The impact of a children's crusade on the conversion process in Mexico

The purpose of the project was to determine if nine and ten year old children at a public school in Mexico could learn biblical knowledge by being taught four lessons. Both cognitive and affective change were measured. The challenge for the American researcher was to cross the age barrier from adult to child and the culture barrier from the United States to Mexico.; Many children in Mexico have not heard a clear gospel presentation. They confuse religious traditions with biblical truths. The Christian outreach to children is not well developed in Juarez so there is a need for more missionaries to work with children.; Children ages nine and ten were chosen based on their ability to read and openness to growth and change. The researcher chose teaching objectives for the appropriate age in order to bridge the age gap. He then had to develop age specific material. The transference of biblical truths from one culture to another required cultural sensitivity guided by the incarnational model of Jesus' ministry.; Four lessons were taught at a public school in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Thirty students from grade four and twenty-four students from grade five completed the lessons. A different test was administered for each lesson, but the pre-test and post-test were identical for each lesson. Five questions were cognitive and five were affective.; Pre-test and post-test scores were evaluated. Comparisons were made between cognitive and affective scores. The fourth grade was compared to the fifth grade and a gender comparison was completed.; The children comprehended sixty percent of the new material and were twenty five percent more confident in their relationship with God. The scores were consistent across age and gender lines. It was concluded that children can be taught material that enhances their faith. Missionaries can effectively become acculturated to a foreign culture. Both language and culture have to be internalized before they can teach the Bible to a group of nationals with accurate transference across cultures.; Further research is needed in this field. More age groups need to be tested. A standardized survey would be helpful. There is a lack of development of the theology of salvation as it relates to the conversion process from the Charismatic perspective. Language and culture specific material should be developed for teaching faith to children.