the ordinary.

I think America is a pretty compassionate country, thanks in part to its Judeo-Christian roots. So I have to ask myself: Is my compassion just a result of my do-gooder culture? Or is my compassion a radical outpouring of following Jesus, knowing him, and becoming like him?

What matters isn’t how I measure up to the average American around me, but whether I’m seeking Christ and following his example, “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7).

What do you think? Are you culturally compassionate? Is your compassion an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life as you follow Jesus?

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