Texas Church Tackles Trafficking on Freedom Sunday
By Jim Feirtag
At Parkgate Community Church, our vision is: “As Jesus gave his life for us, we give our lives for others in our community and world.” For us, that means we love God, love people, and love now! Partnering with CHOGTrafficklight falls well in line with that vision and mission. We were honored to join our brothers and sisters in the Church of God to commemorate Freedom Sunday again this year. We have been engaged in CHOGTrafficklight since the beginning. We believe strongly in this important cause for justice. We are convinced that it’s absolutely in line with our biblical mandate as a church.
We tackled Psalm 10 together. From that passage, we know that the wicked seem to be running wild with no consequences and nothing to fear, but…
God SEES. No evil or injustice in the world goes unnoticed. People may be blind to the evil around us, but God is not. So, we called people to repentance in Jesus’ name. One of the ways to cement that call was to launch a Freedom Group for men who want to pursue sexual purity in their lives, especially regarding pornography and unhealthy sexual relationships.
Jim Feirtag
God HEARS. No victim’s cry, whether loud and long or silent and short, escapes his ear. People may ignore them, but not God. We know that victims lose their sense of trust, safety, security, and control. That is why our church must be the place, and we must be the people, that God can use to hear the victim’s cry. So, we launched a Restoration Group for any woman who could claim #MeToo and might like a safe place to process with other women who have gone through a similar experience. We’re forming an additional group for men who have been victimized, as well.
God ACTS. From heaven he works to right every wrong. We highlighted how our church is actively reaching out to women in the sex industry through our Stripped Love ministry. In that work, ladies from our church visit strip clubs to minister to the women, build redemptive relationships with them, and urge them to embrace newfound freedom in Christ. We celebrated our relationships with Pink Door in Berlin, and Elijah Rising in Houston, which provide a place of escape for women wanting out of the sex industry. We know that the evil of sexual sin seems massive and overwhelming, but we all drew strength from the reality that Jesus will one day end evil and injustice forever, granting every victim who is in him eternal life and peace.
We know our efforts are small compared to the enormity of the issue, but we believe everything we do in Jesus’ name is bringing glory to God and living out the values of the gospel. We are in the fight to the end!
Jim Feirtag is the senior pastor of Parkgate Community Church in Pasadena, Texas. Engage with Trafficklight 2.0 today at www.chogtrafficklight.org.
