February 15, 2018

Gay or Transgender Child? Where Can A Christian Parent Go For Help?

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In a Christian home, when a child identifies as gay or transgender, the hopes of a parent for their child are dashed. How do I relate to this child who is not the child I raised? How will we get along, when I cannot abandon what God’s Word says about sexuality? Where do I go for help? Chris, who leads our Parents Ministry, talks about what to do. Then, read a story from one such parent.

Click here to read a parent testimony:  How I Love My “Suddenly Changed” Child

At our parents ministry with Harvest USA, we care for parents who have children that identify as gay or transgender. As you can imagine, this is a very difficult experience for most parents coming to the door. They’re raw with emotion. They’re disoriented, they’re confused, fearful. They don’t really know what to think or where to go in this situation.

And this is usually where we start with parents: listening to their story, hearing them out, understanding what they’re going through, and then seeking to orient them to a God who can understand their struggle, who can comfort them in the midst of their hurt, and can orient them in the midst of their confusing thoughts and questions.

But then we walk with them for a period of time, and we show them that God’s promises and his Word really do speak in very powerful ways to their situation. It helps them realize that they haven’t lost their son or daughter. They can engage with their son or daughter in a relationship that is meaningful, and that allows them to not only love their son or daughter, but still have integrity before the Lord as they do it.

I encourage you to go to our blog and read a testimony of one of the parents in our group. And as you do that, I hope that you will get an idea of the kind of heartbreak and burdens that parents go through, but also that you would see that parents in the midst of very difficult and painful circumstances can learn to trust God and see his purposes at work in their lives.

SMS

More resources you might like:

My Identity Isn’t Gay or Gay Christian; I’m a Christian, Full Stop

read article “How Long Has He Been Like This?”

How to Pursue Relationship with Your Gay or Transgender Child

read article “How Long Has He Been Like This?”

Coming Out as Gay or Transgender: Five things parents must do—Part 3

read article “How Long Has He Been Like This?”