One summer I burned to death every Friday night. Mary Lou, our scriptwriter, had chosen the story of British pastor, John Wycliffe—who was burned at the stake for translating the Bible so everyone could read it—as the culminating moment of each summer camp week. I was assigned the hero’s role and dutifully died each Friday, my coat filling with scorching air as the straw “dummy” who replaced me became a pyre of commitment.
Each week hundreds of campers, ages eight to 14, would applaud John Wycliffe’s commitment to God. Then, practically to a person, they would kneel and commit their own lives to follow God, “to martyrdom if necessary.”
Those campers are today’s church leaders.
Christian evangelists talk much of the 10/40 Window. This is a shorthand description of the part of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians, the least evangelized nations. The area extends from ten degrees to 40 degrees north of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China.
Four billion people live there—two-thirds of the world’s population.
Ninety percent of the poorest of the poor live there.
Approximately 2.7 billion non-Christians live there.
Close to 1.6 billion of these folks have never heard the Gospel. Not even once!
Dozens of Christian groups have taken on evangelization of the people of the 10/40 Window—some with prayers, others with missionaries, schools, clinics, sewing centers, preachers, and friends. Thousands are hearing of Christ for the first time each day. Victory, in terms of the Gospel Commission, is still far off in the distance, but teaching, leading, and baptizing are all on the upswing.
However, while affirming the value of the 10/40 Window, I’d like to suggest another way of looking at the world. Look into the 8/14 Window as a perfect focus for evangelism and service. The 8/14 Window is a shorthand description of the most valuable group in the world—children between the ages of eight and 14.
One hundred percent of the children live here, ready to be influenced for eternity.
Consider for a moment the children of the 8/14 Window in the United States. Most will have little to do this summer except play video games, get into trouble, and go to summer camp. Those who go to a Seventh-day Adventist summer camp will ride horses, ski behind boats, eat tons of “haystacks,” develop a trusting relationship with their counselor, watch John Wycliffe burn, and (very likely) choose to give their lives to Jesus Christ.
Every future church leader will come from the 8/14 Window. Every evangelist. Every mother. Every father. Every pastor, judge, teacher, electrician, nurse, and cowboy. Today, 100 percent of these kids are in the “age of decision,” which just happens to be the very best time for us to catch their attention with What Matters Most: Jesus.
Camp staff members (counselors, boat drivers, wranglers, and cooks), most of whom know Jesus personally and who have signed on as camp evangelists, are trusting God to use them as models for an irresistibly attractive Christianity!
This summer, pray for the camp staff. And pray for the kids in the 8/14 Window! They are the John Wycliffes of tomorrow.
Dick Duerksen is assistant vice president for mission development at Florida Hospital.
