Chad and I have been friends with the founders of Jesus Said Love (JSL) for a long time, and we are excited to work with them as one of the non-profit partners for the WacoFork Club.
JSL was founded in 2003 by Brett and Emily Mills (of Adele parody viral video fame), 2 Baylor graduates leading worship at Christian conferences. JSL goes into strip clubs across Texas, builds relationships with commercial sex exploits without strings attached, and connects them to community and spiritual resources.
Overwhelmed by stories from former exotic entertainers, Emily became burdened for the marginalized in Waco. For JSL's first outreach, a small group of women ventured into two strip clubs, armed with gift bags filled with practical, high-quality gifts. The outreach was a success! In fact, each club manager extended an open invitation for JSL to return at any time. For the next few years, volunteers would return to the clubs bi-annually: at Christmas and Easter.
In 2007, the Mills made the decision to bring this new ministry under the administration of their already-established worship ministry and nonprofit organization: Bartimaeus Ministries, Inc. The name Jesus Said Love was then adopted for this specific outreach program to women in the commercial sex industry. The burden was for the marginalized: those whom the church was not reaching because of ignorance or negligence.
What began as a bi-annual outreach in Waco has now grown into a full time ministry of monthly club outreaches, social work assistance, education, awareness, medical education, childcare and nutritional advocacy in Waco, Dallas, Bryan/College Station, San Antonio, Temple/Killeen, and (most recently) Houston.
To learn more about JSL, visit their website at jesussaidlove.com, and to learn more about the WacoFork Club, check out our announcement that explains what it is.
