PLUC celebrated her 15th anniversary last September and we are grateful to the Lord for the many years of His faithfulness in calling us to connect and journey with homosexuals, an “unreached people group”. This term is used in Christian missions to refer to “a group that lacks enough followers of Christ and resources to evangelise their own people”. Can you see how the homosexual or even the transgender is someone from an unreached people group?
We are grateful for the pioneers who have ministered to this unreached group. In fact, the ministry of PLUC is possible today because back in 1973, Frank Worthen, a faithful Christian father formed the irst “ex-gay” ministry in the United States. This was the same year that gay militants pressured the American Psychiatric Association (APA) into “normalising” homosexuality and removing it from theoicial list of mental disorders. Frank’s motto for ministry was simple: “Freedom from homosexuality through Jesus Christ.” But sadly he passed away on February 11 this year, at the age of 87.
Frank and his wife, Anita, founded the Bagong Pag-asa ministry in the Philippines. They prayed a long time for the ministries in Asia before God opened the door here. I am blessed to have met and spoken to them both, and Frank also personally gifted PLUC with his latest (and last) book “Destiny Bridge”. Even today, I stand amazed at how the Lord called him to start a movement among homosexuals proclaiming that “change is indeed possible” because of Christ. His own life is an inspiring example of one who has been redeemed and restored by the Lord.
Besides Frank, we also lost another pioneering igure this year – Dr. Joseph Nicolosi,who died on March 8 at age 70. Nicolosi, a clinical psychologist, had been “the voice of the minority”. His research maintained that people were naturally heterosexual but that childhood trauma, or possibly growing up with a domineering mother and a detached father, might lead to homosexuality. Just in the space of 2 months, the kingdom of God has seen the loss of these two giants who have contributed so much in helping many discover their own identity in Christ and have the opportunity to be “a new creation” in Him. Indeed, these are the giants on whose shoulders PLUC stands. And through building on their pioneering efforts, we can today take the message of freedom in Christ further with this unreached group.
To go the distance, we need YOU to come alongside us. PLUC has always been “the minority of the minority”. What do I mean by this? Very few of those who have been transformed by the Lord may actually “come out” and share their testimony as they are in the minority. However, we at PLUC have “come out” despite the challenges ahead and have become the voice of hope. In this way, we are “the minority of the minority”. As such, we want to partner with you – individuals, churches, educational institutions and organisations – to develop a signiicant “voice” in a world that is constantly sucked into humanism and liberalism.
PLUC wants to appreciate Rev. Wong Yin Ming and her church last year for their partnership in co-organising our seminar “Man or Woman? Gender Identity Confusion” in conjunction with our 15th anniversary. As I look back on PLUC’s milestones over the last 15 years, I am movedto tears to see the faithful hand of God. I am grateful that we have been able to stand irm on our conviction that freedom from homosexuality is possible through Jesus Christ, and for this reason we have clearly identified PLUC’s three-fold mission to relate to, advocate for and educate on individuals struggling with same-sex attraction. Our newly-deined mission is detailed below. We are called to be agents of truth and grace. Would you heed this call and engage with us today?
去年9月，“基督里得自由”（PLUC）庆祝十五周年诞辰。感谢神多年来不断呼召我们与那些“未得之民”的同性恋者同行，使我们有机会与他们联系。“未得之民”是基督教宣教士所使用的词汇，意指“一个尚未听闻过福音的族群，这些族群未曾有人将福音传入”。你是否看见“未得之民”中的同性恋者，甚至变性人呢？
感谢那些曾经服事这群“未得之民”的开拓者。PLUC的成立，起源自1973年美国第一个“同性恋复原者”事工的创办人——弗兰克.沃尔滕（Frank Worthen）。当年，同性恋分子迫使美国精神病学会（APA）将同性恋“正常化”，并将“同性恋”一词从“心理异常”的精神疾病名单行列中删除。弗兰克事奉的座右铭很简单，即“同性恋者可在耶稣基督里得自由!”遗憾的是，今年2月11日，87岁的弗兰克与世长辞了。
弗兰克与妻子安妮塔在菲律宾开始了BagongPag-asa事工。在上帝还未开启亚洲同性恋事工的门之前，他们已祷告了许久。我有幸遇见他们，并和他们交谈。弗兰克把他最新，也是最后的一本著作《命运桥》赠予PLUC。 时至今日，我仍惊讶上帝对他在同性恋群体中服事的呼召，他宣扬“因着基督，改变是可能的”。他经历上帝的救赎与赦免 ，他的生命鼓舞人心。
除了弗兰克，另一位开拓人物——约瑟●尼克拉斯（Joseph Nicolosi）博士，也在今年3月8日逝世，享年70岁。尼克拉斯是个临床心理学家，也是“少数人的声音”，他的研究认为：人类生来本是异性恋者，但因着童年的创伤，或在强势的母亲／疏离的父亲的环境中成长，都有可能导致孩子长大后选择同性恋的生活。上帝的国度在短短的两个月里失去了两位伟大的先驱，他们帮助过无数的人，使他们在基督里认识自己的身份，成为“新造的人”。透过他们开荒所作的努力，PLUC得以在同性恋这“未得之民”的群体里继续传讲在基督里得自由的信息。
为了走得更远，我们需要你与我们同行。PLUC一直都是“少数中的少数”，为什么这么说呢？那些已被主更新的信徒，只有极少数“出来”分享他们的见证。无论前方的挑战如何，PLUC始终“站出来”了，并发出盼望之声。因此，我们可说是“少数中的少数”。我们希望与你――无论个人、教会、教育机构或组织――携手同行，在这充满人文和自由主义影响的社会里建立一个重要的“声音”。
PLUC在此感谢Rev Wong Yin Ming以及其教会，于去年与我们联办“男人或女人？性别困扰”讲座会，并庆祝PLUC十五周年庆。回顾PLUC过去15年的旅程，我看见上帝信实的手（带领），心里深受感触，热泪盈眶。我为着PLUC至今能够坚守信仰而感恩，确信同性恋问题透过耶稣基督这份礼物而得自由是可能的。为此，PLUC有了清晰的三重使命，就是连接、倡导和教育那些同性相吸的挣扎者。更多有关这一新使命的内容，本期通讯将一一分享。
我们被呼召成为真理和恩典的使者。今天，你愿意关注这呼召，并与我们联结吗？