Would you love
a gay affirming church?

A gay affirming church is a wonderful thing!

A gay friendly church may be easier to find
than you think.

White-painted country church

Fellowship with other Christians is an important part of Biblical spiritual growth yet many Christians try to get by without Christian friends. Does the Bible say anything about Lone Ranger Christians?

Being around other Christians will challenge you to walk with the Lord and encourage your faith. Friendship with other Christians who love and pray for you will also stimulate spiritual growth. The blessings of Christian community should fill your heart with the joy of the Lord.

If you cannot find a gay friendly church in your area, you may want to consider starting a house-church. Gather some of your gay and straight friends in your home to read and study the Bible together. It doesn't have to be fancy or liturgical.

Just read and study the word of God with friends, work colleagues, acquaintances, relatives, folks from the neighborhood. We offer more than 300 pages of FREE downloads of Bible studies if you'd like to print copies for everyone who comes to your house-church.

Find a gay affirming church now

Ephesians 4:11-12 and Pastors

1. The perfecting of the saints - helping Christians grow to spiritual maturity by reading, believing and obeying the Bible.

2. The work of the ministry - evangelism, prayer, ministering the love of Christ to people in your city and around the world.

3. The edifying of the body of Christ - teaching the Bible in such a way that Christians understand it and desire to obey God, Nehemiah 8:8.

A problem many gay Christians face is finding a Bible believing, gay friendly church. Not every affirming church believes the Bible. As sincere and growing Christians, we want to be part of a congregation which teaches the Bible, nurtures our faith and encourages authentic Christian discipleship. Our goal is to find a local church where the Bible is taught as God’s faithful word.

The most important part of choosing the right gay affirming church is not the music program or the youth program or the beautiful building. What the church and pastor believe about the Bible is the most important factor in choosing the right church.

Five important questions when
choosing a gay-friendly church

An old-fashioned
log cabin church.

1. Does the gay supportive church believe and teach the Bible as God’s authoritative, infallible word?
2. Does the pastor of the gay friendly church make Bible preaching and teaching an important priority? Or is his/her sermon nothing more than a positive thinking feel good message?
3. Does the gay affirming church and pastor preach that getting saved is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone?
4. Does the gay friendly church and pastor believe and teach that people must get saved in this life or do they teach something the Bible never teaches, that people can get saved after they die?
5. Does the gay affirming church and pastor have a heart for evangelism? Are they serious about leading people to saving faith in Christ and then nurturing their spiritual growth as disciples?
6. Does the gay affirming church and pastor believe in freedom of conscience for individual believers? In other words, is there room to disagree on non-essentials and still maintain fellowship?

What about being
“Out” at church?

In some areas it may be impossible to find a gay affirming church which believes and teaches the Bible.

If that is the case in your area, you have four options.

1. You can stay home and not go to church anywhere.
2. You can try to fly under the radar in a straight church which may reject you if they find out you're gay.
3. You can go to a gay affirming church which is more focused on fellowship than on preaching and teaching the Bible.
4. You can start a Bible study in your home.
   

As gay Christians, we have the option of living “in the closet” and keeping our homosexual orientation secret. But living a secret life does emotional and spiritual damage which may affect us the rest of our lives. Its not a healthy way to live.

We can go into stealth mode whenever we’re around non-gay Christians but that can be damaging to us and to those we love. Living in stealth mode is not a very healthy way to live.

Some gay Christians have made the decision to go to a church which is not a gay friendly church and just keep quiet about being gay. By doing this, they are able to have some fellowship with other Christians, hear the Bible preached and taught and learn to exist in a ‘Christian’ environment which is not particularly friendly to them or would not be friendly if they knew.

The body of Christ needs to know that gay Christians exist and that we love and serve the same God they love and serve. Only you can decide if, at this point in your life, you are up for the challenge of being out at church and possibly getting kicked out or pressured to join an Ex-Gay group.

Questions to ask the pastor
of a gay church

1. Do you believe the Bible is the inspired word of God?
2. As pastor, do you view your primary duty in preaching and teaching to be explaining and applying to your congregation the message of the text of Scripture? 2 Timothy 2:4, 4:2.
3. Do you agree with Jesus that hell is a real place where all who reject salvation in Jesus Christ will be punished eternally? Jesus teaches Hell 101 - FREE pdf Bible study.
4. Do you believe the only way of salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ in this life?
5. Do you believe in the virgin birth, supernatural miracles, substitutionary blood atonement and bodily resurrection of Jesus?

The answer to ALL of these
questions should be Yes

If the pastor does not affirm and teach these essentials of biblical Christian belief, then you have some decisions to make.

1. Can your spiritual needs be met attending a church which doesn't believe the Bible?
2. Does fellowship with other gay Christians offset the lack of a strong, positive, Bible teaching ministry?
3. Does the church you're considering answer yes to some of our five basic questions? Sometimes, our best choice is to settle for a less than perfect situation. It beats sitting at home, alone and lonely when you could be getting some Christian fellowship and a little bit of Bible teaching.
4. For me, the bottom line is the Bible. If a church or pastor doesn't believe and teach the Bible, as nice as they may be in other areas, I back off and seek fellowship with folks who believe the Bible.

How to find a Bible believing
gay affirming church in your area

Do an Internet Search for gay affirming church + your city name or gay friendly church + your city name. Gay affirming church Chicago or affirming church Tampa might turn up something.

If you want a particular denomination, try affirming Baptist church + your city name. Use the name of the denomination you are looking for.

Internet Links to
gay affirming churches

I cannot vouch for all of the churches
in the Links below.

These Links are provided to help you get started in your Search.

Some of the churches listed at the Links below may not believe the Bible.

You must exercise your own sound judgment to pick a gay affirming church in your area which preaches and teaches the Bible.

Also, please keep in mind that every church may not define Welcoming Church and Gay Affirming Church the same way.

Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), go with a friendly heart and ask God to show you which Bible believing, gay affirming church is right for you.

Find a gay church
by clicking these graphics.

If they don’t make the Bible a high priority, if they don’t believe and teach the Bible don’t waste your time.

Find a church where the pastor and congregation believe the Bible, and communicate that belief to others.

You’ll be glad you did!