Country music star Craig Morgan reportedly joined international anti-trafficking organization Exodus Road because he wants to follow Jesus' actions, and his military experience suits the task.
The Christian Post said Morgan, who was an Army veteran and served as a deputy sheriff in Tennessee while transitioning to his music career, first encountered Exodus Road seven years ago through a friend.
Exodus Road, according to its website, aims to "strategically and holistically fight human trafficking through prevention, intervention, and aftercare work around the globe." The group has conducted 800 arrests and more than 1,500 global rescues in the six countries it operates in through its 70 operatives.
The Christian Post elaborated that the organization trains operatives for what it does, which includes rescue missions that use "advanced technology to locate survivors and gather evidence for successful raids and arrests, impacting the larger systems of slavery." As such, Morgan was quickly hooked into the organization and provided them his assistance in various ways.
"I was in the military for about 17 years and done a lot of things, so I had a particular skill set that I felt like I could offer my assistance to the organization, and I did. In the process of doing that, I felt so strongly about what they were doing that I decided to get on their board and help promote the organization and try to assist in fundraising because this cost a lot of money to do this," Morgan said.
This is not Morgan's first time to be engaged with an anti-human trafficking organization. Morgan revealed that he has previously joined others in the past but they were unlike Exodus Road, which provides "aftercare work." This post-rescue service of the organization is essential as it enables human trafficking survivors to begin a new life, and stops them from returning to their captors.
"The one thing that I loved about Exodus Road, and I think what drew me to them most, was the follow on. I've worked with other organizations in the past where we literally go in, snatch and grab and remove the victim, and then turn the victim over to either the government, or a church, or someone like that. That's not a bad thing, it's good that they're doing that," Morgan said.
"But with Exodus Road, when we start an operation, we're not just thinking about the individual and getting them out. We're thinking about where they're going to go, what they're going to do, how we're going to assist them in their life in the future. Exodus Road doesn't just focus on removing that individual and arresting the individual perpetrator, our emphasis is placed on the main players, the individuals that are responsible for that trafficking," he added.
Morgan, who recently launched the new album "God, Family, Country," disclosed that Exodus Road also uproots the cause of human trafficking by getting rid of those operating the rings in an area. This, he said, has created a "huge impact" such that "there's less and less of the 'joes', per se." Morgan emphasized that this "helps everybody" because "you remove the temptation."
Though Morgan describes working for an anti-human trafficking organization as a "very ugly thing," he nevertheless finds it a noble endeavor as Jesus did similar things during His earthly ministry. Morgan also underscored the need to have a "strong" faith for those engaging in this line of work and of the need to constantly create awareness to have collective efforts to end this evil.
"You have to really be strong in faith, in your relationships, otherwise you could find yourself being compromised," Morgan stressed.
"Think about where Jesus went. I'm not comparing myself or anyone else that works for Exodus Road to Jesus, by no means, my Lord and Savior is the King. But Jesus went to those ugly places. He went there. I feel like if we're going to help people, that's where we have to go," he said.
