Made, Known, Loved
Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry
- Children & Youth
- Publisher: Fortress Press (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2021
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Publisher's Description
Through the debates about the inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life of the church, one overlooked community is LGBTQ youth. Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry builds on experience and wisdom cultivated through The Naming Project, a ministry created at the intersection of youth, faith, and LGBTQ identity. 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. Made, Known, Loved provides the guidance these leaders have been asking for. The book first helps congregation leaders and parents examine the values of the congregation and youth group. It focuses on keeping young people, including LGBTQ youth, safe and helping them feel respected and see themselves as beloved children of God. The book also provides a how-to manual for LGBTQ-inclusive youth ministry, sharing the best procedures and practices from the fifteen-plus years of The Naming Project's ministry, including its ongoing summer camp. 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.
Endorsements (14)
“You’ve been asking God how you can minister effectively to LGBTQ+ youth, and now Ross Murray has written Made, Known, Loved. Funny how God works, isn’t it?”
“If you are looking for a book on youth ministry for LGBTQ youth, this book is well worth your time. But what Ross Murray does even more powerfully is to remind us that LGBTQ kids are so much more than their labels—that like all youth, they are figuring out who they are, what that means, and how they fit into the world. In Made, Known, Loved, he reminds us that LGBTQ youth need exactly the same things as the rest of the youth group: a place to be safe, a place to be loved, a place to be themselves, and a place to learn what it means to be adored by God.”
“Made, Known, Loved is a rare and wonderful book that will help save lives. There are books on LGBTQ people; there are books on Christian ministry; there are even books on youth ministry. But this is the first book I know of that addresses the important topic of Christian ministry to LGBTQ youth, who often feel rejected by their families, shut out from their churches, and abandoned by God. Ross Murray reminds the readers, whom I hope will be not only ministers but also young people and their families, that LGBTQ people are, as Psalm 139 says, ‘wonderfully made.”
“Ross Murray has a heart as big as the world. His clear and generous book provides strategies for making youth ministries more welcoming of LGBTQ people—but just as important, it’s a meditation meditation on the radical, transformational love of God. Made, Known, Loved will change lives, restore hope, and open hearts.”
“Made, Known, Loved is the resource the church has been waiting for as we seek to do right by queer young people in our ministries and communities. Filled with personal stories, sound theology, practical tips, and a lot of love and hope, Ross Murray’s book will guide and inspire your ministry with youth.”
“Ross Murray is a proven educator and advocate who leads essential work at the intersection of faith communities and LGBTQ people of faith. Made, Known, Loved is a critical resource at a critical time for Christian leaders who want to be allies but don’t always know how. Murray’s work to include LGBTQ youth is urgent. The compelling personal stories and expert guidance in his timely resource will not merely enlighten and inform adults but lead to programs and ministries that will raise the next generation of LGBTQ Christian advocates.”
“Ross Murray provides us with a book that is long overdue. In twenty-five pithy, thoughtful chapters, Murray addresses the questions youth ministers are asking about ministry with young people in the LGBTQ community—from the practical to the complex. Ross is a proven transformational leader, critical theologian, and compassionate minister. His experiences are broad and his insights deep. This book will become an important companion as you learn to queer your ministry and expand your congregation’s proclamation of Christ’s good news.”
“Practical, compassionate, and chock-full of the kind of wisdom that comes only from decades of walking alongside LGBTQ youth on their spiritual journey, Made, Known, Loved is a must-read for every youth pastor!”
“Too often a church is tempted to approach LGBTQ+ issues as something to be navigated—if the person can be categorized, then they can be understood. In Made, Known, Loved, Ross Murray leads us to a better understanding of churches’ youth, queer and otherwise. He calls us to see each youth in their own dynamic personhood and context. My soul is refreshed by this and so much more in these pages.”
“Ross Murray offers all of us a gift in Made, Known, Loved: a reminder that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14)—in the image of God. This is not a guide to accepting and loving LGBTQIA+ youth into the church. It is the reminder they are already the church—the body of Christ. Through Ross’s own journey, he shows us how he came to know he was made, known, and loved by God and how we can claim that knowledge for ourselves and share it with others. Ross provides wisdom about how important safe spaces are for LGBTQIA+ persons and how much more the church can and should do to provide that sanctuary. Every youth ministry would benefit from this book’s riches.”
Bishop. Kevin L. Strickland
“Made, Known, Loved is a book I wish everyone would read as they seek to build more LGBTQIA+ spaces in their youth ministry. Ross Murray speaks important truths with grace and clarity for the reader, regardless of where they are on their journey. I already find myself using some of his just-in-time resources for my own life and ministry. For our church, which has too often separated faith and sexuality, this book is a must-read. I highly recommend it to anyone who takes gospel-centered inclusivity seriously.”
“When church leaders seek to embody the love of God and welcome of Jesus in their youth ministry, improving the experience of LGBTQ+ youth is essential. With a compassion and wisdom formed by fifteen years of work with LGBTQ+ youth, Ross Murray offers a clear and comprehensive guide for the many questions that pastors, youth ministers, and parents might encounter. With instructive stories, contextual insight, and extensive resources, Murray provides a way forward through questions into action that will benefit not just a church’s LGBTQ+ youth but the whole body of Christ.”
“Made, Known, Loved is the exact book needed for this exact time. Honestly and humbly, Ross Murray, guided by real-life experiences, deals with the questions that will help churches measure their inclusion of LGBTQ youth in their programs and also work with all youth. If the church is to be a no-judgment, safe, welcoming, and inclusive place, allowing people to learn and experience that God’s love is for us all, then soak in the wisdom found here. This is the guidebook that will challenge and renew youth programs, camps, and the whole church.”
“People who write endorsements for books do so primarily for two reasons—they believe in the importance of the topic, and they trust the voice of the author(s), often saying that this is an ‘important’ and ‘needed’ book. Well, guess what? Both reasons are true about this book—it couldn’t be more important, timely, or needed. And indeed, I value and trust the voice and wisdom of this author and gifted leader, Ross Murray. “Though Ross indicates in the introduction that this book is eminently practical, its deeper motivation is profoundly theological. That which is at the heart of God’s being, revealed clearly and decisively in Jesus Christ, is Love—an immense, immeasurable, irrevocable, radically inclusive love for this whole creation and all of its peoples. Friends, this book is a gift and a call to church in all of its expressions to authenticate and seek to imitate in our lives and in our communities God’s expansive and unconditional love for all people, particularly God’s beloved LGBTQ+ young humans.”
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