On February 26th, freedom will ring from Bangkok to Managua, Austin to Sydney as thousands of churches around the world mobilize their congregations to take action towards “setting the captives free.” Through a day of collective fasting and prayer Freedom Sunday will rally religious devotees to join the global fight to end slavery in our lifetimes.
“Worship is the catalyst for action,” claims Rev. Kevin Austin, Director of the Abolitionist Faith Community, “It empowers the worshiper to move out beyond awareness to action.”
Currently 5000 faith communities from 100 different countries have registered for this day of hope-infused, prayer-filled, smart activism worship.
Freedom Sunday is uniting the faithful across national and denominational lines as Christian communities from disparate regions of the world unite for the common cause of justice. Many will Fast for Freedom throughout the Lenten season using the money saved in order to support NFS’s social ventures creating new futures for vulnerable, powerless, and exploited in our world.
“These religious devotees disdain lip service to the cause of justice, but act, give, and live in radical obedience to a better way,” says President and Co-founder David Batstone, “All over the world these faith-driven activists are saying, ‘not in my backyard.’”
This declaration resonates throughout the Onnuri Church in Seoul, South Korea. Faced with the reality of 1 million South Korean women enslaved in brothels in South Korea, the 60,000-member congregation (making Onnuri one of the largest churches in the world) hosted a spectacular Freedom Sunday last year. The event attracted an abundance of media attention, with Korea’s largest religious broadcasting network – CGNTV – bringing the sermon to two million viewers inside Korea as well as an additional 150 worldwide cable channels.
“Last year’s Freedom Sunday was electric for our congregation,” says Onnuri’s Pastor of English Ministries Eddie Byun, “I believe it was a reflection of a growing desire to see the Church rise up as relevant leaders in this movement for freedom.”
The event, imbued with action-based prayer, songs, and a sermon given by Batstone, moved the worshipers outward with a shared determination to use the transformative power of God’s love to fight the evil of modern-day slavery. In the span of one year, the Congregation has raised $35,000 to buy land for Not For Sale’s social venture in Thailand and that is creating new futures for survivors of trafficking.
Their incredible efforts inspired many more churches in South Korea to register for Freedom Sunday this year as worship becomes a formidable tool in the fight to abolish human trafficking. Byun will join Batstone in the Philippines, preaching to over 600 people in 35 churches around the country that people of faith a crucial role to play leading the movement to end forced labor in Asia and around the world.
Churches wishing to officially register for the exciting worship event can access a strong network of thousands of churches – The Underground Church Network (UCN) – through the NFS website. Using a “church-locator” – an interactive Google map – worshippers from diverse Christian denominations may find a participating Freedom Sunday church in their region. Through this portal churches can also share sermon notes, songs, bible studies, as well as fact sheets and other worship resources in order to enhance their congregation’s celebration of freedom.
Tomorrow, Freedom Sunday will sow the seeds of justice in thousands of churches across the globe.
“We are one community,” claims Austin, “working together despite differences, to stand against this global injustice.”
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