By Kevin Austin
What if your next act of generosity helped create a different, better future — from vulnerability to flourishing — from hopelessness to hope?
Human trafficking is one of the darkest realities of our time. It dehumanizes lives, fractures families, and corrodes communities. January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and while we could be overwhelmed with grim statistics and horrific stories, there’s a better approach. Awareness matters — but it’s not enough.
Rather than only focusing on the problem, I offer below a compelling, powerful response to the suffering. This article isn’t about despair. It’s about hope — lived hope — embodied in churches, sponsors, donors, missionaries, and local leaders who are changing the trajectory of entire communities. The stories below show the power of sustained, unified action. They demonstrate that when the church centers on Jesus and moves together, freedom becomes possible.
Here are two stories:
Sokleap
Sokleap
More than 20 years ago someone was compelled to sponsor an ICCM child in Cambodia named Sokleap. This young girl was loved and nurtured by the local church. As a young woman, she was encouraged and taught by missionaries from the Philippines, Cambodia, and the USA. Three years ago, the Set Free Movement hired Sokleap to lead Set Free work in Cambodia.
Today, she is still being nurtured by the local church, encouraged and taught by missionaries, and she is giving back. Sokleap has become a powerful leader. She and her team are:
- Educating and raising awareness about human trafficking and online sexual exploitation in communities and churches and with other charities.
- Helping alleviate poverty through savings groups, which help people manage their finances and learn about godly stewardship principles.
- Mentoring youth toward godliness and educational success.
- Partnering with a variety of other organizations to address human trafficking and other injustices.
A collective, holistic movement of hope came alongside Sokleap. The result is that now, after years of investment, Sokleap is changing her world.
Yvonne and Lillian
Yvonne and Lillian
More than 20 years ago, some people sponsored Yvonne and Lillian through ICCM. Vickie Reynen, serving as a missionary in Kenya, mentored and loved these young women and others. The local church nurtured and taught. Donors gave to Set Free’s education fund, and scholarships were provided so both could pursue advanced education degrees.
Today, Yvonne and Lillian lead Thrive, the Set Free work in Kenya. They and their team are:
- Educating and raising awareness about human trafficking and gender-based violence.
- Distributing Wunders kits and helping girls stay in school.
- Mentoring more than 400 youth in nine different locations toward godliness and educational success.
- Partnering with a variety of other organizations.
Additionally, Lillian, a legal advocate, just won a historic landmark case against human traffickers — the first in Kenyan history.[1]
Like Sokleap, there has been a collective, holistic movement of hope coming alongside youth with needs and potential. The result is world-altering.
Like Hebrews 11:32, “What more can I say?” There isn’t enough room to tell the stories of Bishop Emeritus Jim Tuan, an ICCM-sponsored boy who became the first bishop of the Free Methodist Church in the Philippines; or Philip, an ICCM-sponsored boy who is now the director of ICCM Cambodia. There are so many amazing stories about ICCM graduates!
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“The myth is that organizations create change, but that’s not true. People create real change.”
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Here are several important points:
- Ultimately, these things need spiritual solutions and are community-focused.
Injustices like poverty, human trafficking, gender-based violence, and others are manifestations of brokenness. Sin is a disease that infects individuals, families, neighborhoods, systems, and cultures. So, while we must focus in on specific justice issues, we can’t only do that. There is also the deep and needed work of bringing hope and healing into our communities.
This is why the church is the foundation for justice work. We seek first the kingdom of God. We center on Jesus. The Spirit guides. The Word and worship form and inform us. From this foundation, we are empowered to act with love-driven justice. We are agents of hope and healing in the world. This is what Freedom Sunday, a Set Free Movement initiative, is all about.
A good example of this is what is happening with Foothill Community Church in Oroville, California. This church is redefining what trust and generosity look like, and its members are having transformational impacts in their community and globally. Click here to read a recent article about how this church is making a real difference.
- People create real, sustainable, transformational change.
There is a misunderstanding about organizations. The myth is that organizations create change, but that’s not true. People create real change. ICCM, Set Free, and Free Methodist World Missions can’t do anything without people (like you reading this) investing by praying, paying attention, encouraging, and giving.
- Your partnership is impactful.
Giving $38 a month to help a child on the other side of the world is more than just that. Sponsoring a child puts you in that child’s community as a protector and investor. It’s more than just helping a needy child.
In 1999, I went to Cambodia on my first short-term missions trip. While there, human trafficking found me. One day, Paula Guazon, the Filipina missionary to Cambodia, approached me and was clearly very angry. She related that an ICCM child had recently been sold by her family to a rich family in the city as a domestic helper.
But the story doesn’t end there. That child was known and loved, and consequently was rescued and returned. The collective response from ICCM and the church saved this girl from a life of misery.
Sponsoring a child does many things. From the anti-human trafficking perspective, it is a frontline defense against human trafficking and other injustices.
- Our collective, unified response is transformative.
Giving $20 a month to an organization like the Set Free Movement may seem small and inconsequential, but it’s not. Your partnership helps leaders like those mentioned above to succeed; 100 people collectively giving $20 monthly makes a huge difference.
But it’s not just about money. When we collectively come together to pray, we are aligning our hearts with God’s heart for the oppressed. God responds and leads us in response. When we worship together in the direction of freedom, it’s catalytic.
- If you are looking for a way to have a high impact for God’s kingdom, this is it.
I was recently in both Cambodia and Kenya. In Kenya I visited an ICCM school, connected with youth being mentored, witnessed a Wunders presentation, and had a meeting with Free Methodist church leaders, missionaries, and heads of other organizations. In Cambodia I visited all three ICCM sites, met with church leaders, and visited with youth and children. What God is doing in these countries is beyond amazing.
Your partnership is needed. If you are already sponsoring a child, supporting Free Methodist World Missions and the Set Free Movement, thank you. If not yet, please strongly consider doing so.
In Summary:
What if every ICCM child could be sponsored and every missionary fully funded?
What would happen if we had hundreds of churches like Foothill trusting God with such confidence? They can’t seem to outgive God no matter how hard they try!
Could we have more Sokleaps; more Yvonne and Lillians? More Bishop Tuans and Philips?
Ephesians 3:20 is true. It’s the Word of God for us. We are “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
We are a collective, holistic movement of God’s grace, joy, hope, and healing.
We have God’s power.
Nothing can stop us.
Learn more and respond to this article HERE.
[1] youtube.com/watch?v=E_utI5s6UNA;
nairobiwire.com/2025/11/kenyan-cyber-scam-trafficking-survivor-court-ruling.html
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Kevin Austin, D.Min., is the founder and director of the Set Free Movement. He is also a Free Methodist elder and the author of “Set Free: A Guide to Pursuing Liberation in an Age of Bondage.”
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