Faith in America Makes History with Message About Saving Kids to Southern Baptist Convention

Faith in America has organized medical professionals, clergy, and a coalition of�volunteers in Phoenix in an unprecedented effort to focus the nation's largest Protestant denomination on what they must be doing not to harm and, instead, protect America's teens and kids who are LGBT.

"This is a historic moment and we, at Faith in America, are taking action," said Mitchell Gold, FIA co-founder. "This is not about conflict and division. It is about speaking the truth and standing up for our kids and teens being hurt. It is also about finding common ground around our children and youth."

America's LGBT teens and kids are in crisis. For example, LGBT kids raised in non-affirming religious families are eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their LGBT peers from accepting homes. Nearly half of America's homeless youth are LGBT. And more than a quarter of LGBT youth say they have been personally bullied or harassed since the 2016 presidential campaign began, compared to 14 percent of non-LGBTQ youth.

Faith in America (FIA), an organization to end religious-based harm to the LGBT community, realizes Americans can no longer sit by while our children and teenagers are being hurt. FIA has launched a three-year program called "Save yOur Kids!" (SYK) to address religious-based practices that condemn our teens and youth, creating hostile environments both at church and home, places most needed by our youth.

Faith in America is in communication with Southern Baptist Convention leadership, and a meeting is pending scheduling. While the SBC has initially articulated their disagreement with FIA regarding homosexuality as a sin, they also offered their desire to meet and find initiatives and ways forward that do not harm our youth.

FIA Activites at SBP Convention:

Medical Professionals will be engaging Southern Baptist Messengers and talking to the media about the health crisis our LGBT teens and kids are living through.

Clergy with Open Affirming Churches will be engaging Southern Baptist Messengers and talking to media about their theologically based decisions to open their doors, affirm all believers, and support who God made them be.
Thirteen coalition groups are joining Faith in America to add their direct experience working with and supporting LGBT children who have been forced out of their homes onto the streets and who are at the greatest risk of trafficking and suicide.

And Jane Clementi, who co-founded the Tyler Clementi Foundation alongside her husband Joe, wants to make sure that our society learns the consequences of discrimination and bullying, as she learned all too personally through the loss of her son, Tyler. Clementi speaks passionately to parents and community leaders about the need to not merely "accept" or "tolerate" children who come out as LGBT but to embrace them as wondrous creations of God.

"Science is clear: LGBTQ youth are at risk and need our help. People of faith unhappy about these findings may deny them, and some may even distort them. Unfortunately, denial and distortion of science can expose their LGBTQ children to potentially harmful practices and interventions," according to Jack Drescher, M.D., of New York Medical College. "We know parents love their children and want to keep them safe, regardless of religious beliefs. We join FIA in formally calling upon SBC's leadership to alter its course of religion-based harm to one of religion-based help. Faith communities can be sources of great support to LGBTQ youth if they stop condemning them and begin instead to embrace these children with unconditional love."

FIA wants LGBT people removed from the sin list. We also have a simpler, direct request: let's stop hurting your kids and teens. We can't deny the impact condemning religious teachings have had on people's beliefs toward those who are LGBT. No one wants these LGBT SBC kids to feel they'd be better off dead or on the streets than with their family and community. We would like to ensure no child ever has to feel that way.

"The level of depression and anxiety existing in the lives of LGBT teens and kids is sadly outpacing those maladies in other groups," said Rev. Stan Mitchell. "We use the word 'condemning' to describe the churches that are bad players and hurt LGBT teens and kids with harsh messages that alienate, diminish, and stigmatize. This hurts youth and creates animosity within the hearts of parents, siblings, and other kin that, in turn, also serves to abandon our youth, leaving them feeling alone in a cold world. These teachings create bullies."

"Faith in America believes there is a great work to be done through us," added Robert Hoffman, FIA Executive Director. "We have made ourselves available to grasp and follow our calling, to go and join in the work where it's most needed. Along the way, we hope to build new bridges, make new friends, and serve a purpose higher than us all."