THE KUKMIN DAILY

Dr. Luis Bush (69, photo) will visit Korea as one of the keynote speakers at the 27th anniversary conference of Kukmin Daily, to be held on October 9 at Wooridle Church in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. He developed the “10/40 Window Movement” for the unreached people’s mission and “4/14 Window” for the next-generation mission. He is considered an outstanding strategist and movement leader in world mission circles. At the upcoming conference, his lecture will emphasize that the first priority for churches and Christians in this age should be children and youth. Recently Kukmin Daily had an email interview with Dr. Bush.



-Young people in the Western world including North America are leaving the churches. The transmission of Christian faith to the next generation is becoming more difficult. What's happening in the world now?

“According to the latest decadal census the church is losing 10,000 members every week in Great Britain. In North America, church attendance has declined from 62% to 53% in the last twenty years. And this is closely related to the next generation, as 59% of the youth have left the church after their 15th birthday. The passing on of the Christian faith to the next generation is becoming more difficult. It’s time to wake up.”


-The same is true in Korea. Why are the young generation leaving the churches?

“In the ‘Spiritual State of the World’s Children Global Report’ published in 2011, thousands of 10- to 18-year-olds in 42 countries of the world answered more than 200 questions, revealing their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. The results reflected their two legacies of faith and family, and the dangers they face: violence, sexual immorality, substance abuse, unethical behavior, lack of family time, and the great amount of time they invest in the media. But we cannot attribute blame only to the media and internet for the young generation’s departure from the church and their abandonment of the faith. Our lives as adult followers of Christ who are parents, friends and pastors have been lacking in morality and ethics, which has discouraged the next generation from following our example. It is becoming clear that the influence of the media now supersedes the influence of parents over their 13- to 14-year-olds. 70% of the 1.2 billion 4-to-14ers live in the 10/40 Window. Each of these 4/14ers represents a challenge, as indicated by their behavior. For example, 63% indicated that they spend less than one hour per week talking to their fathers about things that matter, while 38% indicated they spend at least eight hours per day on the internet or watching TV. These realities should stimulate us to undertake strategic mission thinking and to hear God’s call to catalytic action, so that we may creatively deploy a new generation to bless the nations of Asia, the 10/40 Window and beyond. What kind of lifestyle example will South Korea have to show North Korea when the doors to the North finally open?”


-What if the young generation continue leaving the churches? What will the result be?

“The congregations of churches will become older. They will become like the churches in Wales in the United Kingdom. When I went to Wales for an Evangelistic Crusade in 1977 I was amazed that the people in the churches were very old and very few, even though there had been a great revival in Wales only 70 years earlier in 1904-1905 when lives were transformed! Lifestyles were changed! Homes and families were healed! Churches were packed with Christ followers full of fervor and zeal! 70 years later, only a few, much older people can be found in most churches. The same will happen in Korea and all nations unless we focus our efforts on the 4/14 Window generation. It is crucial that we re-prioritize and re-direct mission efforts toward those in the 4/14 Window. We need to become acutely aware of what is taking place in their lives. We seek to understand their nature and the essentials required to nurture them. Only then will we be able to reach and shape them, and raise them up to transform the world.”


-Many churches have been evangelizing the young generation, but we are suffering the serious loss of many youngsters. Is there something wrong with the ministry of the churches?

“While challenges and pitfalls abound, and the pessimism of many adults is amply warranted, at the same time the possibilities and potential of that precious 4-to-14 cohort are astonishing. For many, the tendency has been to ignore or dismiss their potential or to view those in the 4-to-14 age group as a nagging problem to be endured. We have often failed to note the inestimable value of these young lives, made in the image of God. Most significantly, we have failed to appreciate the fact that most people who make a decision to follow Christ, will do so during the critical years between the ages of 4 and 14. In the ministries of our churches we do not prioritize the children. Though they are the hope of the future, we invest only a small portion of the church budget on them. In our ministry methodology with the children in our churches we are often trying to entertain them rather than educate them. We are trusting in the ways of the world with children rather than in the Word of God as the fountain of life. The church thinks its job is to develop your children spiritually. According to the scriptures, however, that is the job of the parents. The church is supposed to support parents in raising their children, not replace them.”


-How should Christian parents bring up their children? Homosexuality, atheism, and the scientific theory of evolution, as well as smart phones, are stealing the hearts of our young people.

“The needs and potential of this age group are a call to all generations of those who are forming the world of tomorrow. It is a call to turn’the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.’ (Malachi 4:6). Many children and youth of ages 4-14 are condemned to a life of serfdom, brutal labor, sexual exploitation, spiritual oppression and emotional abuse. Most of those exiting the “window” quickly leave behind their parents’ supervision. When formal schooling ends, they either enter the workforce to fend for themselves or further their education in an environment fraught with the dangers of ideology and materialism. Parents and siblings serve as the most potent and positive influence for many in this group. Sadly, for many others, parents and siblings are often the most toxic and damaging.”


-As the founder of the 4/14 Window movement, why are ages 4 through 14 important?

“In human development there is no more critical period than the decade represented by the 4/14 Window. It is a profoundly formative period when perspectives are shaped either positively or negatively and when a view of one’s own significance (or lack of significance) is formulated. The greatest battle going on in our day is the battle for the hearts and minds of men and women. The frontline of that battle is this age group (4?14). From a mission standpoint, our interest in the 4-to-14 age group is not only because they are the most receptive, but also because they are often the most effective agents for mission. Wess Stafford wrote: Every major movement in history has grasped the need to target the next generation in order to advance its agenda and secure its legacy into the future. George Barna’s research verifies that a person’s lifelong behaviors and beliefs are generally developed during childhood and early adolescence. If you want to have a lasting influence upon the world, you must invest in people's lives; and if you want to maximize that investment, then you must invest in those people while they are young. 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. Let’s remember that Jesus understood their worth (Matthew 11:25-26).


-What happens when 4/14ers are evangelized?

“4/14ers can grasp spiritual truths easily. They can sense the guilt of sin, understand what Jesus has done for them and comprehend what it takes to receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord. A child of four can truly believe and be regenerated as much as any adult. We have found through research that the majority of people in the world who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior came to the faith before the age of 15. The older you get, the less likely you are to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. When children are evangelized they show what the Kingdom of God is. Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (in Mark 10:14). To the children belongs the Kingdom of God. If you want to belong to the Kingdom of God you must become like a child. You must become childlike. When children are evangelized we are collaborating with the will of God the Father; “your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:4). When children are evangelized we are following the priority of Jesus. Children are worth making any sacrifice for, like the shepherd Jesus talked about, who, because of one little lost sheep, left the ninety-nine to search for the one who was lost. How much effort is needed by the Korean church to rescue the children today? This effort, I believe, is the mission with the foremost priority for the Korean church.


-How do you bring up and spend time with your own children and grandchildren?

“When I am not traveling, I am meeting one on one with eleven of my eighteen grandchildren to study the Bible, listen to them and pray for them each week. As much as possible, I speak about the 4/14 movement, emphasizing the need to raise up a new generation from the 4/14 Movement that is dedicated wholeheartedly to God, by reaching them, rescuing them, rooting them in the Word of God and releasing them on God’s mission.”


-The economic situation of Korean young adults is very challenging. Employment opportunities are scarce. Therefore many young people are avoiding love, marriage and having children. What would you say to a 21-year-old Korean if you had the chance?

“I can understand why a young person of 21 with little opportunity for employment would consider avoiding love, marriage and having children. That decision makes good sense, humanly speaking. However, since you are a Christian and want to do the will of God, remember that “we live by faith, not by sight” according to the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:7. As a follower of Jesus Christ, remember what Jesus said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). At the very beginning of God’s word to our forefathers, Jesus said: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” I would say to you to take a step of faith in God, get married and have children.”



Luis Bush:
Born in Argentina, Luis Bush grew up in Brazil. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in economics, and worked as a management consultant. Since 1973 he has walked the path of a minister. He graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary with an M. Div. degree, and earned his doctorate from Fuller School of World Mission (now School of Intercultural Studies) in cultural studies. He served as an international board member of the “AD2000 & Beyond Movement,” and has influenced world mission circles with his “10/40 Window” to spread the Gospel to unreached, indigenous people between the latitudes of 10~40 degrees. Since 2005, he is involved in “Transform World,” a movement to bring God’s Kingdom to all aspects of life. In 2009, he and Rev. Kim Nam-soo of Promise Church in New York, the United States, developed the “4/14 Window Movement” to focus on the next generation, children and teenagers between the ages of 4 and 14, to transform the world.


Reporter Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), with John Hur & with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo courtesy of 4/14 Window Movement


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