Our Story | Freedom Church Alliance

In 2013, a missions pastor in Houston, Texas called a meeting with key leaders from a handful of churches across the city to ask one question: how are we confronting the evil of human trafficking? We found that there was much anti-trafficking work being done through young ministries who needed the encouragement and support of the church to be able to fulfill their missions.

However, although some financial support was being given, the majority of churches:
● were not educated on the complexity of human trafficking
● were unsure on ways to effectively get involved
● were not equipped to send forth their body of believers to fight this injustice in ways that aligned individual members’ unique giftings and hearts.
As we discussed what was already happening in our city, we realized that we needed to get behind the good anti-trafficking efforts already underway. Rather than each church operating in a silo or reinventing the wheel, we decided to come together to form an organization that would guide churches as they pray, give, and volunteer with frontline gospel-centered ministries.

Hence, the Freedom Church Alliance was created.

The first item on our agenda was to conduct a landscape analysis. A combination of anti-trafficking agencies and churches came together to understand what was being done to address the needs and where the gaps were. This helped the Alliance determine how to best lend support and where it was needed.
As we increased funding, the need to educate the church became even more important. And as awareness increased, the need to release passionate people to practically make a difference became greater still. So we created the GoBox—a toolkit that equips individuals with valuable information and many on-ramps for engagement. The GoBox classes, later rebranded as “The Church and Human Trafficking” invited believers to walk step by step through the toolkit while the Holy Spirit revealed how their unique gifts could truly make a difference in the lives of those affected by the human trafficking industry.
The Alliance continues to add church partners every year. With every new body of believers added, we grow stronger as a force to uphold frontline gospel-centered ministry. We have seen hundreds get up and out of their comfort zones to volunteer directly with vetted partners. We have seen survivors rescued because GoBox attendees knew the red flags to watch out for. We have seen survivors empowered to start new lives. And we have seen believers fall to their knees in prayer over survivor requests for jobs, family reunification, legal aid, and ultimately a loving community.
The power of churches giving collectively and supporting anti-human trafficking work cannot be underestimated. Exodus 17:12 tells us, “When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.” That’s what we have the privilege to do here: hold up our partners’ arms so they do not grow weary in their good work.

We continue to envision the body of Christ in Houston and beyond rising up to fill gaps, meet needs, give generously, serve faithfully, and speak out in the name of Jesus. We do this on behalf of those who are unseen, overlooked, or ignored. We do this with justice, mercy, and righteousness.

It is our desire to see every captive set free physically and spiritually.

Mission

We are engaging the church as a unified, collaborative body to make a greater impact in the anti-human trafficking movement. We are here to see the oppressed and exploited rescued, redeemed, and healed by the grace and power of God. Simply put: we hope to unite the church to fight human trafficking in Jesus’s name.

Vision

We envision the church rising up as a connected body: awake, ready, and compassionately engaged in the fight against human trafficking.

Milestones

Every year, the church grows stronger in its fight against human trafficking. We are amazed at what God has done over time and seek His guidance as we expand to make a greater impact.

2013

Initial meeting at Sugar Creek Baptist Church to discuss and pray about the church’s role in fighting trafficking; the Alliance began with five churches agreeing to join

2014

Launched "Strategic Funding" for our partners and gave funding to three local partners: Redeemed, Rescue America, and Elijah Rising.

2015

GoBag Program began where we collected and delivered bags filled with respite care items for children who were victims of trafficking recovered through the FBI’s Operation Cross Country.

2016

Launched the City of Defenders Campaign leading up to the Super Bowl to address Demand and Pornography; held a Pastor’s Luncheon asking pastors to use their influence from the pulpit to address the issue. At this luncheon the Captain of the Vice Division in Houston told the pastors how much the church in our city was needed to help address the problem of human trafficking.

2017

The Alliance grew to twelve churches strong and hired its first full-time employee; the Houston-based GoBox was launched and education classes for the church were piloted.

2019

Six GoBox classes took place throughout Houston; the Alliance grew to 16 churches.

2020

Launched “The Church & Human Trafficking” Classes, formerly known as GoBox classes, which were moved online during the pandemic.

2021

The Alliance grew to thirty churches and has given over $650,000 to frontline partners.

2023

Launched the national GoBox, with the goal of being a more interactive experience with a national reach.

2024

Transitioned from the GoBox to The Fight for Freedom book as a living, breathing resource to provide holistic education and awareness on the topic of human trafficking.

Core Beliefs

When we are tired and weary, our guiding beliefs remind us why we push back against the darkness of human trafficking and inspire us to keep going. We live in shifting times, but our beliefs are rooted in the holy Word of God, and we hold firm to the conviction that all human flourishing begins and ends with God. “The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

We believe the church is the body of Christ, the fellowship of all believers, and is commissioned to make disciples of all nations.

We believe every believer in Jesus Christ has a rescue story. God rescued us from our sin through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, when we were powerless to save ourselves.

We believe the freedom we’ve been granted by Christ fuels our passion to see women, children, and men set free physically and spiritually to receive the healing and restoration Jesus Christ offers.

We believe a church united and empowered by the Holy Spirit is a mighty force against the darkness.

We believe in a holistic approach to fighting human trafficking: demand, awareness, education, prevention, and aftercare.

We believe in filling gaps as well as coming alongside and supporting existing organizations that are doing good work to set the captives free.

Statement of Faith and Core Beliefs

The Freedom Church Alliance is a growing alliance of churches, founded by prayer, united to fight human trafficking, and motivated by the love of Jesus Christ. It is our desire to live out what Jesus said was the command that sums up all of His commands, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27). We long to make the name of Jesus famous in the anti-human trafficking movement because we believe that in Him salvation, redemption and hope are found.

It’s our desire to love well every person God puts in our path. We serve and work with organizations and groups who share our beliefs as well as others who do not. We value all of our partnerships within the anti-human trafficking movement.

Because we are an alliance made up of different denominations, we understand that there will be issues we disagree upon but do not undermine the basic doctrinal foundations of the faith, the gospel, or our mission. Nonetheless, it is imperative that we, the member churches that make up the Alliance, share a commitment to a basic core of beliefs. These shared beliefs are essential because they shape the way we view and approach the problem of human trafficking and the restorative process. We live in shifting times, but our beliefs are rooted in the holy word of God. We celebrate these beliefs because we hold firm to the conviction that all human flourishing begins and ends with God. “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

We Believe:

We believe in one God, who exists eternally in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, is fully God and fully human; He demonstrated God’s love for sinners by suffering the penalty of death in their place, rose from the dead and ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father (John 1:1; Matthew 1:18,25; Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 9:15-22; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:27-28).
We believe in salvation by grace received through faith in Jesus Christ, who alone, through His life, death and bodily resurrection, redeems us from sin and reconciles us unto God. We believe Jesus is not a solution for some, but the solution for all. (John 14:6; Acts 2:38; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-10).
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return personally in glory, raise the dead, and judge the world. Those who are in Christ to enjoy eternal life with God, and those who are lost to suffer eternal separation from Him (Luke 21:34-36; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 9:28; 2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 20:11-15).
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who imparts new life to those who believe in Christ. Through His indwelling presence and transforming power He gives, equips and empowers believers for holy living and effective service (John 14:15-26; John 16:5-16; Ephesians 1:13-14).
We believe the Bible is the written Word of God. We believe in the divine inspiration, entire trustworthiness and final authority of the Bible in all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:160; John 12:48,49; 2 Peter 1:20,21).
We believe in the essential unity of all believers, who together form one Church, diverse in form and expression, of which Christ is the Head. The Church is commissioned by God to make disciples of all nations. We are called to do good works and to be salt and light in a dark world (I Corinthians 12:12-14; Galatians 3:26-28; Matthew 28:16-20; Ephesians 4:1-6; Matthew 5:14-16).
We believe that all people are made in the image of God and therefore have intrinsic value and worth, and are deserving of love, respect and dignity from conception through death. We believe all forms of abuse, oppression, or dehumanization towards fellow humans is an affront against God’s sacred image (Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:20-21; Galatians 6:10).
We believe God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female and desires for all people to express their gender in accordance with their biological sex. (Genesis 1:26-27; Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 1: 25-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:3-5).
We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is only expressed within the covenant of marriage. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and a symbol which illustrates the relationship between Christ and the Church. We believe His boundaries and design are essential in the pursuit of sexual healing and wholeness (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:25-32).

We Invite:

As the body of Jesus Christ sent out into the world to unite all things unto Him through his power, we invite all churches who gladly hold to these core beliefs to join us in the fight against the evils of human trafficking and its widespread impact.

We encourage all, whether in agreement with us or not, to continue fighting the evil of human trafficking in all its forms. We are happy to share with anyone and everyone joined in this common effort.