At the time of this publishing, I am on a trip to the Philippines. It has been my dream for nearly a decade to some day serve in Asia. When I began my website in 2009, I figured that dream would have to wait. In my mind there was no way the two ‘dreams’ could work together.
I have been on two different missions trips. My high school trip to Mexico was your textbook missions trip, complete with dramas, songs, and pictures of impoverished children. We poured concrete, piled twelve people into the back of a Jeep®, handed out toys and bath soap, waded through a flash flood, and ate cactus and goat brain. Missions.
My second missions trip was in college. I went to France as part of a class on missions. Again with the dramas and evangelistic presentations, complete with an impromptu concert in the park behind Notre Dame. We did our share of sightseeing and visited local colleges and Muslim apartment complexes.
Missions, as I saw it, was all about evangelism. It was all about language schools, raising support, church planting, and standing on a street corner handing out tracts.
In my mind, there was no way what I did as a woman who speaks about women struggling with lust could even fit into the context of world missions.
But now, it is.
Missions + Ministry to the Sexually Broken
I will spend over three weeks in the Philippines, speaking in schools and churches, serving in a crisis pregnancy center, and trying to offer some kind of hope and healing to young women rescued from a life of sexual slavery.
Sexual brokenness is not an ‘American’ problem; it is a global problem—crossing all age groups, social classes, ethnic groups, and international waters. It affects us all–from the American multi-millionaire to the young Filipino girl he preys on with his webcam.
Sexual brokenness is no new thing. In fact, one of the references Jesus makes to “fields being white unto harvest” is in the context of sexual sin. In John 4, Jesus had just finished conversing with the Samaritan woman at the well. So, in one sense, sexual brokenness is not a new field for the church. It is a field we should have been harvesting all along.
It is a field we have neglected for so long it has become overgrown. The reach and depth of the brokenness now makes it a daunting task. We are starting to see the cycle of pornography for the destructive force it is. The technology that enables us to help those in need also helps us take advantage of them. Because of that, we face a level of brokenness that is universal, unparalleled, and immeasurable.
Freedom for Sexual Slaves
It will take a team to harvest this global field. Ministries like the A21 Campaign and International Justice Mission work to rescue victims of human (sex) trafficking. More and more ministries in the States work to cut the demand by raising awareness about the effects of pornography. Churches and colleges around the country are providing resources to help people find freedom, healing, and recovery.
Sexual brokenness is the mission field of the 21st century. With advances in technology it becomes more important than ever to be vigilant, but also easier than ever to help. You no longer have to hop on a plane to share the message of mercy, grace, and freedom found in Christ. A couple minutes could literally impact lives around the world for better…or for worse.
Photo credit: renaissancechambara
While I agree with the definition of the problem (sexual brokenness), I would like to point out that the concept of ‘sexual or porn addiction’ has legitimate critics. While I have no argument with the good of ‘accountability’, this not address the core issues and dynamics of relationship that are the true and deeper source of why people turn to porn.
Hi Bill,
Yes, the question of sex or porn “addiction” has many critics today. I fleshed out some of the reasons for this in a recent article, and articulated some of the different “camps” even within the church when it comes to the issue. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have time to read that article.
As far as accountability not addressing the core issues of why people turn to porn, this will depend largely on one’s experience of accountability. For many people, accountability is merely confession. But for others, accountability is far more reciprocal, where they receive not just a listening ear but wise counsel that addresses the heart dynamics behind their obsession with porn. I wrote about this in one of our e-books: Coming Clean: Overcoming Lust Through Biblical Accountability.