CrossCurrent Podcasts

Sex Trafficking: A Crisis Closer Than You Think

Sex trafficking is one of the greatest human rights crises of our time—a dark, shocking reality that is not just happening “somewhere else,” but in neighborhoods and communities across America. In this crucial episode, Catherine is joined by Dr. Rondy Smith, founder and CEO of Rest Stop Ministries, to confront the overwhelming issue of sex trafficking head-on and, more importantly, to explore what Christians can do about it.

A Call to Step Into the Darkness

Rondy didn’t become an activist because of a personal story—she stepped into this fight after witnessing the devastating effects of sexual exploitation on women she ministered to. In her journey from church leadership to founding the first long-term residential restoration program for female survivors in Tennessee, Rondy reveals the magnitude of the crisis:

• 27 million people currently enslaved worldwide

• 80% are female and over 50% are children trafficked for sexual exploitation

• Children as young as five are among the victims

The conversation brings these tragic numbers to life, grounding the issue in both global statistics and heartbreaking personal experiences.

Understanding the Hidden Reality

Listeners will get a vital overview of how sex trafficking operates—not just through stereotypes like “street prostitution,” but in more insidious forms such as:

• The “boyfriend syndrome,” where traffickers pose as romantic partners

• Familial trafficking, where children are sold by family members due to poverty or addiction

These abuses touch every ZIP code in the United States, often hidden in plain sight.

Hope and Action: What Christians Can Do

But this episode goes beyond exposing darkness; it’s filled with practical insights and urgent encouragement for action. Catherine and Dr. Rondy Smith discuss:

• The importance of seeing victims as ourselves—rejecting the temptation to look away out of overwhelm or helplessness

• Biblical imperatives for confronting oppression and injustice, with powerful reference to scriptures like Proverbs 24:11

• How Rest Stop Ministries walks alongside survivors for years of restorative healing and reintegration

• Ways every Christian and every church can get involved, from supporting local ministries to prevention education

• A profound recognition of the spiritual battle involved—and a stirring call to pray for those on the front lines

A Personal Update: The Cost of the Battle

The episode closes with a deeply personal update from Catherine about ministry friends who stepped forward in faith to found a refuge for survivors, only to face their own heart-breaking trials. This underlines the costly battle against this evil and the desperate need for community support and prayer.

Guest Bio

Dr. Rondy Smith is an ordained minister, educator, mentor, and CEO of Rest Stop Ministries, a pioneering restoration program for female survivors of sex trafficking in Nashville, Tennessee. With decades of experience across ministry, academia, and leadership, she is deeply committed to the spiritual and practical healing of those marked by exploitation.

Important Resources

• Learn more or get involved at reststopministries.org

• Follow Rest Stop Ministries on Facebook, Instagram, and

Dr. Champ Thornton wants to inspire children – and their parents – with fascinating Bible facts, biographies of great Christians, humor, trivia, and more! He believes kids need to integrate their faith with the “real world” all around them and learn how to discern between godly truth and cultural perspectives.

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Steve Bonta joins us today to discuss Is the Global Economy on the Way to Another Shock?  Steve is Publisher of The New American a magazine from the John Birch Society, a non-partisan civics and education organization that endorses the timeless principles of the Declaration of Independence which proclaimed that our personal rights come from God, not from government.  

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In a world beset by climatic emergencies, the continuing resonance of the flood story is perhaps easy to understand. Whether in the tortured alpha male intensity of Russell Crowe’s Noah, in Darren Aronofsky’s eponymous 2014 film, or other recent derivations, the biblical narrative has become a lightning rod for gathering environmental anxieties. However, Philip C. Almond’s masterful exploration of Western cultural history uncovers a far more complex Noah than is commonly recognised: not just the father of humanity but also the first shipbuilder, navigator, zookeeper, farmer, grape grower, and wine maker. Noah’s pivotal significance is revealed as much in his forgotten secular as in his religious receptions, and their major impact on such disciplines as geology, geography, biology, and zoology. While Noah’s many interpretations over two millennia might seem to offer a common message of hope, the author’s sober conclusion to Noah and the Flood in Western Thought (Cambridge UP, 2025) is that deliverance now lies not in divine but rather in human hands.

Philip C. Almond is Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought at The University of Queensland. A noted authority in the history of religion and of ideas, he has written many books on subjects as diverse as God, the Devil, the afterlife, witchcraft and witches, Adam and Eve, heaven and hell in Enlightenment England, and early modern demonic possession. His recent works include The Buddha: Life and Afterlife Between East and West (2024), Mary Magdalene: A Cultural History (2023), and The Antichrist: A New Biography (2020), all published by Cambridge University Press.

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature.

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We talk with three Colson Fellows who share their experiences with the program and how they've used it later in their lives to live with clarity, confidence and courage. 

Segment 1 – What Attracts People to the Fellows Program 

• Colson Fellows Program 

Segment 2 – Fellowship and Learning Through Cohorts 

Joshua Becker reveals the secret to finding more freedom, time, money, and peace in your life – owning less! Hear the steps to unlocking more margin to be generous, pursue God, and build up your family by practicing minimalism. 

Receive a copy of Uncluttered Faith and an audio download of "Simplify Your Life and Open Your Heart to Spiritual Growth" for your donation of any amount!

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