by Dale Reeves

Story Pastor

 

Sex slavery is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises of our time, exploiting millions of people through force, fraud, or coercion for commercial sex. Traffickers use fear, violence, and manipulation to control the vulnerable. Right now, somewhere on our planet, 49 million people are enslaved. One in four of those are kids. Over six million people are currently being trafficked for sex. Seventy-eight percent of those are women and girls.

 

This past Sunday at Christ’s Church, Mark Graham, the director of church engagement for one of our mission partners, AIM (Agape International Missions), shared a powerful message. Mark spoke about the mission of AIM that is saving children and women who are being trafficked in Southeast Asia. In case you missed this important message, you can check it out here.

 

Mark shared how AIM fights for the forgotten, the “least of these,” and how they model Jesus’ love, his mercy, his justice, and his balance of grace and truth. In the twenty years AIM has been in existence, they have brought 1,100 survivors into their restoration homes, and equipped over 300 girls with job skills and employment. When they rescue girls from brothels, the survivors aren’t just sent off to figure it out on their own. AIM has a well-planned aftercare system in place for them, including trauma counseling, a safe home to live in, medical care, and long-term support to help them rebuild their lives . . . all while they are hearing how much Jesus loves them.

 

A couple of Mark’s statements at the end of his message really stuck with me. He said,

“None of us are qualified for this. God is doing the impossible through the imperfect . . . He is on the move, and light is gaining ground in some of the darkest places on our planet. Let’s be the generation that just didn’t pray for freedom, we participated in it!”

 

Rescue and Restoration

One of our difference makers at our church, Charlynn Stephen, reflected on the message with these thoughts:

“Our speaker’s mission organization is literally serving God by rescuing his people. They don’t just say the name of Jesus—they try to live like him in every part of their rescue work:

  • If they tell these girls, ‘You’re safe,’ they have to show them safety.
  • If they tell them, ‘You’re loved,’ they have to show them love.
  • If they say, ‘You are precious,’ they have to treat them like they are precious.

 

Mark shared something that completely broke me as a mother . . . when each girls arrives in their safe houses, the very first thing they do is gently place a tiara on her head to welcome her and show her that she is a daughter of the Most High God. . . . Just as Jesus rescued people, restored them, and gave them a new identity AIM seeks to do the same . . . in Jesus’ name and in Jesus’ way!”

 

A New Identity

Mark Graham shared that because the girls they rescue have been told lies their whole lives, they won’t trust the words that they hear unless someone lives it out in front of them. They must constantly hear the message of how valuable they are, and how beautiful they are in God’s eyes.

 

If you are a parent or a grandparent, I would challenge you to demonstrate to your kids and grandkids the love of Jesus—not just in the words you say, but in the way you model his love through your consistent actions. As Charlynn Stephen pointed out to her followers on social media, “If we tell our kids who they are in God, we have to live it out in front of them too.”

 

Here are some things we should be communicating with them on a regular basis. God’s Word says that . . .

—We are God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

—We are his friends (John 15:15).

—We are God’s sons and daughters (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26).

—We are chosen by him (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 2:9).

—We are accepted by him (Acts 10:34, 35).

—He loved us so much that he bought us with the precious blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20).

—He has written his people on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16).

 

If you would like to know more specifics about how you can partner with AIM in their amazing rescue mission, please check out aimfree.org

 

“You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4, NLT).