Ministry to trafficking victims near the heart of God, speakers insist

WACO—God’s light shines brightest in the darkest corners, and it’s hard to imagine anything darker than human trafficking, workshop leaders told a Texas Baptist group.

Ministry to victims of trafficking “is the very heart of God,” said Tomi Grover, author and founder of TraffickStop.

Jay Abernathy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Palestine, explained why his church started Refuge of Light, a a safe haven for victims of sex trafficking. “Want to know where God is? Look in the darkness,” she told a workshop held in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Human trafficking “is the darkest thing happening in the world today,” and that is where God wants his people to work, Grover said. “We think of this as happening on the other side of the globe, but we have to look in our lives.”

Every child in the United States potentially is at risk, and the risk increases as children gain access to the Internet, because the Internet is traffickers’ No. 1 recruiting ground, Grover said.

Jay Abernathy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Palestine, emphasized the effect pornography has on the trafficking industry.

“Online pornography is wrecking us,” Abernathy said. “Fifth grade is the average age one is exposed to pornography, and 81 percent of college males report regularly accessing pornography.”

Impact of pornography

Grover agreed with the huge role pornography plays in trafficking.

“This is one of the most passionate pieces I talk about, because of the influence of pornography in my life. My dad was a porn consumer,” she said. Her father sexually abused her and three siblings, “and it was in my earliest memories until I was 14.”

Technology has increased the reach of pornographers, she noted.

“I can tell you pornography is much more prevalent today than ever before in history. You don’t have to go to a seedy bookstore or truck stop anymore. It’s in your pocket on your phone,” she said.

If Texas Baptists can minister to people in their congregations with a pornography addiction, that ministry can make a lasting impact on future generations, she asserted. Just as the current young generation has cut tobacco use in half, she asked if a generation can be raised that cuts pornography use in half, too.

Texas Baptists need to ‘educate themselves’

Both Grover and Abernathy insisted Texas Baptists must begin to educate themselves about human trafficking, no matter how heartbreaking. Interstate10—the southernmost east to west interstate highway—is the No. 1 route for human trafficking, with a third of its route located in Texas, they noted.

First Baptist Church in Palestine started Refuge of Light, an East Texas-based nonprofit ministry created to provide a safe haven, redemptive rescue and restoration of female victims of domestic minor sex trafficking through advocacy, awareness and holistic care.