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Western Seminary Second Annual Sex-Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Pastor's Conference:
"A Portland Faith Awakening"
Did you Know? Sex trafficking of children as well as adults occurs daily in Portland. Sex-trafficking is "the inducement of persons to perform a commercial sex act by force, fraud, or coercion." Many in the Faith Community are simply unaware, but Jesus has called His church to stand and oppose this gross injustice (Luke 4:18).
How do we know what we know? Advocates for the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) of Oregon serve more than 100 Portland-area children at any time who are caught in what they call the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). These are just the tip of the iceberg, as most children caught in this activity do not have voice enough to alert anyone of their enslavement.
What must we do? The purpose of this conference is to not only create awareness about sex trafficking in Portland, but to provide pastors and ministry leaders with the vision they need to empower Greater Portland churches to stand up and get engaged in whatever manner God calls them.
What are the cultural roots of sex trafficking/exploitation and what are the implications for Christ's church? Sexual abuse and the sexual exploitation of women and girls is alive and well in our culture and in the church. These conditions are closely connected to the result that we call “sex trafficking”. How do we know this? How have we gotten here? What must we do about it? You'll learn about the systems that support the exploitation, the distortion of biblical gender roles, the results of abuse, the priority God places upon ministry to those who are broken, some results of Mars Hill Church's redemption group initiative, and the opportunity churches have to play a significant role in the anti-exploitation initiative in Portland.
Who will be speaking? Dr. Steven Tracy (Mending The Soul Ministries, Phoenix) will address the systemic components of sex trafficking / exploitation he has observed in working for nearly 20 years with abuse victims and more recently prostituted girls and women in the US and Africa. Pastor Mike Wilkerson (Mars Hill Church, Seattle) will describe how his church's "redemption group" movement has taken Isaiah's prophetic calling to "bind up the broken-hearted" into streets and homes in Seattle, and the results to date. Repesentatives will describe how the Church is participating in Portland's system of response to the issue. Dr. Gerry Breshears (Western Seminary, Portland) will conclude with exhortation from scripture pointing to God's clear calling to his people and how we must respond in order to be true to God’s calling. Three mini-sessions are scheduled with speakers from Abuse Recovery Ministry & Services (ARMS), Mars Hill Church, and Pure Life Alliance.
Luke 4:18 (GWT) "The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He has anointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin."
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REGISTER NOW! (SEATING IS LIMITED)
When/where will the conference be? Wednesday, June 15 2011 10 am to 1:30 pm The Johnson Chapel at Western Seminary 5511 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97215
Complimentary lunch for all participants Participants will also receive "Second Step" church engagement notebook
More information email: lacook881@gmail.com Or phone: 503-939-6642 Here's what some are saying...
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Steve and Celestia Tracy"A Portland Faith Awakening", Conference on the Church’s Response to Sex-Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in our community. Sponsored by: Western Seminary, Compassion Connect and Door to Grace.