There is a war raging in our time that too many of us would rather ignore. It does not erupt with tanks and bombs. Instead, it quietly spreads through neighborhoods, online platforms, schools, and even homes. It is the war on innocence—the relentless assault on the most vulnerable among us: our children.
Joe Horn’s new book Innocence Shattered is a sobering jolt that innocent minds are under siege while the world idly watches. His work doesn’t sensationalize; it exposes. It helps us see the depth of spiritually charged assaults designed to dismantle the purity and promise that God has placed inside young lives. And yet, even though the darkness is thick, the light of Christ has not been extinguished. His Word and His church still hold the keys to confront, resist, and overcome.
Across the globe, young people face a crisis more severe than many of us realize. Pedophilia is being normalized in entertainment and academia. Human trafficking networks stretch across cities, suburbs, and rural towns, leaving countless children swallowed by a system of exploitation. Statistics only tell part of the story. Behind every number is a child whose laughter has been stolen, whose hope has been crushed, whose spirit cries for rescue. Countless children vanish into a vast, malevolent system, and their silence echoes like a judgment against the world’s indifference. The church can no longer remain passive. The darkness is too organized, too strategic, too spiritually charged to be confronted with apathy.
The enemy has always targeted children. Pharaoh slaughtered Hebrew infants. Herod massacred Bethlehem’s sons. Satan’s rage is directed at the seed of promise, because every child carries God’s image and potential. Today’s atrocities are simply modern iterations of an ancient war.
We must call evil by its name. Trafficking is not merely “illegal activity”—it is demonic slavery. Pedophilia is not “controversial desire”—it is predatory perversion. Violence against the young is not “tragic consequence”—it is satanic assault. The language we use matters. When we minimize or sanitize the horror, we make it easier to tolerate. Scripture never softens its verdict: “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph. 5:11, NKJV).
Horn’s book lays bare this drastic necessity. He does not leave the evil in shadows but drags it into the light. The church must follow suit. Silence is complicity; exposure is obedience.
The tragedy is not only that the assault exists but that the church has too often slumbered through it. Sermons wax eloquent on prosperity and blessing, while a generation is dragged into bondage. Congregations rally around building campaigns, while their own neighborhoods hide trafficked victims in plain sight.
The call of the hour is to awaken from passivity. Christ never instructed His disciples to sit in comfortable indifference. He sent them into the world with authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, and proclaim the kingdom. That same authority demands that we champion the vulnerable and confront injustice.
To be clear, awakening does not mean mere awareness. It means action—practical, prayerful, Spirit-led action. Awareness without advocacy is lukewarm religion. What can the church do? Horn highlights three pillars that provide a starting point: advocacy, protection and hope.
Advocacy means using our voices where victims have none. It means supporting legislation that strengthens laws against traffickers and predators. It means confronting cultural narratives that normalize perversion. Protection means practical vigilance. Parents must guard their children from digital predators. Churches must create safe spaces with transparent accountability. Believers must learn to recognize the signs of trafficking and exploitation in their own communities and know how to respond. Hope is the Gospel’s gift. Victims are not forever defined by their trauma. In Christ, restoration is possible. Deliverance is possible. Supernatural healing is possible. The cross is proof that God redeems the worst horrors and transforms them into testimonies of grace. Where Satan says, “ruined,” Christ declares, “redeemed.”
No single family, church or ministry can confront this darkness alone. But together in Christ, we can tear down strongholds. This is not a battle for experts only. It is a call for every believer to intercede, to educate, to take responsibility, to refuse to be silent.
The war against our children is real. But so is the victory of the cross. May we awaken, speak, act and believe until every captive is set free.
Joe Horn is the CEO of SkyWatchTV, a bestselling author and an award-winning film producer known for works like Timebomb and Unlocking Eden. A board-certified holistic health practitioner, he advocates for wellness and child rehabilitation. Through media and ministry, Joe is committed to educating, inspiring and making a positive impact on lives worldwide. His new book, Innocence Shattered, is available now at amazon.com.
