Twenty years of ministry provides insights and practical tips for adults doing ministry with LGBGTQ youth.

NEW YORK — Today Fortress Press and author Ross Murray announced the release of Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry, a powerful guide to LGBTQ youth-inclusive ministry . Made, Known, Loved is available for pre-order on Fortress Press and will be purchasable on April 20, 2021. 

Made, Known, Loved shows congregations how to create a program that affirms LGBTQ youth in their faith and their identity, accepts and welcomes diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, and equips future leaders for the church and the LGBTQ community. The book focuses on keeping LGBTQ youth safe and helping them feel respected and see themselves as beloved children of God. It also provides a how-to manual for LGBTQ-inclusive youth ministry, sharing the best procedures and practices. 

“When we first developed The Naming Project, nearly twenty years ago, there was no guide for how best to do ministry with LGBTQ youth,” said Murray. “With this book, my goal is to create a framework that can serve to educate and enlighten existing youth ministry programs, and hopefully spark some new and innovative ways to bring the gospel to LGBTQ youth.”

Murray is the founding director of The Naming Project, a ministry and summer camp created at the intersection of youth, faith, and LGBTQ identity. He also serves as the Senior Director of Education and Training at the GLAAD Media Institute, is a Consecrated Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as well as a producer for the “Yass, Jesus!” podcast, a faith and sexuality affirming podcast.

Made, Known, Loved builds on experience and wisdom cultivated through The Naming Project. Formed at a time when the overlap of such categories was unthinkable, The Naming Project provides a place where youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities can be safe and affirmed in their identity and faith. Because of that foundational work, other pastors and youth ministers often reach out to leaders of The Naming Project with their questions about LBGTQ-inclusive youth ministry. 

“Ross Murray offers all of us a gift in Made, Known, Loved: a reminder that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14). . . . Every youth ministry will benefit from this book’s riches.”
— Kevin L. Strickland, bishop of the Southeastern Synod, ELCA

“Made, Known, Loved will become an important companion as you learn to queer your ministry and expand your congregation’s proclamation of Christ’s good news.”
— Jeremy Myers, author of Liberating Youth from Adolescence

“Practical, compassionate and chock-full of the kind of wisdom that only comes from decades of walking alongside LGBTQ youth on their spiritual journey, Made, Known, Loved is a must-read for every youth pastor!”
— Jennifer Knapp, Grammy-Award nominated musician 

“Made, Known, Loved provides strategies for making youth ministries more welcoming of LGBTQ people—but just as important, it’s a meditation on the radical, transformational love of God. It will change lives, restore hope, and open hearts.”
— Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of She’s Not There and Good Boy

“Filled with personal stories, sound theology, practical tips, and a lot of love and hope, Made, Known and Loved will guide and inspire your ministry with youth.”
— Molly Beck Dean, director, ELCA Youth Gathering

###

Contact:
Matt Goodman
Ross Murray
[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.