Former members of the LGBT community gathered at the Freedom March to share how Jesus transformed their lives.
Amidst the March For Our Lives national movement to call for stricter gun laws over the weekend, a group of former members of the LGBT community came together in Washington D.C. for the Freedom March. Held at the Sylvan Theater next to the Washington Monument, the gathering was the fourth of many more annual events that celebrate how Jesus transforms the lives of LGBT individuals.
The coming together of former LGBT community members for Freedom March was organized by founder and leader Jeffrey McCall, who described the gatherers as "a close family of believers." McCall told Charisma News last week that the common goal of "sharing Jesus' sacrifice and love to the LGBTQ community."
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In the Freedom March website, the group describes themselves as a "diverse group of Jesus followers who have been delivered from LGBTQ identities." Together, they hope to "share, gather, and activate" by "sharing testimonies of freedom." This is exactly what occurred during this weekend's Freedom March event, which was attended by a hundred people and live streamed online.
McCall explained that he first got the idea for Freedom March back in 2017. He was inspired to call upon former LGBT community members to come together and "share their amazing testimonies" when he realized that other people had the same experience as he did, in which they "had encounters with God and left their old identities to embrace what God says about them."
The result of the idea was Freedom March, which is now led by President MJ Nixon, Secretary Kimberly Zember, PR Director Luis Ruiz, and Worship Director Angel Colon. Together, they minister to others in the LGBT community and share their transformative experiences with Jesus.
Freedom March as a Gathering of Former LGBT Community Members
At Saturday's event, some attendees described their traumatic experiences from childhood that may have led to the confusion about their bodies and sexuality, the Christian Post reported. A brave man who took to the stage recounted his childhood, during which he was sexually abused and trafficked. He also recalled how he was redeemed and transformed through Jesus Christ and shared that he is now married to a woman.
Ruiz also shared to the crowd how there had been a double booking by the National Park Service, which also booked an LGBT pride group called the Foundation for Creative Cultural Expression who held an event at the same venue on the same day. Ruiz, who is a survivor of the 2016 terrorist attack at the Pulse gay nightclub, said that the double booking was in fact a strategic God move.
"A group of overcomers, free from the LGBT identity, now coming into a place where everybody here was for gay pride. I just love seeing the hand of God," Ruiz remarked.
Christians of Different Denominations Uniting for Freedom March
Despite many reputable surveys reporting about "The Great Falling Away" of many young people from Christian faith, Ruiz believes that God is still working to draw people into His family. He pointed out how there are "Baptists, Pentecostals, Catholics, all types of people" coming together in the name of Christ, encouraging others by saying "change is not only possible, but it's real through Jesus."
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