By Carol Bolden

She abhors human trafficking and her faith fortifies her resolve to fight it. That’s the story of 19-year-old Katie McTavish from Newday Christian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Parker.

Katie was 14 years old when her church held a fundraiser for International Justice Mission, a global organization that protects the poor from violence in the developing world. Moved by statistics, shared by Pastor Dave Kennedy, indicating that the average age of a sex-trafficked girl was 14 years old, she was struck by the thought, “That could be me!” Then she says she “heard the voice of God saying, ‘Katie, fighting this injustice is what you were made for.’”

As a senior at Valor Christian High School, Katie, along with six other students and a teacher, wrestled with what they could do to raise awareness. Their first step, they decided, would be to organize a fact-sharing conference.

So began SHIFT, Empower to Prevent,* a grassroots organization that recognized from the beginning the importance of not only hearing about an issue, but making the shift to doing something about it. Following their name, they SHIFTed into action, recruiting people from six organizations to speak at their first conference. Student organizers were surprised to see almost 300 people in attendance and excited to discover that other schools were interested in doing the same thing.

Several members of Newday Church are involved in fighting for justice, says Pastor Kennedy. Among them is Kirk Samuel, founder of Free Indeed and a contributor to the Justice Conference. “Katie and Kirk are examples of passionate Christ followers who love God and serve people in tangible ways,” says Pastor Kennedy. “They use their gifts to fight oppression and set the captives free.”

Although we typically think of human trafficking as something that happens in countries like Cambodia or Greece, it has sadly become a problem in the United States. Denver is a human trafficking hub. “We’re in the middle of the country, and that makes us a destination state, but also a transit state,” writes Brandy Simmons in an article titled, “Inside Colorado’s Underground Sex Trafficking Empire.” “With I-25 and I-70 connecting us to the coast or to the borders, we sit right in the middle of a lot of action,” she notes.

Now a freshman majoring in communications at Colorado Christian University, Katie has a pretty heavy schedule, making her participation with SHIFT less involved than last year, but she did attend the second SHIFT conference held in March, joining 60 young volunteers from several high schools in the Denver area to continue educating, empowering, and motivating the fight for justice.

The lineup of speakers reads like a list of Who’s Who in the fight-against-human-trafficking. They came from Dalit Freedom Network, Hope Academy, and A-21. They arrived from Free Indeed, Girl Above, Tall Truth, and Joy International. There are at least 70 organizations in existence today battling this human rights scourge.

“Human trafficking is the third largest global criminal enterprise, exceeded only by drug and arms trafficking . . .” shared Laura Lederer, a leading State Department official on human trafficking at a Washington conference.

Held at Valor Christian High School, SHIFT’s second conference provided attendees with a bag of information flyers, along with a SHIFT bracelet and water bottle. As many as 20 vendors set up booths peddling their wares to benefit victims.

With featured speakers and breakout sessions, attendees were bombarded with information and challenged to help. A head deputy from the police system in Denver—part of the FBI—spoke about what they’re doing to stop human trafficking in Denver. In existence since 2012, they participated in Operation Cross Country IX, which was conducted in Colorado and Wyoming. Twenty under- age victims were recovered in Denver, according to FBI officials.

The culture at Newday, explains Katie’s associate pastor Lisa Engelkemier, is geared toward “relieving human suffering in every way within our ability. Several thousand dollars of our Christmas offering went to organizations that are on the ground to end human trafficking.”

“Katie’s work to create awareness of and bring an end to sex trafficking brings purpose and passion into her life,” explains Lisa. “We celebrate young people like Katie, who follow Jesus’ example of serving the least of these.”

After the conference, Krisa Van Allen, founder of Girl Above and a speaker for the conference, spoke with Katie and her sister, Laura, also an avid supporter of the push for justice for victims of human trafficking. “Can I take you guys to coffee before I go to the airport?” Krisa asked, evidently impressed by their enthusiasm.

“The conversation we had over coffee was an answer to prayer,” shares Katie. “I’ve been wondering what to do with this passion and this call.” She fired questions at Krisa and received answers for things burning in her heart: What should I take in college? What is one of the hardest times and what is one of the most rewarding times you’ve had working in this field?

Her answers were encouraging, Katie says. Krisa explained that some days she sits in her office working on spreadsheets, while other days she finds herself working with victims in Greece. “She encouraged me to finish my education and to step into volunteer opportunities.” Looking to the future, Katie explains, “I would love to work for International Justice Mission.” She appreciates their effective approach toward working simultaneously on several important strands—preventing human trafficking, rescuing victims, restoring survivors, and strengthening justice systems.

“Freedom,” Katie says, “is a fundamental, God-given right. Sex trafficking is completely against who God is. If we say we love God, then we have to love His people. We are called to justice, to be a voice for justice.”

Full freedom, Katie says, comes only in Christ. Someone could be rescued from the sex-trade industry and still not be completely free. But, she continues, “If we come in and res- cue them and tell them they’re loved, valued, and unique because Jesus does this, then we can give them ultimate freedom.”

Calling to action the people of the church, Katie says, “Today’s Christians have to realize the need for justice in the world and that it is something God calls us to do. Our congregations need to talk about these things. A lot of poverty as well as human trafficking is based on messed-up justice systems and corrupt governments. People can’t get out of poverty or out of human trafficking, without help.”

–Carol Bolden provides administrative support for the RMC communication department. [email protected]