How to Uproot Human Trafficking

By Kimberly Rae Thigpen 

Traffickers prey on humans. The vulnerable. The desperate. The hopeful. They offer whatever their target wants most: a job, food, safety, love. Like all predators, they set out to ensnare by separating their prey from the group, removing their resources and security, and then attack. 

They sell people. Human trafficking brings in an astonishing 150 billion dollars per year. How can that level of evil be stopped, or even slowed?

Jesus said He came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). We Christians, as “little-Christs,” should want to do the same. However impossible a number like 20–40 million slaves worldwide might seem, when held up to the fact that over 1 BILLION people claim to be Christian, the number becomes less daunting. If just one-tenth of the world’s claimed believers did what it took to free one victim, slavery would be eradicated before half of them could get started!

However, even if all victims were rescued, more would come. Supply and demand is fueled by the traffickers and buyers. What can stop them?

The Gospel. The only light powerful enough to obliterate the darkness of a trafficker’s soul is the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

Peter Tuhuteru in Indonesia was a trafficker. He sold women into prostitution. While he was in prison for “a few years,” he encountered Christ. Peter repented of his sins and turned to Jesus for salvation. When he was released, he did not return to his old ways. No more trafficking. Peter has instead become a missionary. His field: prisons around Indonesia, like the one where he came to Christ himself. The man who once enslaved others now sets them free.

Imagine the impact if traffickers all over the world were given the Gospel! Reach trafficking victims, and they will be freed. Reach traffickers, and all their future victims are also delivered. 

For all, from victims to predators, the greatest need and highest hope is Jesus Christ.