Go Beyond

   I recently visited the state of West Bengal in India where Kingsland supports a safe house for girls rescued from commercial sex exploitation. The girls in this aftercare facility did not choose prostitution, it chose them. They were unwillingly conscripted into a sisterhood of suffering. Most of the girls were lured away from their homes by the promise of honest labor to help support their families. Some were sold into prostitution by their families. All of them know what it means to be deceived and each of them has suffered abuse that defies our suburban sensibilities. The girls in the safe house are grateful to those who rescued them from danger and to those who give for their support.

   The safe house we support is a type of witness protection program where girls can begin the long journey from victim to survivor. At the safe house they have access to medical care, trauma counseling, legal representation, education, vocational training, and more. None of this comes free. There is a cost to providing these services for these young victims of sex trafficking and exploitation — and, that’s where Kingsland will make a difference. We are committed to underwriting the cost of caring for these girls. And, we will also take teams of women to work at the safe house as a part of our international initiatives. We will have opportunities to love and affirm these precious girls, even as Jesus would.

   Our Go Beyond missions ministry has formed a partnership with Kingsland’s Legacy Milestones family ministry to raise awareness and to raise funds to support the work of the safe house. Brian Haynes, our Associate Pastor, leads our Legacy Milestones ministry that teaches parents how to become the primary faith trainers in their homes. Brian and his team will prepare age-appropriate devotionals on why justice matters to God that parents can share with their children. In addition, we are providing each family at Kingsland with a house-shaped bank with the words “Just Change” printed on the roof. If each family will place their pocket change in the bank plus money they save by eating out less, we will raise enough funds to continue supporting the work of our safe house.

   Our hope is that this joint initiative for justice will help parents to teach their children to be less selfish, more thoughtful of others in need, and more willing to make personal sacrifices for the sake of others. We also hope that as a result of intentionally teaching our children about justice, some of our children will become champions for the oppressed and abused. We know that we will impact the lives of young girls by doing something as simple as collecting pocket change. And, we will do it — not just for a week or a month or a year, but for as long as it takes. We are committed to collecting “Just Change for a Just Cause.”