Protect and Serve.

When I think of what the church’s role in our community should be I think protect and serve. I believe we are challenged to protect and serve humanity as a whole but beyond that we are supposed to provide protection and serve the victims in this world: the broken, the abused, the homeless, the salves, the trafficked, the sick, every race and every people. From the greatest among us to the least of these, our challenge as Christians is to protect and serve.

When we look at human trafficking in the world, we see millions of people from every race, generation, nationality, and gender, being tortured and forced into slavery. In America we see many of the same issues the world faces. We have slaves ranging from American children to immigrant men and women. Slaves in America range from 7 year olds being abducted and sold for sex to 40 year olds being beaten and forced to work on farms and in kitchens.

In America there are currently 300,000 underaged kids being forced into the world of sex slavery. There are children under the age of 18 being beaten, drugged, brain washed, coerced, and forced into performing sexual acts with strangers, or sometimes with family members, in exchange for money or goods.

The American government and our justice system as a whole, have done very little in the effort to rescue these victimized children and bring their torturers to justice. Most states have outdated laws in place. Often when an 11-year-old girl who has been drugged and forced into prostitution she is considered a criminal, not a victim. Then when placed in jail, she is victimized even further.

There currently is no national plan of action to get these victims the counseling, healing, and support they need to be reestablished into their community.

So I’ll ask the question… If the government isn’t taking care of these victims, who’s responsibility is it to care for the children?

The answer is the church.

Followers of Jesus have been commissioned to protect and serve humanity from the beginning.

Consider Jesus’ teachings on viewing the poor, the hungry, the broken, the prisoner, and the unclothed as if they were literally Jesus Himself.

Next, consider all the times Jesus brought the children into His presence and instructed His disciples to protect their innocence.

And what about Jesus getting on His knees and washing the feet of His disciples? He even washed the feet of Judas, the man who would betray Him to death on the cross.

The responsibility to protect and serve humanity is literally formed within the DNA of every Christian.

The time is here and now, Christians must stand up, raise our voices, and become the people group that protects and serves the victim. I believe the day is approaching when the Church won’t be known for its next big conference or its awesome decorations inside the sanctuary. But the church will be known for the services it provides to the hurting and the broken.

The Church will be known as those who protect and serve the victims everywhere.