[notice]A special report by Taryn Lourens about the Fight The New Drug ministry that she and her husband Abrie offer as a community service. [/notice]
Porn. Mention that word and you might get an awkward look or a muffled giggle from teenagers. Even though most teens have seen it, few know just how addictive it is. An addiction to porn is one of the most common addictions among teenagers today, yet many are being taught at school, or by the media, that it is normal, or even healthy to watch porn.
The Fight the New Drug movement was first launched in America in response to the growing ‘porndemic’ and is getting teens all over the world fighting back against the porn industry. Fight the New Drug South Africa was launched in Cape Town in 2014 and we have spoken at 20 schools all over South Africa so far.
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Fight the New Drug uses science, multi-media presentations and personal testimonies to present the medical facts on how a pornography addiction is similar to an addiction to drugs in the way it affects the brain and impacts individuals and society. FTND is educating hundreds of thousands of people across the world through creative social media and schools presentations and is providing help for those who want to break free.
Gospel opportunities
At all the schools, my husband, Abrie, requests permission to share his testimony of how God set him free from an addiction to porn. This gives him an opportunity to explain the Gospel.
As part of his testimony, Abrie challenges those who are addicted to take radical action to break the habit. He tells them that they should break their phone or computer and that if they are not willing to do that, he can come and break it for them! At the second school this year, a group of boys stayed behind after the presentation to ask Abrie questions. One boy said that during the presentation, he deleted all the porn off his phone! We reminded them that although that is a good start, we must repent of our sin and surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, to experience lasting freedom.
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Making the most of every opportunity
At another high school, Abrie was not permitted to share his testimony. We made the most of this disappointment by sharing the Gospel with a girl who was determined to convince us that porn is actually healthy! We also went to different groups of teens having their break time, distributed Gospel tracts and shared the Gospel with them.
At a Christian school, a boy asked us for advice on how he could break his addiction and requested prayer. We gently probed to find out what background issues in his life could be making him more susceptible to such as addiction. He shared with us that his father is a pastor and that he feels too ashamed to talk to him about these struggles. We also carefully explained the Gospel, and urged him to repent, surrender to Jesus and to take radical action. He was grateful for our counsel.
We offer these presentations for free as a service to the community. We are based in Cape Town, so are available at most times of the year to come to schools or churches in the Cape. We will be going on tour in August and September. Abrie and I are available for school or church meetings from August 21 to September 1 in Gauteng and from September 2 to September 12 in Pietermaritzburg or Durban.
Please email me (Taryn): info@christianaction.org.za or call 021 689 4480 or 072 215 4801 to arrange for us to come to your school or church.
