Confusion & Questions

So much confusion. So many questions.

In the fallout from the recent SCOTUS decision on “same-sex marriage,” and also in response to efforts in Ohio to create legislation to make “conversion therapy” of minors illegal, many of you have expressed confusion, bewilderment and discouragement—both regarding these issues in general, and, specifically, how these events might impact our ministry.

In this and future posts, I want to address some very basic questions concerning the mission and work of Prodigal Ministries. I would love to clear up the confusion, and to replace the discouragement with hope!

Today I address the first and most basic question: Who are we? To answer that question clearly in a way that will clear up some of the understandable confusion, I must tell you not only who we are, but also who we are not.

Prodigal Ministries is a Christ-centered, Gospel-focused para (alongside) church organization that offers professional counseling and support for individuals who seek our help in dealing with unwanted same-gender attraction or confusion regarding their gender and/or sexuality. Prodigal Ministries is not an organization that offers what some in counseling circles refer to as “conversion or reparative therapy.”

Instead, the primary mission of Prodigal Ministries is to be used by the Holy Spirit of God to bring people into—or to help them grow in—a relationship to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in all areas of their lives, including their thought patters, their feelings, their behaviors, identity, relationships, effects of the past…and the list goes on.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, utilizing in His strength the education and experiences with which God has blessed us, we seek to help the precious souls who come to us understand Biblically and fully what God has done for us in Christ to reconcile us to Himself and to gloriously transform us. We long for our clients to know and love God the way that He deserves to be loved.

The first and critical method that we use to accomplish that mission is encouraging and guiding our clients to search the Scriptures through which God reveals Himself to us, with an emphasis on understanding God’s design and intent for human sexuality and gender.

Our goal and prayer for our clients is to see them experience the supreme joy of an intimate relationship with God through Christ and with His Body, the Church. Further, through our one-to-one counseling and/or group support, we vow to walk with our clients as they journey through life in a dynamic relationship with and in Christ Jesus.

That’s the quick answer to that most basic of questions—Who are we? In future posts, I plan to address more of the foundational “basics” of our ministry.

Before signing off this post, though, I would like to make a request of you.

Because of the trend in our culture and even in many of our churches away from the authority of God’s Word, especially in matters pertaining to sexuality, gender and marriage, the need for this ministry is greater than at any other time in our almost 30-year history. I am peacefully confident that God will continue to supply the means for us to provide counseling and community for those clients whom He directs to us.

At the same time, we know that God desires to work through His Church. And we know that applying the financial resources with which He has blessed us to His Kingdom work is one of the ways that He seeks to use us.

My request simply is that you share this post with all the likeminded Christian friends in your social media resources and ask that they, too, consider making a contribution to Prodigal Ministries. That can be done through our secure Web site “donate” function (Here’s a link: http://www.prodigal-ministries.com/donate.php), or by mail. Think of it! If even a small percentage of our combined “friends” were to make a minimal contribution of $5 to $50, it would go a long way toward meeting our current needs.

Let’s use the technology that God has given us to spread the Good News and to further His Kingdom!

Leave a Reply