CTM Newsletter - November 2024
Are you aware that we just finished our forth annual Coming Together LIVE-4? Did you see any of the evening meetings from the “Jesus And Wholistic Sexuality?” Each evening at 6:30pm the series would start with music from Melissa Otto (from Australia) or Laura Williams and then a testimony, followed by a presentation by a pastor, psychologist or even one of our board members or affiliates.
All of the recordings are easy to access by going to VillageSDA.org. That was just one of the three events that happened just over a week ago! The “Leadership Conference” was on Monday and Tuesday of September 30-October 1, 2024. These presentations and testimonies were recorded and will be available soon on the website.
We call it the “Ford Impact” as Tony Scarpino came up with, when you read the incredible testimony of Mark Ford who started his journey with us last year when he randomly decided to attend the CTL-3 and at the end of our CTL-4 this year, Pastor Bryce Bowman baptized him at Lake Michigan, surrounded by his friends and new family in Jesus Christ! I think you will see that it is quite remarkable and definitely a God-inspired story. See the testimony as it is part of the Newsletter for this month.
But what I want to talk about are some of the speakers that we brought with the help of the Village SDA Church here in Berrien Springs.
Chloe Cole – A De-transitioner who was put on testosterone when she was a young teenager and then had her breasts removed two years later as she was being “fast-tracked” into a so called sex change which left her scarred and full of regret. She has spoken before Congress and is an advocate for boys and girls about the danger of the trans-medicine and the effect it had on her life.
Dr. Julie Hamilton – A Christian Clinical Psychologist who specializes in identity and sexuality, spoke openly about how sexuality and identity develop in young children even before the age of consciousness. She stands on biblical evidence as well in her findings and shares a beautiful connection of science that affirms the scriptures.
Dr. James Dotson – A PhD, therapist who also addresses how change can happen and how to survive sexual trauma and find connectedness in Jesus Christ.
Dr’s Samuel and Rhoda Perez – One a psychiatrist and the other a neuroscientist who discuss the brain and how healing happen and the power of how God has equipped every individual with innate abilities to reprogram and experience change.
Rawel Moringlane – Spoke about Sex in Marriage. How marriage was designed to be and how it has become perverted in the church and also in history.
Testimonies (more than 9) by amazing individuals who have come out of homosexuality, lesbianism, pornography addiction, abortion recovery, as well as parents who have homosexuality in their family and how God has redeemed their child. Stories from around the world to amaze you and to share with others.
We will be having these incredible programs on our website as soon as they are edited. The audio recordings will also be on AudioVerse as well. Please enjoy them and share them with friends and loved ones.
We also had our Open House and we are now in our building. Were you able to come and check it out? We have been busy painting and decorating and Cheri Corder did an amazing job with some of her friends to provide food and decor to help us welcome old and new friends. We set up 6 stations for people to flow through our building where we offered information about our future plans, our history, international speakers from Costa Rica, Africa, and New Zealand sharing how our ministry has gone out around the world and how we have an international team of workers and speakers assisting in getting the message out. We also gave out prayer magnets with our prayer times on it, pens, tracts of the ministry, bags with our logo, and a free copy of our documentary Journey Interrupted as give aways. Our new office is where we can meet with individuals and also have our board, operating and planning meetings. We will be planning our future conference, the CTL-5 which will be held September 14-21, 2025. Be sure to put it on your calendar and also start preparing for another week of amazing presenters and testimonies as God opens up more hearts and stories in the coming year.
This new direction in our ministry has not been without it’s challenges and it has forced us to seek God’s direction more than ever before. We are so grateful for the people that have helped to get us to where we are now and without their inspiration, assistance and support, we would not have been able to survive for the last 14 years!
Some we have said good-bye to and some have moved forward and have made room for new inspiration and energy to take us forward. While we were having our conference we received over $3000.00 in donations to help with operating expenses and salaries as our new office and staff have increased our monthly expenses. God is providing, by the generosity of people who believe in our message and have also been touched by what God has inspired us to do. Do you believe that we can reach the world? Would you help us to do that by volunteering as we need reception help and doing light clerical work? Would you continue to support us financially by going to our website and setting up a monthly donation to help keep the lights on, not just in our building but also around the world through the Gospel message? At the end of this month I will be heading to Bulgaria to present to the European Union leadership conference on Sexuality.
Your tax deductible gift will provide opportunities to get our message into places, schools and churches that don’t have the funding, not just in the US, but also in other countries around the world.
Go to: comingoutministries.org/donate to set up your monthly gift. Thank you so much and God bless you.
Here are some quotes by some of the parents and attendees who were at our event:
“Sharing hope for everyone through insightful workshops, personal testimonies and powerful prayers; nurturing an international family united in Jesus Christ. What a blessing it was to be there!” -A mom praying for her daughter.
“It was so surreal to be true, but I still attended the Coming Together Convention, not knowing that I found true hope in the testimonies, prayers, and fellowship with an accepting community.” -Anonymous
“For me, CTL4 has been a tremendous spiritual experience and a great opportunity to grow as I learned about a topic that is little talked about”. -Stephanie Ricketts
“It was a humbling honour to be among the CTL-4 “cloud of witnesses” who expounded on the saving grace and transforming love of Jesus in their lives, paving the way for others to be drawn closer to him. Because of this gathering my daily walk with Jesus has been strengthened, my faith lifted, and my worship of Him is enriched for such a time as this”. -Pastor Shane Harper
“The support of Village SDA church toward the Coming Together Live conference was second to none! The warm reception from individuals and the collective congregation created a home away from home, family centric, Spirit-led atmosphere. Their willingness to provide an abundance of various resources further intrenched a sense of belonging.
It was very evident that everything – from behind the scenes planning and logistics to front and center delivery – was carefully considered and faithfully soaked in prayer. I commend the church and Coming Together Ministries for hosting this important event with such meticulous attention. Indeed, God was magnified in their efforts.”
NEVER AGAIN
By Anonymous
Never again will I profess, “I can’t” for “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
Never again will I profess lack for “my God shall supply all (my] need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Never again will I profess fear for “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Never again will I profess doubt or lack of faith for “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
Never again will I profess weakness for “the Lord is the strength of my life” (Psalm 27:1).
Never again will I profess defeat for God “always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Never again will I profess lack of wisdom for “[Christ Jesus] is made unto us wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Never again will I profess worries and frustrations, for I am “casting all [my] care upon him; for he careth for [me]” (1 Peter 5:7).
Never again will I profess bondage, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Never again will I profess condemnation, for “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
Never again will I profess loneliness, for Jesus said, “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20), and “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
Never again will I profess discontent “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).
Never again will I profess unworthiness “for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Never again will I profess confusion “for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Never again will I profess persecution, for “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
Never again will I profess the domination of sin over my life “for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). And “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
Never again will I profess anxiety for “thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).
Q&A text taken from:
FORD IMPACT
I recently had the pleasure of attending Coming Together LIVE-4 (CTL-4). After having gone to Coming Together LIVE-3 (CTL-3) a year ago I knew I had to return this year. What an experience to be able to attend both!
Looking back now on how I became familiar with Coming Together Ministries, I would say was the work of The Holy Spirit. Going back to 2018, I had experienced a lot of loss and trauma within a short period of time. In looking to improve my life, (after having tried many different ways), I decided to seek out God. Shortly after I started to see signs confirming that I had made the right decision. I started attending a Bible study group and attending church on a regular basis. One day at work a co-worker approached me with a booklet about the true Sabbath. Shortly after I sought out and found a SDA church in my area. After having attended the church for a few months, a feeling of dread started to come over me. A feeling like there was no hope and no salvation for me. I decided to confide in one of the church members that I trusted in sharing my story of being part of the LGBT community. The Holy Spirit was at work because she was the right one to approach. She mentioned Wayne Blakely to me who had a similar enough story to make me want to reach out to him to learn more. While doing so I came across the testimonies of Michael Carducci and Daniel Varela. I also learned about CTL-3.
I thought wow, I really hit the jackpot! This was something I desperately needed. A group of like minded people coming together, not afraid to share their personal stories of sexual immorality. This will be amazing! Then for some reason I started to have doubts. I guess sometimes even after been given the truth, it’s not always an easy fix to change one’s life.
Thoughts came up like, “it might be a strange group”, “they may try and force me to change quickly”. Thankfully I decided to ignore those thoughts and attend the conference.
Upon arrival I first met Wayne and then Michael. Michael was very warm and welcoming. Shortly after I started to meet more people and became more relaxed that day and over the whole weekend. So much so that I ended up staying an additional night.
After attending CTL-3 I learned about The Former’s Prayer line. It is a group that meets through Zoom twice a week. Having the prayer line has allowed me to get to know more people in the group that I hadn’t met during the conference. I would say that through this group God has provided me with knowledge that I had been seeking.
Over the past year I’ve learned a lot about life, what to expect in my new walk with God, how not to give up when times get rough, how to pray better, among many other things. Just like the conferences, it’s a place of sharing, love and support!
Just by being at CTL-3 it would have been enough to bring back this year, but with the addition of the prayer line this past year, you wouldn’t be able to keep me away from CTL4! This year, I enjoyed everything about the conference from the presentations, the testimonies, meeting new people and especially the morning prayer circle which at times included spiritual hymns.
I also had the opportunity to share my testimony toward the end of CTL-4. I am thankful for that blessing because I am sure it has the potential to help others in their walk with God! I even had people approach me afterward thanking me for sharing my testimony saying that they connected with it and will tell others about it.
Sunday is usually the day for prayer in the morning and then off to the beach for fun and games and pizza. Last year it was hard to say good-bye and get on the road for my 3 hour drive back home. So this year I made sure that I would stay overnight until Monday. So this year in addition to fun and games and pizza, it also included my baptism in Lake Michigan. After the year I had, I felt that it was time to take the next step to commit my life to Christ. What another true blessing for me! I couldn’t imagine a better place or group to share my experience with! I just want to say thank you Pastor Bowman, Michael Carducci and others that were there for me with support and love. It was much appreciated!
So I am sure it is no surprise that I am looking forward to next year’s CTL-5!
Come join us!
Mark Ford
MARK’S TESTIMONY
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‘Coming Out’ Ministries at P.O. Box 285, 115 N. Main Street, Berrien Springs, Michigan, 49103.
May God bless you for your support!