Mar. 11, 2011
For Immediate Release

By Phil Carlisle, student news writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - “God intends for us to be involved in doing justice in the world today,” Dr. Wayne Barnard, director of student ministries for the International Justice Mission (IJM), said at Campbellsville University's weekly chapel service on March 9.

IJM is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. According to Barnard, there are between 27 and 30 million slaves in the world today.

“We can look all over the world and see people under oppression with no one to comfort them,” Barnard said. “It's an issue we thought we had dealt with long ago, yet it's still very prevalent today.”

Barnard challenged those who attended the chapel service to get involved in the fight for justice saying “we are the key to making the world believe that God is good.”

Barnard cited John 3:16 from the Bible as a key verse in understanding the heart of God.

“The world we complain about is the same world God loved so much that he gave everything for it,” Barnard said. “Do our passions match God's passions? When people look at us, they must truly see what God is passionate about.”

Throughout the service, Barnard shared several stories of people whose lives have been changed with help from IJM.

“When I know what these people have been through, I can't help but to care,” he said. “Today you now know and hopefully today you now care.”

Barnard made one final appeal to the students and staff as he closed his presentation.

“It's time to move beyond our small selves and give God what little we have,” he said. “When we do that, we can expect God to miraculously turn our little into more than we can possibly imagine.”

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 63 undergraduate programs, 17 master's degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.