Tonight I am going to see a documentary about sex trafficking in Seattle called Rape For Profit. I was honored to able to share in it about the power of encouraging girls to understand their place in the bigger story. I’ve seen glimpses of the movie but not the whole thing yet. It’s showing on the big screen in our area- pretty exciting stuff. Next week, I’ll post an interview with one of the makers of the film. I am sure you be inspired and challenged.

In the first 2 minutes of the film, there is a powerful quote about prostitution not being the oldest occupation of women but rather the oldest oppression of women. Wow. That quote stopped me right in my tracks. Oppression.

In many aspects of a girl’s life she is told that she is weak. Not always on purpose but it can be heard in the underlining themes.

In church we talk a lot of about men protecting women. Yes. True. Good.

Can I tell you the best way to protect a woman?

EMPOWER her.

I have met so stories from girls and women over the years who have been labeled as weak by others but when I sit with them and hear their stories and see what they have overcome…I am blown away by their strength.

The girl who lost a parent and was neglected by her remaining family but never lost sight of her potential. Even now as she works to attend university without the support of those around her.

The girl who rose out of poverty to attend a private university and find her way to the mission field.

The woman who lost her son and turned her grief into a ministry for caring for the brokenhearted.

Girls who would appear victims rising above the pain and the sadness of their lives to be world changers.

How? I think it started when someone told them they had a voice! That their story mattered. That they had purpose. And by doing so protected them from being vulnerable from those who target the broken and weak.

Protect a girl by empowering a girl.

There is a time to be the voice for girls. And there is a time to tell her that she has a voice and to give her a platform to speak.

There is a time to act on her behalf. And there is a time to tell her to act and to live fully in her calling.

Every Sunday or Wednesday you get to communicate a message to the girls in your ministry…you answer a question they are dying to understand. Am I weak? Do I matter? What can I do with my life?

Give them a voice.

Remind them of their potential and of their part in the story.

Provide avenues for them to find their giftedness.

Protect them by empowering them.