LGBTQIA+ Discernment Process

Fall 2021 | FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH

As I arrived at Faith, the church was asking questions about how welcoming we would be to people in the LGBTQ community. COVID disrupted the conversation, but in the Fall of 2021, we re-engaged our discernment process. Over several months we held listening sessions, participated in personal and communal study, prayed, and ultimately adopted a statement of welcome with a 98% affirmative vote.

Instead of being divisive, this process strengthened our congregation’s bond. God’s presence was tangibly felt throughout the process as people earnestly considered their beliefs and several experienced transformation and rejuvenation. The discernment process and resulting statement have led to limited communal backlash but also strengthened several of our community partnerships and started new relationships with people who are going through their own discernment processes. A potentially anxious discussion became an ebenezer that represents our church’s legacy as a thoughtful, loving, and diverse group.