I had a dream a week back that messed me up. It truly bothered me and elevated some things in my heart. God at times gets my attention through dreams and visions. I usually know it’s Him when it either troubles me and/or stays with me for days following. My family and I then spent days with 40,000 radical 18-25 year olds, and it only confirmed what I was feeling.

Below is the dream, and what I believe is the underlying message.

Dream: I was in college and driving my car at the time. All of a sudden something went wrong with the seat. So, I began driving around looking for a place to get my seat repaired. I went to some indoor mall/flea market like the ones I used to frequent growing up in New Jersey. Somehow after not finding a replacement part, I exited the facility using back hallways that the average person never knew existed. For some reason, while in the same dream, I returned to the same flea market/mall and left the same way.

I promise you that this repeated itself 3 or 4 different times. I finally found the replacement part I was looking for, and as it had become my process, I started down the same secret pathway. At once, I realized I had made a wrong turn and was lost. There were people living and eating back there, and the environment took on a seediness that I hadn’t seen on my previous trips. The people started protesting saying I shouldn’t be back there.

Then I saw it, a young girl maybe fifteen or sixteen. She was naked and looked in distress. In that moment I knew she was a sex slave. Frantic and stunned by what I saw, I tried to get out of the building. I saw an old man protecting an open door and before I could walk through it, he responding to the cries of those who knew what I had seen by locking the door in front of me. I was now trapped. Then I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.

This is my second dream that dealt with child sex trafficking. You see I am familiar with this issue and have even spoken about it on a nationally syndicated radio show. I have helped raise money to stop modern day slavery, and have close friends on the front lines. So, I know and get the severity of this global issue. But, this dream still messed me up!

This week my family attended Passion 2012, a gathering of thousands of college students from around the world united to lift up Jesus and proclaim His name to the world. We have been a part of the movement for years and love the continued commitment to justice in the world. This year there was one cause and one cause alone, freedom for the 27 million people enslaved for sex and/or labor. Over 3 million dollars was raised to that end. To that I say, Hallelujah!

Here is the reality, you and I can hear 27 million are enslaved, and it can move us in our hearts, and we can go on with our lives. But to the one person stuck in slavery, it is real, and they are crying out for someone to help them. The truth is there are more people enslaved now than ever before in history. There are whole families that are the ‘possession’ of factory owners, all to sell us cheap socks to the American consumer. As a descendant of slaves, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT! Greater than that, as a follower of Jesus, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT!!!

This is not merely a dream. There are girls taken in the U.S., raped, abused, and forced to sell their bodies at the hands of pimps, and Atlanta is a major hub for this activity. It’s a big issue in the community where we are planting Vertical Church! Like my dream displayed, it is not just a problem in India, Thailand or some boarder town in Mexico. This is a reality for girls all over this country, and the fact that many people don’t even know it exists is terrible. Many young girls between 11-16 in the U.S. that go missing become sexual slaves.

I know what I am going to do, I will keep being a voice for the voiceless, and I am going to make sure that Vertical Church helps eradicate sexual slavery in our city. The question is what are you going to do? You can start by educating yourself on this issue. I have provided links below to help you get started. I agree with Passion, indifference is not an option! 

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://streetgrace.org/

http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/resource/past-articles/enslaved-in-america-sex-trafficking-in-the-united-states

http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-stp

http://istoptraffic.com/