During the fourth year I received an urgent phone call from the director of the school. "When can you address our students? We need you as soon as possible!"

Why the change of heart? It seems one of the high school students has fondled several of the elementary school students. Emboldened when this went undiscovered, he raped two middle school girls.

As I was going out the door to minister at this school, I paused to leave a prayer request with my wife. "Pray for my, Honey. I want to back the principal into a corner. I want to scream in his face, ŒWhy did you wait so long? This might have been prevented!' No good can come from that attitude. Pray that I manifest the love of Christ to all in that school today."

The ministry went smoothly, then the two young girls came up for prayer after I addressed the middle school students. As they told me what had happened to them, they broke down in tears. "We wanted to give our virginity to our husbands as a gift on our wedding night. Now we'll never be able to do that."

As tears welled up in my own eyes, I shared with them my conviction that your virginity cannot be taken away from you; it can only be given away. I explained that because sexual abuse is a crime of violence and control, not a crime of passion, and though the dictionary and medical science would not agree with me, I believed that in the eyes of God they were still virgins.

This seemed to comfort them. As they walked away after I had prayed with them, I wanted to let out a primal scream. "Wake up Church! God's sheep are being attacked!!! Lord, I can't wake them, but what is impossible for man is possible with You, for it's not by might, it's not by power, it's by Your Spirit. Awaken Your sleeping Church and fill it with a holy call to confront the epidemic of abuse within our society, in Jesus Name, Amen."