Friends of Alive in Christ,
We’ve just begun the season of Advent. While Advent is generally thought to be about expectation, all I can think of this year when reflecting on Christ’s birth is gratitude.
I am so grateful for Jesus’s love – and for you, too! For your support of the work of Alive in Christ. For your generosity, your faithfulness in prayer, and encouragement. I’m also so grateful for the changed hearts and changed lives that are represented in the work God has allowed me and the Alive in Christ ministry team to participate in.
During Advent, we remember that Jesus was born into our very messy world to show us God’s love – because “God so loved the world that He gave His only” (John 3:16). The people He lived with and ministered to had many struggles, including sexual brokenness. As He travelled and taught, Jesus was known as a friend of sinners, including prostitutes and adulterers. He led those who followed Him to repent and begin new lives.
Because of your care and support, Alive in Christ has impacted hundreds of lives this year! Here are some examples. The Alive in Christ team and I:
- Spoke at 19 church or chapel services about Jesus’s real love for those who identify at LGBTQ+
- Shared my story and about God’s design for sexuality at 5 youth services
- Taught 10 trainings about how to love well those who identify as LGBTQ+ without compromising the gospel
- Had 23 equipping meetings with pastors or church leadership staff
- Responded to over 70 unique inquiries (with many follow-ups) from parents, pastors, and those struggling with same-sex attraction
- Led 77 support group gatherings with strugglers and family members, including our women’s group that launched in January 2021
- Held 27 one-on-one mentoring sessions
- Participated in 27 small groups where the mission of Alive in Christ was represented
And we did this in the midst of a pandemic!
My heart longs for LGBTQ+ people to have the opportunity to hear about the love of Emmanuel – God with us, and with them! Alive in Christ exists to empower and equip the church to do just that – to let people who identify as gay or transgender as well as those impacted by these issues know they are not excluded from the love of a Savior.
As we move toward 2022, would you prayerfully consider a generous gift to the work and ministry God is doing in and through Alive in Christ? We are looking for $5,000 in one-time year-end gifts and $1,500 in new monthly donors. Would you consider a gift of $250 or more, so that we can continue to share Jesus with a world that is hungry for meaning?
We at Alive in Christ are praying for many spiritual blessings in Christ for you (Ephesians 1) during this Advent season. Let me close with some testimonies from our events and support groups.
“I chose to watch [the training] from home to see how far I could make it. There are so many people I talk to who are afraid to come to church because of all the things she listed up there. No one should ever be afraid to know God….Thank you, Brenna, for saying those things up there…Thank you for humanizing this sensitive topic and teaching people how to handle it with respect and grace.” Comments from a self-identified lesbian who watched a training livestream
“In my Bible study (BSF) this morning, I came across this reference on how God cares for His lost, and it struck me as a process that Our Heavenly Father is bringing us all through, in search for and to restore our broken world. ‘I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak (Ezekiel 34: 16).’
God has put us all in such a position that we have compassion for our loved ones (in a similar way as our Lord has for us), and He doesn’t give up on us…..I am so grateful that I have had the fellowship of believers in Alive in Christ to encourage me and my husband through this process of my son’s gender confusion for the last 10 years.. They are steadfast and true, and we who are weak are strengthened.” A mom who attends one of the Alive in Christ support groups
“Honestly, [Brenna’s] topic can be such a polarizing one that I wondered how she’d ever present it. WOW. She was so anointed, so real, so interesting, and so powerful. Great service!” A comment to the pastors at a church where I shared the sermon, “Real Love: Sharing Jesus’ Love with Those who Identify as Gay or Transgender”
“In 34 years of being in my church, I have never heard these topics discussed… gives me great hope that our church is working towards becoming a safe place for those struggling with same-sex attraction and other issues. Huge help!” Comment from a “Same-Sex Attraction & the Church: Compassion without Compromise” training
To Our Financial Supporters: If you would like to give a gift to the ministry, you can either send a check to us at the address below, or you can give under the “Support” section of our website. All gifts are tax-deductible.
