It Happened in Chicago

Photo illustration courtesy of Shared Hope, Intnl.

This morning, Chicago media carried a deeply troubling story about dozens of young girls—some as young as 12—who were rescued by police after being held against their will for many months. These girls were forced to perform unspeakable sex acts; at least one of them was bought and sold by one pimp to another for $100. The girls—and dozens of women as well—were recruited on El trains, via the Internet or by random conversations on the street. They were beaten and imprisoned, sometimes forced into automobile trunks and driven around for hours. They are the face of human trafficking here at home. 

This is such an unbelievably sad and tragic story—one we might be tempted to dismiss and move on from while enjoying our morning coffee. But we cannot. 

Historically the Covenant, and specifically, Women Ministries, cares deeply about issues of injustice like this, and we put feet to our concern by taking action. 

Just last night I met with our Human Trafficking Task Force—a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers. Together we are working to create a valuable resource, called PROTECT, that will enable your church to address the issue of human trafficking in your own community. It provides tools to ensure that your church is helping teens stay off the “at-risk” track and avoid possible lures by traffickers; it teaches you how to recognize the signs of trafficking in a possible victim—say, in a restaurant or your child’s school—and report them to those more qualified to handle the situation; it gives you guidelines for starting an anti-trafficking coalition in your church or community; and so much more. 

We’re developing the PROTECT resource as the next step in our Break the Chains initiative, and we are confident it will be a powerful tool in the hands of people in our congregations. After reading today’s story, it can’t come soon enough. 

I’m blogging about this whole thing today, because it is so pertinent, and because the PROTECT resource is a part of this year’s denominational project, called Just Women. With Just Women, we’re striving to inspire in us all the spirit of Lydia in Acts 16: 13-15 and 40 as she welcomed ex-prisoners Paul and Silas (and the budding new church at Philippi) into her home. She was a “just” woman—one who acted justly—as well as being a mere woman—one whom God used powerfully as the very first European convert! 

There is much more to tell about Lydia, but today, I wanted to point you to the pertinence of what we are doing with Just Women, and ask you to help us by giving a financial gift now. Your support of this project will go a long way in enabling us to complete the job and get this important resource in the hands of those who need it. Let’s get it done before it is too late!