It is a mistake to think of human trafficking as something that only happens in the developing world–or in uber-cities like Los Angeles.  Recently in Minnesota, the police cracked down on a prostitution ring that relied upon sexual slaves (though it could be argued that most prostitutes are sexual slaves).  Read the article here.  Here’s a snippet:

The women came mostly from Mexico and Central America.

When they arrived in Minnesota, the women had their passports and other identifying documents taken away and they were forced into a world of prostitution. In one night, two women serviced more than 80 men in a south Minneapolis house.

On Monday, in what might be one of the biggest such cases in Minnesota, 25 people were charged in federal court with running eight brothels. Eighteen of the suspects are illegal immigrants, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court.

Five of the brothels operated in Minneapolis and the others were in Richfield, West St. Paul and Austin, Minn., according to the indictment.

“The leaders of this prostitution ring … are responsible for the bondage and sex slavery of women, an intolerable condition in a twenty-first century America,” U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose said at a news conference.

Most people think this stuff doesn’t happen in the US.  I have friends that are studying to become missionaries so that they can address human sex trafficking.  But few churches even have something like this on their radar.  What if churches were more tuned into these sorts of problems–and actively sought to bring freedom to those who are in bondage? 

Sure, some urban churches reach out to prostitutes.  But if you read the quote above, you’ll notice that three of these brothels weren’t urban–two were in first ring suburbs and one was in a mid-sized town. 

Forgive me for the anguished rant that is coming…

Things like this f’ing break my heart.  There is a whole world of slavery, prostitution, abuse, molestation, drug addiction, homelessness (most homeless people are women and children by the way) that the church is largely ill equipped to address.  And here’s the thing: can anyone refute the notion that, according to Jesus, these are the very sorts of issues that the church should address FIRST? Aren’t these EXACTLY the sort of people Jesus was most interested in serving (Luke 4)? 

Don’t get me wrong.  Missio Dei isn’t really on the front lines of most of this stuff.  We are feebly trying to do what we can.  But with 15 people and a budget of about $6,000 A YEAR (I can’t believe that we’re working with so little, in a neighborhood that needs so MUCH!) there is only so much you can do.  And meanwhile large churches with large budgets spend MOST of their money (or should I call it Mammon?) on staff (whose jobs are almost always preaching, worship, spiritual education, and administration), facilities (which are usually only used by the church for preaching, worship, and spiritual education), and outreach (which is usually marketing and fun events). 

We’re failing here, people.  I don’t know what else to say.  And don’t you dare say that it is the government’s job to take care of sex slaves and poor people.  We should be there–bathed in the darkness of the world as we try to bring forth light–before the cops show up.  I know that is a heavy burden to lay on the Body of Christ.  I KNOW that it makes you feel guilty.  I feel guilty too.  Not simply because I don’t do “enough”–but because I’ve wasted so much time on things that don’t matter so much. 

This isn’t to say that teaching, worship, and spiritual formation aren’t important.  Of COURSE they are.  But we’ve put it all into the wrong package.  Good teaching is easy to come by.  Spiritual formation isn’t a giant mystery.  It is the shiny package we want to put it in that takes time and money.  Most of the energy of most churches goes into accoutrements–fluffy trappings that distract us from the meat of the Gospel. 

Every church should open its books to their congregation and say: “The biggest budget items are what we care about the most…the smallest budget items are what we care about the least.” Then someone should read through a Gospel–pick any of the four–and begin to rework the budget, without too much concern for the survival of their own organization. 

Let’s BE the church.  Please, for the love of Christ, could we stop wasting our time with things that don’t matter? Yes…I know that spending all that time and money on fluff gets people saved.  But saved into WHAT?

About Mark Van Steenwyk

Mark Van Steenwyk is a member of Missio Dei. He is a speaker, writer, educator, and grassroots organizer. With the support of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference, he travels to radical and intentional communities around the country to help network and offer support.