Georgia Baptists being encouraged to build homes for victims of human trafficking to use

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JONESBORO, Ga. – The leader of the largest religious group in Georgia is encouraging churches to focus more of their energies and resources on helping victims of human trafficking.

W. Thomas Hammond Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, focused attention on the problem, challenging the organization’s 1.4 million members in 3,400 churches to get engaged on behalf of those caught up in what has been described as modern-day slavery.

“It’s sad that Georgia is one of the leading states for human trafficking,” Hammond told nearly 1,000 Georgia Baptists who had gathered in Jonesboro on Monday and Tuesday for an annual meeting. “We as Georgia Baptists need to be the answer to this problem.”

Human trafficking has long been one of the major areas of focus for the organization’s Mission Georgia initiative, but Hammond is calling for churches to step up their involvement by building homes for victims after they’ve been freed so that they can begin new lives.

“Many times, when people hear human trafficking, they think it’s happening overseas,” said Mary Frances Bowley, executive director of Wellspring Living, a nonprofit organization that ministers to human trafficking victims. “But it’s happening in our own backyards. In fact, since 2012, all counties in Georgia have had reports of human trafficking.”

Bowley, a former kindergarten teacher who became a major force in the fight against human trafficking in Georgia, said children typically are forced into human trafficking in their early teens, though younger children and adults are also victims.

She told about a 15-year-old girl rescued by police last weekend who was being trafficked by her mother.

“You just don’t think these things happen,” she said. “Sometimes we hear it, but we step away from it. We have to step into it.”

Hammond said Bowley is a hero for her involvement. “She doesn’t turn away,” he said. “She faces this head-on.”

Wellspring Living is opening a new eight-acre campus of “tiny homes,” apartments and youth residential centers in Atlanta to providing homes for trafficking victims to use as they begin new lives.

Hammond challenged Georgia Baptist churches to come alongside Wellspring Living to help build 15 tiny homes.

“We have an opportunity to impact lives in a very real and tangible way,” he said. “Most of our churches have someone who is a carpenter, who can paint, who can build, who can decorate. This is a great opportunity for us to do something that will affect generation after generation, young lady after young lady. I’m excited about this.”

As the leader of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, Hammond’s endorsement of Wellspring Living carries tremendous weight with churches in the state.

“You just wouldn’t believe what God had done through this incredible person of faith and determination who went from kindergarten teacher to freedom fighter,” he said. “What she is doing is so impactful.”

Hammond also championed the work of Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief, interviewing 82-year-old Nancy Hubbard who serves on a chainsaw crew to help storm victims restore their properties after hurricanes, tornadoes or other natural disasters.

They two shared a stage at the annual meeting to encourage more Georgia Baptists to get involved in the Disaster Relief ministry.

Hubbard, who was deployed to Louisiana after Hurricane Ida struck earlier this year, said the work is rewarding.

“Come on out,” she said. “We can use you.”