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In a world where many LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced rejection and marginalization — often from religious communities — the church has a profound opportunity to embody the inclusive love of Christ. For progressive Christian churches, becoming truly open and affirming isn't just a policy position. It's a pastoral commitment to seeing, welcoming, and celebrating every person as a beloved child of God, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
This guide offers practical, actionable steps for congregations at any stage of the journey — whether you're just beginning conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion or looking to deepen an affirming commitment that's already underway.
One of the most important distinctions in this conversation is the difference between a church that is welcoming and one that is affirming — and the two are not the same. If you need help finding an affirming congregation, our guide can help.
Welcoming means opening the doors to LGBTQ+ individuals, allowing them to attend services and participate in congregational life. It's an important first step, but it stops short of full inclusion.
Affirming goes further. An affirming church actively celebrates LGBTQ+ identities, advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, and integrates LGBTQ+ individuals fully into the life and leadership of the church — including pastoral roles, sacraments, and marriage. Critically, an affirming church does not hold LGBTQ+ members to a different standard than anyone else. Membership, leadership, and ministry are open to all on equal terms.
Many denominations have formal affirming designations that congregations can pursue. The United Church of Christ uses the Open and Affirming designation; United Methodist congregations can become Reconciling Ministries churches; Presbyterian (PCUSA) churches can join the More Light network; and American Baptist congregations can affiliate with Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. Pursuing a formal designation signals to LGBTQ+ individuals searching for a church home that your welcome is genuine and institutional — not just personal.
As Paul writes in Romans 15:7, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." That verse sets a high bar — and a clear direction.
Becoming an affirming church begins with honest, ongoing conversation. Create safe spaces for congregation members to ask questions, share concerns, and learn directly from LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. This doesn't have to be a single event — it works best as an ongoing culture of listening and learning.
Practical starting points include hosting panel discussions featuring LGBTQ+ speakers, organizing workshops or adult education series on LGBTQ+ theology and experience, and providing books and resources that address common questions from a progressive Christian perspective. Organizations like the Open and Affirming Coalition offer ready-made curriculum and support for congregations beginning this process.
Reflect on your sermons and how they might be written in a more inclusive manner. Looking for sermon ideas for Pride Month? Click here →
Affirmation has to be structural, not just relational. Review your church's governing documents, membership criteria, and leadership policies to ensure they explicitly include LGBTQ+ individuals on equal footing. This means allowing LGBTQ+ people to serve in all ministry roles — including pastoral leadership — and ensuring that church sacraments and ceremonies, including weddings and baptisms, are equally available to LGBTQ+ couples and families.
If your denomination has a formal affirming process, this policy review is often built into that journey. Even without a formal designation, putting inclusion into writing matters: it communicates to LGBTQ+ visitors that your welcome is official, not incidental.
For LGBTQ+ individuals who have been hurt by the church, visible symbols of affirmation can be the difference between walking through the door and walking away. Small gestures carry real weight.
Consider displaying rainbow Pride flags or inclusive signage in and around your worship space, incorporating LGBTQ+ affirming language into bulletins, your church website, and social media profiles, and adding an explicit statement of inclusion to your church's "About" or "Welcome" page. During Pride Month each June, special services or community outreach are a natural extension of this visible commitment — for ideas, see our guide to how progressive Christian churches can celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride.
Galatians 3:28 captures the theological foundation for this visibility well: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Affirmation without pastoral care is incomplete. Many LGBTQ+ individuals carry deep wounds from prior church experiences — rejection, conversion pressure, or simple invisibility — and need more than an open door. They need compassionate, informed support.
Train church leaders and staff in LGBTQ+ affirming pastoral care. Educate clergy on affirming theology and the specific pastoral needs of LGBTQ+ individuals and families. Offer counseling services that are explicitly LGBTQ+ affirming, and consider establishing a support group for LGBTQ+ members and allies within the congregation. For churches with limited staff capacity, connecting with organizations like AWAB (Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists) or your denomination's LGBTQ+ ministry network can provide resources and referrals.
An affirming church doesn't limit its commitment to what happens on Sunday morning. LGBTQ+ inclusion is also a justice issue, and progressive Christian congregations are well-positioned to extend that advocacy into the broader community.
Participate in local Pride events and LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns. Partner with LGBTQ+ organizations working on social justice, healthcare, housing, and mental health. Engage in public dialogue, and encourage congregants to contact policymakers in support of LGBTQ+ rights and protections. This kind of public witness puts action behind affirmation — and it reflects Micah 6:8's call to "act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Becoming an open and affirming church is not simply a matter of updating policies or hanging a flag. It is a genuine transformation — of culture, of community, and of what it means to practice the inclusive love of Christ in a world where that love is still, for many LGBTQ+ people, in short supply.
That transformation takes time, and it rarely happens in a straight line. Congregations encounter resistance, navigate theological disagreement, and sometimes lose members in the process. But they also gain something: the witness of a community that takes seriously the call to love without exception, to welcome without condition, and to affirm the dignity of every person made in the image of God.
For LGBTQ+ individuals who have spent years being told the church has no place for them, finding an open and affirming congregation can be genuinely life-changing. Your church has the opportunity to be that place.
What does "open and affirming" mean in a church context? "Open and Affirming" is a formal designation used by the United Church of Christ for congregations that have made an explicit, congregation-wide commitment to welcoming and affirming LGBTQ+ individuals into full membership and leadership. More broadly, the phrase is used across denominations to describe any church that goes beyond passive tolerance to active, celebratory inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in all aspects of church life.
What is the difference between a welcoming church and an affirming church? A welcoming church opens its doors to LGBTQ+ individuals — they are invited to attend, and they are treated with kindness. An affirming church goes further: it fully includes LGBTQ+ people in membership, leadership, pastoral roles, marriage ceremonies, and all sacraments, without applying a different standard to their relationships or identities. The distinction matters because many LGBTQ+ people have experienced churches that claimed to welcome them while still treating their identities as sinful or their relationships as invalid.
What denominations are LGBTQ+ affirming? Several major Protestant denominations have official affirming positions or formal programs for affirming congregations, including the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Presbyterian Church USA, and the United Methodist Church (following its 2024 removal of anti-LGBTQ+ language from its governing Book of Discipline). Individual congregations within other denominations may also be affirming, even where the broader denomination has not taken an official position.
How do I find an LGBTQ+ affirming church near me? Several directories can help. The UCC maintains a directory of Open and Affirming congregations, the United Methodist Church has a Reconciling Ministries directory, and GayChurch.org maintains a broad cross-denominational listing of affirming congregations. Progressive Christianity organizations like the Center for Progressive Renewal can also help connect seekers with affirming communities.
How can our church start the process of becoming affirming? Most congregations find it helpful to start with education and conversation rather than jumping straight to a policy vote. Form a small discernment team, begin a study series on LGBTQ+ theology and experience, and create intentional space for the congregation to listen to LGBTQ+ voices — ideally including LGBTQ+ members of your own community. From there, your denomination's affirming network (UCC's ONA Coalition, UMC's Reconciling Ministries, PCUSA's More Light, etc.) can provide a structured process, resources, and support for the formal affirmation journey.
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