Today, we bring the story of Trixie, who attended the ministry 4 years ago. Since she moved out of the area, we have kept in touch, and I’m thrilled to have her share with you today!
By the grace of God, I was introduced to Alive in Christ by my pastor’s wife after years of hiding and denying my same-sex attraction. Though it was very discouraging to be referred to a ministry outside my home church, I am thankful for the God-given wisdom and discernment of the church leaders. In hindsight, I can clearly see how my church was not yet equipped to minister to me at the time. But just because my church was not ready, it didn’t mean that God was not ready to do a work in me. He always had Alive in Christ as part of my redemption plan.
Though I only attended the group for about 8 months before moving away, it played an important part in the growth of my personal relationship with the Lord. I remember being completely terrified of even contacting Brenna. So many thoughts raced through my head: “I am too broken and dirty. They won’t understand me.
What are people going to think of me?” Yet as I continued to pray, I felt God saying: “Just come as YOU are. And if they reject you, then they are not my people. But give them a chance, give ME a chance.”
Even with my fears, I decided to give God a chance to be the Redeemer and Savior that He promised to be in my life. And thank God I accepted His invitation. I quickly realized that Alive in Christ was not this intense conversion therapy I thought it would be, but it was a safe and open space where men and women could be real and raw about their brokenness without any judgment. Though I was blessed with friends and family that supported me, nothing compared to the community I found in Alive in Christ. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel alone. I felt understood in my brokenness, yet hopeful in the process of being sanctified.
Though all the members of the group identified as having same-sex attraction, to my surprise I found myself completely forgetting about it because the ministry focused on the root issue: IDENTITY. Many of the members including myself believed that our main identity was a sinner (homosexuality being the worst sin). However, I learned that I was living a life in response to identifying in my sin rather than identifying as a child of God. Through weekly discussions, I realized that by choosing to accept Christ as the Lord of my life, I had received the gift of salvation that could never be taken away.
“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
God was purposeful in using my time in Alive in Christ as a building block and foundation for the Woman of God He always wanted me to be. I am still amazed that the thorn that once brought me so much shame is now being used as a way to glorify the Lord. For the past 4 years, I faithfully served at an inner-city ministry in Cincinnati while working full-time as a pediatric nurse.
However, I recently obeyed the call to overseas missions and am currently serving as a one-year missionary in Taipei, Taiwan. Throughout these years since Alive in Christ, I have had countless opportunities to share and encourage others about the redemptive work Jesus has done and continues to do in my life. No longer do I live ashamed or as a slave to my sin; rather, I am living the life of freedom that Christ died for me to have. It’s a testimony to God’s faithfulness.
It is a joy and a privilege to work with individuals such as Trixie! Some attend for a handful of months, and some attend for several years. In our next newsletter, we will share one more story from another individual who participated in our support groups, and you don’t want to miss it!