Who is Defender?
- Defender Ministries is a non-deonominational, non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping churches, families, and students battle the destructive elements of internet, media, and pornography through high quality resources, curriculum, seminars, and training.
Why should I care about this issue?
- Viewing pornography is not just looking at pictures of naked people. It is a highly addictive activity that starts a person on a slippery slope. They will continue to find more and more titilating items, getting pulled further into the pornography world. People do not stay at the same level of pornography usage for long - they continue to increase their time and intensity of use. In addition, children and teens are exposed to sexual content far before their minds and emotions are prepared to handle it. As a result, they get sexualized and desensitized, getting into activities at earlier ages. Quite frankly, pornography is wrecking havoc with families, churches, students, children, and our country.
Why should our church be involved?
- This issue is destroying our families and our churches. It is hard to find someone who does not know of a minister who has fallen due to sexual impurity. Churches are often nervous about dealing with this issue, but the fact is that if they continue to do nothing, they will be destroyed. We cannot continue to ignore the problem because things are only getting worse.
Is it really that big of an issue in the church?
- In a recent survey by Focus on the Family at one of their men's conferences, sixty-six percent of male attendees admitted to having issues with pornography. Twenty percent of Christian women have addictions to pornography. Ninety percent of teens have been exposed to pornography online in the last year. Rick Warren's research reports fifty percent of pastors have viewed pornography online in the last six months.
Is this just for men?
- Although it is true that men are the most common group to fall into an addiction to pornography, they are not alone. One out of six women develop an addiction to porn. Defender Ministries wants to deliver families as a whole from the damaging effects of pornography. That could be husbands and fathers who have developed a problem. That could be a wife who has to deal with the ramifications of her husband's choice - or a wife who had developed her own issues. That could be a teen who has given in to the temptation of the sensual activities online. Defender is not just for me - it is for the entire family.
What does Defender's curriculum look like?
- We currently have five different lines - or Defense Series - of curriculum: Family Defense Series, Church Defense Series, Student Defense Series, School Defense Series, and College Defense Series. Each series has between ten and twelve lessons in it, with both a Leader and Student version. The leader version lays out an abundance of information on the chosen topic, to fully prepare a teacher. The student version has room for interactivity in the lesson, and it has five days of follow up devotions included. Visit Defender Press to see more about which lessons are offered.
Can we bring Defender to our church for a special event?
- We at Defender are open to any appearance that would benefit your church. Some options include one-day seminars, Family Nights, Family Weekends, Disciple Now weekends, mid-week Bible studies for adults and/or students, Sunday morning or evening sermons, men's events, ladies' events, summer youth camps, and workshops. Contact Defender Ministries if you are interested in booking us for an appearance.
What is the cost for curriculum?
- We have tried to be sensitive to the financial strain most churches face. Our curriculum is simply priced. Student books are 99 cents. Teacher books are $2.99. Leader packs (which include a teacher books, three student books, and a resource CD) are $10. These prices are VERY competitive, especially considering the depth of the resources.
What does it cost to bring Defender to our church?
- Again, we want to be sensitive to churches, while at the same time being able to cover our own needs. We are located in Orlando, Florida. We would need our travel and lodging covered, as well as a honorarium. The amount of that can be negotiated based on church size, as well as the length and intensity of the event. Contact us to work up a cost for your event.
- It is our great prayer that this will bring freedom to your families. We hope that these conferences will allow families to talk together honestly about their struggles. We also want to allow families to set up time to study God's Word together. Our goal is that your families will discover a new intimacy with God and each other - and have a renewed commitment to holiness.
