Redeem your Christmas shopping & honor Christ | with Kristen Welch

Mercy House Global | shopping fair trade with Christ-centered purpose

Episode 124 – Gospel Spice welcomes Mercy House Global and its founder, Kristen Welch. Stephanie has been a fan of Mercy House Global for some time, because of its unique purpose to provide dignified jobs to women out of sex trafficking in Kenya, and to survivors of human trafficking all over the world—locally, in Houston, and globally, in over 40 locations. As Christmas approaches, we Western consumers have the choice to buy responsibly, and to honor God with how we purchase our gifts this season. Think about where your purchases come from; could they come from a sweat shop, where children or women labor for unsustainable wages? Did you know that some children are forced to harvest the cocoa beans that will be used to fill our stockings this season? Did you know that some women are physically chained to their sowing machines to create the cheap stockings that we will purchase to put that chocolate in?

How can you be sure that your purchase does not condone modern slavery, but God-honoring practices? Buying fair-trade from reputable Christian organizations is an easy way to spend our money wisely. It is more expensive, for sure. But buying smaller items made with ethical, Christ-centered purpose is preferable to buying bigger, labor-trafficked goods.

How about being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us? We want to be able to say, at the end of a phase of our lives, that we have been faithful. What does it look like, and how can we take steps to ensure we will be able to say this, when God brings a phase of our lives to a close, and ushers us into a new phase of life?

This is the conversation today on the Gospel Spice podcast with Kristen Welch. It’s not easy to hear; but what about being purposeful towards doing the most good this Christmas? Now is our chance to honor the birth of our Savior through our purchases. Join us this season to experience a labor trafficking-free Christmas, and to support organizations who help women out of sex trafficking too.

Go to https://mercyhouseglobal.org/ for more info, and specifically to https://shop.mercyhouseglobal.org/ for shopping ideas.

If you want to find out more about sex trafficking, we recommend our Gospel Spice interview with Rebecca Bender, available here (Episode 111, dated September 20, 2021): https://www.podcastics.com/podcast/episode/what-can-i-do-today-to-fight-human-trafficking-a-practical-conversation-with-rebecca-bender-89449/

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU!! 

"A Gospel Spice Christmas" is a five-day devotional and reading plan available exclusively on YouVersion / the Bible App.

Do you long for fresh spices to flavor your spiritual experience of the Incarnation of Christ? Are you tired of stale clichés that taste like microwaved Christmas dinner leftovers? Are you hungry for an explosion of fresh flavors in your Christmas devotions? Experience a Gospel Spice Christmas alongside the shepherds, and discover how to make your life a daily nativity scene where Christ can be born in ever-deepening ways.

Click here or go to your YouVersion Bible App on your phone, and search "Gospel Spice." It is our gift to you! Enjoy!

PAY GOSPEL SPICE FORWARD THIS CHRISTMAS.

Did you know that this show is completely free because of listeners just like you who pay the show forward, so that it is free for you? We do not want to add paid advertisements because we believe that your time is precious. So, would you consider joining the Gospel Spice family by paying Gospel Spice forward? Because we are a registered non-profit organization, your donation is 100% tax-deductible (in the USA). Contact us for monthly payments, or donate by Credit Card or via PayPal.

We invite you to join us to reach even more than the 125 countries we currently serve, and the thousands upon thousands who enjoy the Gospel Spice podcast.

The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools brought to you by Gospel Spice Ministries. The Gospel Spice Ministries exist to inspire Christ-followers in our generation to delight in the glory of God by knowing and experiencing Jesus more intimately. We provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.

Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Donate by Credit Card, or donate via PayPal.