Whosoever: A Ministry of Transformation
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Whosoever made history in 1996 by becoming the first online magazine for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians. Now, Whosoever is making history again, marking ten years as the premiere resource for millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians seeking spiritual wholeness.
"For more than a decade Whosoever has been planting spiritual seeds in the GLBT community," said Whosoever founder Candace Chellew-Hodge. "Years ago, I heard a minister say that the church's revival would begin in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community. I think we've been seeing that revival taking root over the past eleven years. Whosoever has been on the forefront of the revival - that spiritual movement - that has been calling GLBT people back to God."
Whosoever grew out of Chellew-Hodge's overwhelming frustration at Christian magazines.
"I always enjoy reading Christian magazines but I could never make it through one like Christianity Today without coming across some article or item that called gays and lesbians evil or accused them of causing the downfall of society," she said.
 Whosoever Founder Candace Chellew preaches at Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, SC where she serves as associate pastor. (Photo from the State Newspaper) |
That frustration, combined with the growing animosity toward GLBT people in secular society, prompted Chellew-Hodge to compile her first magazine. Drawing on her 20 years of journalism experience, Chellew-Hodge created a print version of Whosoever, but it didn't last long.
"I have a lot of experience in the writing and design side of publications," she said, "but little experience in selling advertising or raising money."
After four issues the fledging print magazine folded.
"By that time, however, I was working for an Internet company and had learned how to design and maintain Web sites, so I put it all on the Web where the only overhead you have to worry about it paying your Internet Service Provider."
That move proved to be the key to Whosoever's success. For the past ten years, Whosoever's stable of writers and contributors have worked diligently to assure GLBT people that their sexual orientation is given to them by God and should be honored and embraced.
"From the letters we receive we know that the seeds of hope that we have planted have sprouted and grown strong," Chellew-Hodge said. "We've heard from people who were contemplating suicide because they believed that God hated them, but because of the resources they found at Whosoever, they reconsidered and instead found ways to live into their authentic selves and reconcile their spirituality and their sexuality."
In short, Whosoever has been saving and transforming the lives of GLBT Christians around the world for the past decade.
"We can see the results of our efforts as mainstream churches begin to open their doors to GLBT people of faith," Chellew-Hodge said. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but the progress we have seen over the past ten years has been astounding and affirming. Whosoever's contribution to this spiritual revival has been great and will continue to grow in the coming years."
Whosoever Founder
Candace Chellew-Hodge is a recovering Southern Baptist and founder/editor of Whosoever: An Online Magazine for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Christians. She is the author of Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians, published in September 2008 by Jossey-Bass.
She is an ordained minister and holds a master's in theological studies from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. She currently serves as associate pastor at Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, South Carolina. She is also a spiritual director, trained through the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. She has worked for the past two decades in journalism and public relations. She can be reached at editor@whosoever.org.
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