One Conference Announces 2012 Event and Human Trafficking Alert

By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

Miami, Florida

MIAMI, FL (ANS) -- According to a variety of sites, 27 million people are enslaved worldwide; 100,000 American children are trafficked for commercial sex each year. Two children are sold each minute on a global scale.

A human trafficking alert will be one of the major causes highlighted at an upcoming international conference to be held at the University of Miami's Bank United Center, February 10-12, 2012, according to a media release.

"Human slavery is a problem many people are just becoming aware of," Pedro Garcia, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Kendall, Florida, said in announcing the trafficking alert as part of the major Miami event in 2012.

"Many people are surprised to hear the global and local scope of this issue," Garcia said.

"We are presenting this event to unite the church and ignite a passion for Jesus in the Christian community," Garcia explained.

"We have arranged for the finest communicators from around the country and around the world to come to Miami. There has never been an event like this in the history of south Florida."

Among a stellar line up of speakers is Franklin Graham, Bob Coy, Greg Laurie, Francis Chan, Brian Houston, Ed Young, Miles McPherson, James MacDonald, Christine Caine and Britt Merrick. Biographies for these and each of the 14 speakers can be found at www.oneconference.com.

Garcia, serving as host of the One Conference, will also interview key Christian community leaders during the course of the event, including Coca-Cola executive, Frank Harrison.

Pedro Garcia's wife, Lourdes, will serve as cause coordinator for the One Conference.

Children at Risk Worldwide

"We want the One Conference to have a real impact and practical effect on a number of issues, including human trafficking," Lourdes Garcia said.

"A number of sources report very disturbing statistics of sexual and domestic slavery around the world, nationwide and in Florida," she added.

"Because Florida is a crossroads of the region, human slavery is a massive problem that many people are unaware of; we want to change that."

The Garcia's believe that the One Conference can make a difference.

"'Unite,' 'ignite,' and 'impact' is the three-step call to action we are asking our church and our community to take part in," Pedro Garcia said.

Christine Caine, one of the conference speakers, is an internationally known spokeswoman on the issue of human trafficking.

Caine says this issue is starting to receive the global attention it deserves. "It is time for those in the church to step out of our comfort zones and seek that which is lost. We can abolish this massive injustice," she said.

Caine spearheads the A21 Campaign ( www.thea21campaign.org  ) a worldwide initiative to confront this issue by partnering with communities to prevent, protect, and prosecute.

The One Conference will be generating publicity and support for the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888) in three languages.

"We hope that our church and our community will be alert for signs of those who are victims and will give them this information," Lourdes Garcia said.

"This alert is just the first step in a campaign to research and address this tremendous problem. It is only the beginning."

Educating thousands at the conference will also be done through multi-media presentations and an Action Center in the University Fieldhouse. This Center will also highlight other issues such as fresh water for Haiti, Bibles for unreached people groups and first response to crisis situations.

"We want the One Conference to become an annual experience in Florida. We hope the effect of the One Conference will go far beyond the scheduled dates and will reach around the world for Jesus Christ," Pedro Garcia concluded.

For more information or registration, go to www.oneconference.com  

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For interviews with Pedro or Lourdes Garcia, please contact:
Dominique@calvarykendall.com  or
Dasha@calvarykendall.com  

Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter