Faith in Action: Leading the Charge Against Child Exploitation Through Christ
Bob Rodgers
On this episode of Anchoring Hope with David Mansilla, we meet Bob Rodgers, the President and CEO of Street Grace, a faith-driven organization on a mission to eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. With over 30 years of corporate and nonprofit leadership, Bob brings strategic clarity, relentless compassion, and Christ-centered resolve to one of the most heartbreaking issues of our time—child trafficking.
His résumé spans high-level roles, including Vice President of a major restaurant chain supporting over 22,000 employees, and President of Richmont Graduate University, where he led impressive institutional growth and founded trauma counseling centers. He is also the founder of the Freedom Coalition, a collaborative initiative addressing global human trafficking. Yet, above all, Bob’s testimony is one of divine direction, radical surrender, and God’s power at work.
When Pain Becomes Purpose
Bob's journey into anti-trafficking ministry was neither planned nor painless. At one point, he and his family lost nearly everything in the 2008 economic crisis. “We lost houses, cars—everything,” Bob shared. “I thought I was following God’s plan… and suddenly it all fell apart.”
But God doesn’t waste suffering. Through his leadership at a Christian graduate university, Bob began encountering stories of sexual abuse and trafficking through students’ counseling internships. God was connecting the dots behind the scenes. “What I thought was a detour,” Bob said, “was God’s setup for a higher calling.”
🎯 Leadership Insight: The call of God often begins with discomfort and disruption. True leadership is born not in comfort but in conviction.
Confronting Evil with Strategy and Faith
Bob's first encounter with a trafficking story that changed his life came during a university lecture. A trafficker had been arrested for delivering a 14-year-old girl to a hotel—she was being raped for profit, repeatedly. “That moment crushed me,” Bob recalled. “I walked out, went to my hotel room, and just wept.”
That began a one-and-a-half-year season of prayer and discernment. Eventually, he stepped away from his role at the university and joined Street Grace full-time, where his mission became crystal clear: Disrupt the business of human trafficking by targeting buyers and traffickers.
🎯 Leadership Insight: Evil thrives in silence. Great leaders step into dark places and bring the light of truth and action.
Prayer as a Weapon of War
Street Grace is unapologetically Christ-centered. But Bob admits, that wasn’t always reflected in daily operations—until a crisis reminded him that prayer is not just a ritual but a weapon.
“Prayer reshaped our culture,” he shared. Meetings that began with a quick prayer now open with intentional intercession. “It’s not just something we do; it’s the most powerful resource we have.”
🎯 Spiritual Lesson: Prayer is not a pause from work—it is the power behind it. As believers, we fight spiritual battles with spiritual tools.
Brokenness as a Catalyst for Transformation
Bob doesn’t glamorize his journey. He speaks openly about moments when he sat alone, overwhelmed, weeping, feeling like a failure. “I told the Lord, I’m failing on every front,” he said.
But God uses our lowest points to deepen our trust. “Had I not gone through that pain, I wouldn’t understand God’s faithfulness the way I do now.” What began as loss became legacy. What felt like failure became fuel for mission.
🎯 Faith Insight: God doesn’t waste pain. Your breaking point might be the starting point of your God-ordained purpose.
God Loves You—Personally, Deeply, Endlessly
If Bob had a message for the world, it would be this: “God really loves you—personally.” Not because you're one in a billion, but because you're His. That kind of love changes everything.
Through this deeply Christ-centric conversation, Bob reminds us that hope is not naive—it’s necessary. And when that hope is anchored in Christ, even the darkest systems can be dismantled.
🎯 Motivational Takeaway: You are not forgotten. You are loved by a God who moves mountains for His children—and calls you to join Him in the fight for others.
Written by Jovilyn Dela Cruz
“Prayer isn’t just something we do—it’s our most powerful weapon.”
