Posts with the category “peer-support”

We have to admit to a degree of excitement as TBGL is hosting its first overseas retreat in just over one weeks’ time.  Previously we have held our annual get togethers in the UK, and we have enjoyed some great teaching and times of passionate worship, and firm friendships have been formed. We've been very blessed that some of our members from the US have made the trip in the past, so it's even mo...  Read More

Transformed Ministries are delighted to be working with the team at Coastline Vineyard Church to launch the first in-person TBGL group, offering a safe and welcoming space for Christians and seekers from the LGBTQ+ community to explore and pursue their faith. Having offered online groups via Zoom with members from across the world, we felt the time was right to follow God’s prompting for multiplic...  Read More

It's an exciting time for us as a ministry as we launch our first in person Abba’s Heart group next month.  From our earliest days we had a vision of multiplication, and this is a huge step forward in enabling us to reach more people around the world. Abba’s Heart groups are places where Christian parents and grandparents can gather together and share their experiences.  This helps families to pro...  Read More

Something struck me afresh this morning as I was reading the book of Job.  It's OK to ask “why?” questions, but all too often we turn our questions against God in an accusatory way. When you consider all the people affected by questions of sexuality and faith, you see that many have, ‘why?’ questions.  When I first came to faith, I questioned God vociferously, constantly querying why I was born ga...  Read More

Today we simply wanted to shine. the spotlight on our TBGL groups, because we have a passion to ensure that no one who is on the journey of exploring sexuality and faith for themselves, feels alone. We want everyone to have access to a community of like-minded Christians who support and encourage each other. That is why we are so committed to our peer support (TBGL) groups.  These groups allow lik...  Read More

It has been our privilege over the past few weeks to lead two Bible studies from Mary Comm’s book, “Uncommon Love, a Bible study for parents of kids with same-sex attraction.”  Whilst both groups had a different dynamic, it was so encouraging to see the growth and change in the parents who have attended.  The study is a comprehensive evaluation of scripture, and how it speaks into the way we love ...  Read More

What is TBGL and why should I join?TBGL groups meet regularly to study the Bible together, to share testimony of how God is working in our lives, to wrestle over some difficult topics, and to pray for each other, encouraging each other through the ups and downs of life.  The one thing that we all have in common is that we have walked through sexual brokenness or are close friends or family members...  Read More

I struggled for many years with sexual sin. It was my “go to” way for comforting myself each time I struggled with emotional pain. At times it was constantly a problem, other times I could go for several months without it being an issue, but as soon as something hurt emotionally it would begin again.When some people realise they are struggling with sexual sin they have prayer and are delivered imm...  Read More

In his book “Gay Children, Straight Parents: A Plan for Family Healing,” author Richard Cohen lays out his suggestion that there are 10 factors we can look at which may contribute to children developing same sex attraction.  Looking at these factors myself, I can also see how some of them may also be factors that are at play when previously heterosexual adults find themselves attracted to the same...  Read More

It never fails to sadden me when people who contact the ministry tell me that they are struggling to find a church where they feel welcome and safe to speak of their same sex attraction, whether current or historic.  The tendency seems to be that they either find a church that has become inclusive, to the point of celebration of same sex relationships.  Or, they find a church where they feel judge...  Read More

If your teenager comes out as gay or has already come out as gay then you are not alone in the Christian community, there are many other families who walk the path with you. We have taken some of the advice given on an online Christian peer support group, some from parents who have recently found out their son or daughter is gay, and some from parents who have been dealing with this for many years...  Read More

It’s always a privilege to be asked to speak about my faith and personal testimony, it’s usually the Q & A session that I find the most fun as I get a chance to really hear what’s on people’s hearts.  In a couple of weeks I am speaking to a youth group and have been furnished with their questions in advance.  One question that popped out of the page to me was this, “Will LGBTQ people go to hell?We...  Read More

I love delivering the Freedom in Christ course, it has become a key part of the discipleship we offer our group members and it never fails to deliver.  On the Freedom in Christ website they highlight three “T’s” that they associate with the course:Truth, turning and transformation.The ten week course gives us space and time to look at the truth of who we are in Christ, and of course the truth that...  Read More

This week the Church of England has sent a very stark message to all those who have turned their back on their homosexual past to follow Jesus.  By voting to bless same sex marriage they have told us that we were mistaken, that we shouldn’t have picked up our cross and followed Him, that our sacrifice was unnecessary.However, the good news is, we don’t follow a denomination or a church body, we fo...  Read More

There was a time in my life when I was out and proud in the gay community and felt that I actually belonged there. Yet at the same time I didn’t entirely feel like I was meant to be there. I had enough of a Christian upbringing to know the lifestyle I was living wasn’t for me.  In church for a long time though, I had also felt very alone and I didn’t feel like I belonged there either. Having same ...  Read More

25 years ago God spoke to me regarding being involved in a future ministry helping and leading those in the LGBTQ+ to Christ.  Little did I know that all those years later how much the world would change and the seed that was sown back in 1997 would start to bear fruit.When I shared this with my Pastor at the time, his reply shocked and hurt me to the core, “Those people can’t be helped.” he said ...  Read More

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. James 1:13-14 NKJVThis is a hard topic. Temptation comes to everyone. No one is exempt. We are tempted because the enemy wants nothing more than to destroy what God has created good. Temptation i...  Read More

Meeting with a group of like-minded Christians is so refreshing.  We are reminded in Proverbs 27 that “Iron sharpens iron” and that is exactly how I feel after each of the weekly TBGL zoom calls that are run by Transformed Ministries.  When you chat to a member of the group you will hear them talk about the “transformed family”, a disparate group of individuals who have found their tribe. Our comm...  Read More

As we get close to a New Year, the words “Hope Shouts Louder” have been placed on my heart.  Credit must go to Rebecca Townley and Rosie Godfrey, the authors of “Hope Shouts Louder”, as the title, and content of their book spoke deeply to my heart.  The phrase has been rattling around my mind for the past few days and I believe it is a significant message from the Lord for our Ministry and the peo...  Read More

Our TBGL groups are studying the 10 Commandments and it’s refreshing to revisit them with a new lens and see how they should impact our lives today.  This week we have been looking at command number 9 -  “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour”, which basically is a reminder to be truth tellers in all and every circumstance.  The study has opened up conversations around the conc...  Read More

Never underestimate the power of a praying parent, sister, brother, grandparent or friend.  Satan is targeting children of Christian families and luring them away with the promise of fulfilment, acceptance and a new identity that’s applauded and celebrated by the world.  We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of t...  Read More

Transformed Ministries is 3 years old today!  We celebrate God’s goodness as we look back and see his hand of blessing over our work.  What the enemy meant for harm; God turns around for our good.  I see that in so many ways as I look at how this Ministry was conceived, birthed and how it grows.  As I hear prophesy speaking into our future as a ministry, I celebrate the love of Jesus for us and th...  Read More

This weekend, members of the TBGL group will be flying in from around the world to attend our second annual retreat and we are delighted to have an opportunity to worship, learn, and grow together. Some outsiders have asked us what the group all about; the question either asked out of genuine interest, or as a more veiled question, suggesting perhaps that our group constitutes so called “conversio...  Read More

This week our TBGL peer groups are talking about healthy same sex friendships.  It’s something we don’t often talk about; perhaps we consider it a non-issue or perhaps we are slightly embarrassed about our lack of close and intimate relationships with those of the same sex?On personal reflection, I recognise that I often put up barriers to becoming close to another woman.  It’s not a sexual thing,...  Read More

As a Ministry there are times when we are accused of being homophobic.  This accusation is most often received via social media which provides the safety of anonymity and a lack of personal interaction. Those who meet anyone connected with our ministry would be clear that there is nothing about us at all that could be deemed to be homophobic.  So why do we receive this feedback?  One of the reason...  Read More

Baptisms are such special occasions, so it was with joy that we learned that one of our Transformed International members, and key contributor to the Rev12 Project, got baptised at a conference this weekend.   Katrina has only been a Christian for a year, yet one read of her devotions included in the Rev12 Project give you a clear idea of the amazing work God has done in her life in such a short s...  Read More

I have the privilege as a fifty something year old to co-host our young adults zoom group.  As we work through the disciple course with them, I have had opportunity to reflect on the difference in environment that they were brought up in, compared to the world I grew up in some thirty years before them.  The chasm between the two worlds is vast, despite the time period being relatively short.  How...  Read More

One thing that I found the hardest when I chose to follow Jesus was that my choices meant leaving the past behind.  The LGBT community I had run with all my adult life no longer embraced me.  My choice to follow Jesus meant I was shunned, I found myself in that void of not being able to look back, yet as I looked forward, I saw no obvious way to fill the void.  No offence meant to my church family...  Read More