Further Details About Human Slavery Conference in South Africa in October of 2013 June 28, 2013 Flip Buys

Slavery in the Modern World.

One of the most authentic traditions of evangelical Christians, in place for centuries, has been to raise a voice on behalf of abused people, so that they are rescued. In the eighteenth century, Christians who were inspired by the Bible took up the long and difficult process of bringing the suffering of slaves to public attention, so that slavery was eventually outlawed.

Did you know that we again live in an age of slavery?

 Today there are about 27 million slaves, more than ever before in history. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, a trusted professor of Christian Ethics in Germany and CEO of the Evangelical Alliance recently revealed in a research report the existence of an extensive parallel criminal universe in the midst of western society in which thousands of young women, and sometimes young men, are forced to work against their will in conditions of sexual slavery. Often they have to be ready to do whatever the “customer” wants, as many as 40 to 60 times per day. Many were lured from their homelands by means of false promises, driven into a situation of false financial debts and then are threatened and exploited.

The same serious phenomenon has been revealed in an in depth and comprehensive assessment research report of a research team of the Human Research Council (HSRC) on Human Trafficking in South Africa.

The overall objective of South Africa’s National Strategy on Human Trafficking is to ensure full compliance with the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.

The full report of the HSRC can be downloaded at http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-outputs/view/4940

For Christians this should be seen as a new mission field and churches should be equipped to reach out with heart, hands and voices to be channels of God’s transforming grace and his love in a world with horrendous suffering caused by disgusting exploitation of human beings.

To make a contribution towards the equipping of churches to be part of this struggle against the dehumanizing industry of abusing people created in the image of God, the Faculty of Theology of Northwest University has joined hands with World Reformed Fellowship to organize an international conference from 16 – 19 October 2013, where several high profile researchers, experienced clinical psychologists, pastoral theologians, missionaries and church planters from all over the globe will do presentations and lead workshops on trauma counselling, mercy ministries, church revitalization and church planting.

At the following link all the details can be seen and people can register to attend: www.missiontoworship.co.za