Canadian Churches Send Hope Through IJM's Advent Rescue
Every year at Christmas, we celebrate the start of God’s amazing rescue plan—Jesus coming to Earth to save us. Advent is a season that reminds us of the waiting of Israel. Longing with expectation for the coming of light into darkness; hope into our world of sin and sorrow.
Right now, across the world, there are children, women and men trapped in the sorrow and darkness of exploitation, trafficking and slavery, longing and waiting for the light of rescue.
Many Canadians have a growing awareness of the terrible and global reality of violence and injustice against vulnerable people through news reports, the Internet and other media. Here at IJM, we are continually inspired by the passion and commitment of individuals and churches who reach out to us, eager to take action against violence and injustice and bring rescue to many who are trapped in this darkness.
This collective desire to push back against the darkness and bring about positive change inspired us in 2024 to launch our Advent Rescue initiative that invited church communities all over Canada to come together and fund IJM rescue operations.
With the Advent Rescue Initiative, our hope and prayer were that churches across Canada would raise an offering towards IJM’s work of bringing rescue to many vulnerable people trapped in various forms of exploitation, trafficking, and slavery across the 19 countries we work in.
Today, we are celebrating the 12 churches across Canada that participated in our first-ever Advent Rescue initiative.
These churches raised $83,000 during the Christmas season, enough to fund 8 rescue operations—a key component of our work of bringing restoration and protection to vulnerable people. Praise God!
Deeply encouraged by the tremendous impact made in our inaugural year, our team is already hard at work developing new resources and materials to further support and enhance the efforts of Advent Rescue 2025. We’re committed to building on our successes and expanding our reach to make an even greater difference in the communities we serve.
Stay tuned for exciting updates and innovative tools designed to build a robust Advent Rescue programme in 2025. This initiative not only saves lives, but inspires and nourishes disciples of Christ here in Canada as we grow in our understanding of God’s heart for justice.
Together, we can rescue victims, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors to safety and strength, and help local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts.
