JERUSALEM, Israel – In a powerful conversation with CBN News, Tim Ballard, whose life inspired the film Sound of Freedom, shared a deeply spiritual and urgent mission: to rescue children from the darkest corners of conflict, while urging Christians and media members alike to pursue truth through compassion.
A Legacy of Rescue and Renewal
Timothy Ballard is a former undercover special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, serving on the Child Sex Tourism Jump Team and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. In 2013, he resigned to found Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), a nonprofit aimed at rescuing children from global trafficking operations. Over the years, O.U.R. executed hundreds of operations and inspired the film Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel.
Ballard also served on a White House Public–Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking under the Trump administration in 2019.
From Our Conversation: Faith Meets Action
Ballard recounts how shared intelligence from the IDF and local sources led him and his team to southern Syria, leveraging his background in rescue operations from northern Iraq (2017–2019), where more than 10,000 people were saved, many of them relocated to Australia.
In Israel, he formed a deep connection with the Druze community, tracing their heritage to Jethro, Moses’ protector. He described this group as “beautiful people… taking in Christians when their villages were burned.”
When he finally entered Syria, Ballard discovered that the IDF was already performing silent rescue operations, delivering provisions and liberating Christian and Jewish civilians – actions previously unreported.
A Call for Integrity: Be Matthew 18‑Compliant
Tim Ballard challenges media figures who are strong critics of Israel, such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens—and believers in general—to practice what he calls “Matthew 18 compliance”:
“Go to the source… Don’t make conclusions based on social media posts.”
He invited them to visit Israel, meet the Druze IDF soldier, walk the land, and see first-hand the peril and rescue of children. His call emphasized that truth, not politics, should guide Christian discourse.
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Seeing God in a Child’s Eyes
Ballard’s most vivid testimony came when describing an eight‑year‑old girl gravely injured in Syria. He shared how only a moment later, another traumatized Druze girl locked eyes with him in an IDF medical tent, an encounter he called a divine moment of comfort and resolve.
That moment crystallized his conviction that the rescue model used in Iraq could be applied again, now guided by what he termed “spiritual-intellectualism.”
Conflict as Spiritual Warfare
Ballard sees the fight against child exploitation not merely as geopolitical, but spiritual. He draws parallels between political Islam and ideologies like Stalinism, Maoism, and Nazism – systems that, in his words, are spiritually aligned in their corruption.
He contrasted this with the American constitutional republic, built on Judeo-Christian principles, defending individual choice and the “God experience.”
Closing the Circle: What Can We Do?
Ballard urges us to:
- See through a child’s eyes—allow their innocence to shape policies.
- Support Tim Ballard Foundation Rescue—contribute to rescue and rehabilitation.
- Pursue truth, not ideologies—align with Christ’s command to speak truth in love.
To watch the interview, click on the video at the top of the page. If the video is not yet posted, please check back.
