Frontline Ministries church to target human trafficking in May 18 conference

JACKSON TWP. − A local church has taken on the global scourge of human trafficking.

On May 18, Frontline Ministries International and its anti-trafficking arm Redemption for Life will host "Freedom Cry," a free, one-day conference on human trafficking, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church at 6200 Wales Ave. NW.

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A large part of Frontline's mission work has been combating human trafficking locally and around the world in partnership with other ministries and groups.

Because of its good highway system and proximity to Canada, Ohio has been a magnet for human trafficking, a multi-billion-dollar business involving millions of men, women and children used in sex and slave labor. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Mississippi, Nevada and Florida top the list of states with the most trafficking incidents.

"This is actually our eighth annual conference," said Mike McRae, Frontline Ministries' media coordinator. "We have an arm of our ministry called Redemption for Life, where we partner with other groups in promoting action against and awareness of human trafficking. We're also involved with Right to Life."

Rachel Larson, a co-leader of Redemption for Life, which was started in 2009, said Frontline held its first Freedom Cry conference in 2013. The Rev. Mary Pat Gokee, who founded Frontline Ministries with her husband, Bill, in 1995, is a member of the Stark County Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, and Larson is a member of Partnering Against the Trafficking of Humans in Stark.

"RFL desires to inspire transformation and be a vehicle for the eradication of human trafficking and other social atrocities here and around the world," Larson said. "We desire to see those whose lives have been affected by injustice and abuse rescued and restored through the love and power of the Lord Jesus Christ."

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Larson noted that the theme for Freedom Cry comes from Psalms 89-14: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne."

"We do a lot of overseas missions; we've been doing that since 1996," she said. "We travel to many different countries. We are always aware of the needs of individuals; people who are at risk and vulnerable in the different countries and communities that we work in. We've partnered and worked with groups in the red-light districts of Singapore and Amsterdam, and Cambodia. ... In 2007, we partnered with an anti-human trafficking ministry in China who rescued women from sex trafficking and ministered to their needs."

RFL has had a base in the northern region of Ghana since 2003, where it is developing a children's center to serve youngsters who are trafficked and at-risk. The ministry owns land there on which it has a deep water well, a cashew farm, a mission building and a pavilion to host church meetings and regional Bible schools.

"We have already built one of four homes which will be used to house children, and the mission building which has a wing for a school so that these children can be educated, trained, and given a bright future," Larson said. "We also work in São Paulo, Brazil, where we have a worship center and a microenterprise business in a 'favella' (slum). We minister to children there who experience violent sexual abuse, trafficking, and trauma. We have also had the privilege to develop a long-term relationship with ministry partners who have rescued children from brothels, sex trafficking, and child soldiering in several countries in Southeast Asia. We established a Frontline Children's Home in 2009 in southern India, and have long-term partnerships with several ministries in other parts of that nation."

Frontline and RFL also work with local partners, including the Light of Christ Church Drop-in Center in southeast Canton.

"We do a lot of different forms of community outreach," Larson said. "We do our best to share love and to be aware when we're in those communities and situations, to look for the warning signs. We have an outreach team that goes out on the streets and work with those in situations to offer them hope, for one, and the love of Jesus.

"In 2005, we were involved in helping a local woman who was a resident at the Canton YWCA, whom we met through our annual Gift of Christmas outreach to residents of Stark County's homeless shelters. This woman had been a victim of human trafficking, and had actually been handcuffed and transported in a trunk of a car across several states. We worked closely with her for several years, helping her reestablish herself physically, mentally, and spiritually and find a whole new life."

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has made combating the crime a priority by pushing for stiffer laws and penalties.

"I think Ohio has come a long way," Larson said. "I know that we have support from the Attorney General's Office and other people in government. They have made this an issue where they want Ohio to be a place where traffickers are not welcome."

Larson said people vulnerable to trafficking often don't have a good sense of self-worth and value.

"I think the biggest myth is that 'It wouldn't happen to me,'" she said. "Or that it's people that aren't like me, it's someone who's in a different life, a different nationality. That it wouldn't be someone who looked like me."

McRae said Freedom Cry conferences have increased his awareness in recognizing possible signs of trafficking.

"We're more watchful of vulnerabilities, and also knowing how to help; you know, 'What would we do in that situation,?'" he said. "This is not long after a conference, we were at the mall and we noticed an older gentleman with a younger girl and it just did not − it didn't seem right. I watched from a distance, but they kept walking, and there were so many people and I kind of lost sight of them. We prayed and were hoping that if it was that situation, that it somehow got dealt with."

Larson said young people being suddenly involved atypical relationships can be a possible sign of trafficking.

"For a young person, it would be someone who's suddenly in a new relationship with someone who you know is much older, or somebody who changes their behavior patterns. Even with their moods and personality, there's a drastic switch, or they suddenly have a lot more money than they did before, or they're isolating themselves from friends and family."

To register for the conference, visit www.redemptionforlife.org or www.frontline-ministries.org or call 330-837-8399.

Freedom Cry conference speakers

Dr. Marlene Carson, chair of the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking; founder and executive director of Black Leaders Against Sex Trafficking; and a sex trafficking survivor.

Hannah Swift, director of community outreach and training at Gracehaven, which serves minor survivors of sex trafficking in Columbus.

Dana Hess, president of Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution Project and former director of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.

Jason Collins, Jackson Township Police lieutenant.

Mike Wheeler, president and chief legal officer, Patriot Software.

Revs. Bill and Mary Pat Gokee, founding directors of Frontline Ministries International, co-pastors of Frontline Worship Center, and co-directors of Redemption for Life.

Rachel Larson and Stark County Magistrate Michelle Hay, co-leaders, Redemption for Life.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jackson Twp.'s Frontline Ministries to target trafficking in May 18 event