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You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify
no more. Psalm 10:17-18
Justice Ministry
The sale of human beings is the third largest illicit trade following drugs and weapons, but is growing faster than both of these. Some statistics are now saying that it is second only to drugs. An estimated 27 million people are slaves in the world today.
Condoleezza Rice stated, “18,000 to 20,000 are trafficked into our country each year, it is hidden from view; but it is there in the shadows and it is up to us to put an end to it.” She also said, “What kind of world do we want to live in? We are called by God to act on behalf of the weakest.”
Justice Ministry Objectives:
• Create community awareness
• Vote for change through consumer choices
• Educate and train individuals in identifying trafficking victims
• Fight trafficking through legislative change
• Educate the community on the issue of DEMAND and sex slavery around the world
• Pull together leaders in the community to address goals and partnerships
• Build relationships with Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and policy makers
• Walk - displaying signs and handing out materials for a visual that can't be ignored
Labor trafficking in the U.S. –Labor traffickers use violence, threats, lies, and other forms of coercion to force people to work against their will in many different industries. Common types of labor trafficking include people forced to work in homes as domestic servants, farm workers coerced through violence as they harvest crops, or factory workers held in inhumane conditions with little to no pay. In the United States, these forms of forced labor are more prevalent than many people realize. In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines labor trafficking as: “The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.” Source: www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking-in-the-us
 Sex trafficking in the U.S. - Sex trafficking occurs when people are forced or coerced into the commercial sex trade against their will. Child sex trafficking includes any child involved in commercial sex. Sex traffickers frequently target vulnerable people with histories of abuse and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to keep victims involved in the sex industry. Sex trafficking exists within the broader commercial sex trade, often at much larger rates than most people realize or understand. Sex trafficking has been found in a wide variety of venues of the overall sex industry, including residential brothels, hostess clubs, online escort services, brothels disguised as massage parlors, strip clubs, and street prostitution. Source: www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking-in-the-us.
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 Justice Ministry Faith (Fight Against Illicit Trafficking of Humans) Walk
Millions of people are forced to work in brothels – from Stockton to the red light districts of India. Millions of others are forced to work as laborers. Whether forced to work in brothels, brick kilns or dangerous construction sites, all of these individuals are treated as a disposable commodity by their oppressors.
The walk gives us the opportunity to share with our families and the community about a very serious issue in the world. Parents will be able to do it in an age-appropriate way without exposing their children to all the horrors of life in a brothel but making them aware of the fact that there are some injustices in the world that need to be addressed. We will declare that slavery exists today and that it will not be tolerated. These are things that according to the Bible, break God’s heart.
Our next walk will be March 24, 2012
11:00 am to 12:15 pm.
We will gather in the First Baptist Church/Scottish Rite parking lot a few minutes early for prayer and instructions. (Center Street and Stadium Drive).
The walk route: FBC to Stadium and Pacific to Harding Way and back. The walk is approx. 2.4 miles.
Questions? Contact us...justiceministry@fbcstockton.org
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A Prayer for Our Nation by Rev. Joe Wright
'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!'
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Justice Ministry Resources
(click to download pdf files.)
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Articles
and Talking Slavery
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Books (Available at Amazon)
Not For Sale by David Batstone
The Natasha’s: Inside The New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek
The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Fighting Poverty Through Enterprise: The case for Social Venture Capital by Brian Griffiths and Kim Tan
Terrify No More by Gary A. Haugen President of International Justice Mission with Gregg Hunter
The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today by Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter
Renting Lacy: A Story of America’s Prostituted Children by Linda Smith with Cindy Coloma
A Crime so Monstrous: Face-To-Face with Modern Day Slavery by Benjamin Skinner
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Websites (Click names to visit)
Shared Hope International Has specific programs aimed at getting men involved and for catching predators.
Courage To Be You Provides rescue and resources to vulnerable individuals while helping them see their value and discover their purpose.
Misssey Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth (MISSSEY) advocates and facilitates the empowerment and inner transformation of sexually exploited youth by holistically addressing their specific needs.
Truckers Against Trafficking is an independent organization seeking to educate, equip, empower and mobilize the trucking industry to combat human trafficking as part of their regular jobs.
Polaris Project Polaris Project strives for systemic change by advocating for stronger federal and state laws, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline (1.888.3737.888), and providing services to help our clients and all victims of human trafficking.
International Justice Mission Resource page contains numerous downloadable documents.
Child Rights Information Network Contains information, legal resources, and constant news updates about child trafficking.
Human Trafficking.org Contains publications, country profiles, and resources for human trafficking.
US Department of Health and Human Services: Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking.
US State Department: Office to Monitor and combat Trafficking in Persons.
World Vision International Covers a broad range of issues in addition to human trafficking, including disaster response, AIDS, child soldiers, malaria, etc.
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