Our History

Who We Are

Our History

In the fall of 1988, the Evangelical Renewal Fellowship of the California - Nevada Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church held a retreat on the topics of ministry and homosexuality. Believing that homophobic (fearful, hateful and rejecting) and accommodationist (uncritically accepting and affirming) responses were both contrary to Scripture, the group sought instead a compassionate approach that would offer the hope of transformational healing to those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction and behavior.

Shortly after this retreat, the Transforming Congregations movement and ministry was born, largely through the efforts and oversight of our first Director, Rev. Robert Kuyper. Following in his footsteps, Directors Ron Dennis and Jim Gentile continued to develop the ministry. We were able to offer much needed resources to churches and their leaders, loving counsel to sexual strugglers, and a powerful witness to truth within United Methodism.

Over the last twenty-two years, Transforming Congregations has continued to expand. From the initial handful of churches and pastors, we now have thousands of individuals and congregations -- mainly United Methodist, but also Lutheran, Assembly of God, community and independent churches in the United States and overseas -- that theologically affirm the transforming ministry approach and partner with the national ministry through their prayers and financial contributions.

At our fall 2001 Board of Directors meeting, we discerned that God was giving us a new and broader vision for the ministry, reaching beyond a singular focus on homosexuality to encourage "transforming ministry to all persons affected by relational brokenness resulting in sexual sin." Over the next several years, we continued to discern and "fine tune" God's vision for our ministry, and in 2008 we officially adopted a new mission statement based on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7:

"Equipping the Church to model and minister sanctified sexuality."

Our goal is to help train and empower local church leaders so they can reach out with faithfulness and compassion to the sexually confused, broken and sinful in their midst.

In 2003, Transforming Congregations was authorized by the Bishop, Board of Ordained Ministry and Clergy Members of the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference as a valid extension of the ministry of the United Methodist Church.