Christine Caine, founder of The A21 Campaign, an organization dedicated to fighting the injustice of human trafficking, passionately challenged students on Friday at Liberty University Convocation to “exchange the baton of faith to the next generation.”
Caine and her husband, Nick, founded The A21 Campaign in 2008. She has received the highest honor for her work in the field, including the Hero of Human Trafficking Award from Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
Caine is also a member of the leadership team at Hillsong Church in her native Sydney, Australia, and she and Nick lead Equip and Empower Ministries. Her most recent book is “Undaunted.”
On Friday she recalled the suffering she has endured, which includes poverty, sexual and verbal abuse, and dealing with the emotional toll of finding out she was adopted at age 33. Her story has empowered many to take up the cause of fighting slavery. Through it all, she described the power of forgiveness and how God works everything out for His good.
“I don’t know what your story is or where you are from, but you are not here by accident,” she told students. “If you trust, He will work together for good all things in your life and He will turn it around and use your past to give somebody else a future. That’s what Jesus does.”
Caine used the analogy of passing the baton in 400-meter relay Olympic event to describe the importance of passing the baton of faith and how to do it properly.
She described the crucial part of the relay being the exchange of the baton. In the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, the U.S. women were the fastest runners and were predicted to win. However, they missed the exchange and lost the races.
Caine warned students to evaluate their “spiritual exchange zone” and the importance of living the way God intended. She said she believes that this generation is the most gifted generation in all of history, but just like the runners in the Olympics there is potential to miss the exchange.
“The gift that is in you will destroy you if what is in you can’t sustain you. God is trying to build what is on the inside of you. He can’t build it if you are not running, if you’re not serving, if you don’t care about title or position,” Caine said.
She charged students to be the change for Christ this world needs, changing human history for His kingdom.
“You and I are not a product of time; we are a product of eternity,” Caine said. “God has plucked us out of eternity; He has positioned us in time and He has given us gifts and talents for the purpose of serving our generation. This is our time of history that God has placed the baton of faith in our hands.”
