Niel Deepnarain explains how the joint conference with Desert Stream Ministries speaks to the Church and to the ‘conversion therapy’ debate.
How can the Church faithfully represent Jesus Christ when the surrounding culture is struggling with confusion about sexuality and identity?
And how can we live lives of holiness, dedicated to God, when there is so much pressure from the World to conform to its patterns?
This is one of the biggest challenges Christians face in this age. Generations before us did not have the same kinds of temptations around pornography that we do or a culture that so heavily promoted alternative identities and sexualities.
That’s why, on Saturday 26 September, Christian Concern and Desert Stream Ministries hosted the Restoring Sexual Integrity Conference in Westminster. Bringing together Christians from across the UK, the day offered biblical teaching, personal testimonies, worship, prayer, and practical encouragement for those seeking to understand God’s design for sexuality and experience the transforming power of the gospel.
How can we think more clearly and act more faithfully as Christians in this area?
A new heart
The conference began with worship before our CEO Andrea Williams opened the day with reflections from Ezekiel 36, reminding attendees of God’s promise to cleanse, renew, and give his people a new heart, despite their many sins. Her opening message set the tone for a day centred on hope, restoration and the life changing grace of Jesus Christ.
Andrew Comiskey, founder of Desert Stream Ministries, was the first keynote speaker of the day, speaking on ‘The Church as Jesus’ Healing Community for the World’.
Drawing from his own testimony, Andrew shared the freedom and transformation he found in Jesus Christ and challenged the Church to become an agent of healing in a broken world. He emphasised that sexuality touches every area of life and that Christians are called to live faithfully, speaking truth in love and pointing people to Jesus, who alone brings healing and wholeness.
The World sees same-sex attraction as a sign that you were ‘born gay’ and should live out that life. But Andrew’s story told a very different story.
He reflected on the struggles that can accompany same-sex attraction, the search for identity, and the longing for meaningful relationships. He reminded us all that true integration and healing are often a step-by-step journey, made possible through the grace of Christ.
Challenges from his message that will stay with many were the questions: “Can a divided person live a faithful and fruitful life?” and “Who do we turn to when we are concerned about those we love?” His answer throughout was clear: Christians have hope because they have Jesus.
He encouraged believers not to run from their brokenness but to bring every area of life before Christ, learning to walk faithfully in their God given identity as men and women and allowing Jesus to transform the heart.
This is critical to understand. Same-sex desires and gender struggles are weighty issues but shouldn’t be thought of as wildly different to any other challenges Christians face. We bring them towards God, the fountain of life, and prayerfully take steps to bring our actions in line with his good plans for us.
A sexually broken nation
Next, Andrea Williams returned as a keynote speaker and challenged us all with a powerful message on restoring a sexually broken nation and the need for spiritual renewal, declaring that true freedom is found only in Christ.
She contrasted the freedom of the gospel with the bondage of sin and urged Christians not to seek approval from culture but to stand boldly upon God’s truth. She spoke passionately about the urgent need for the Church to recover confidence in proclaiming biblical truth with love and compassion. “A nation will only be restored when it comes back to the fulfilment of the law of Jesus,” encouraging Christians to recognise God, recognise his truth, and trust that God can move swiftly when his people faithfully obey Him.
This confidence will be needed in the coming months and years. Politicians in the UK are pushing for ‘conversion practices’ bans that could frighten pastors and parents away from providing proper support to struggling Christians. Will we stand up against such a ban before it is too late? Will we have the courage to do what is right even if a ban falsely labels us as abusive?
Her message highlighted the reality of a culture increasingly shaped by confusion and brokenness, while also giving hope that lasting restoration can come through Christ and a courageous Church willing to speak truth in love.
Meeting people in their deepest pain
One of the most moving moments of the conference came through the testimony of Sue Hunt, who courageously shared her journey of healing following sexual abuse.
Speaking on themes of justice, healing and protecting the vulnerable, Sue explored the profound impact abuse can have on identity, emotional wellbeing and gender confusion. Her honesty deeply touched hearts throughout the room. She spoke about recognising the need for help, overcoming fear, laying down protective walls and finding healing through the grace of Jesus Christ. Drawing on Luke 17: 1-2, she highlighted the seriousness of protecting vulnerable people and encouraged believers to walk in discernment, courage and forgiveness.
Many attendees were deeply moved as she shared how Christ can meet people in their deepest pain and bring restoration where brokenness once seemed impossible to overcome.
Another powerful contribution came from Abbey Foard, who spoke on “Sexual Addiction: Reclaiming Purity of Heart.” Abbey gave a practical and compassionate perspective on the struggle for sexual integrity, reminding us all that holiness begins in the heart. The message focused on living clean and clear before God, being set apart for his purposes, and learning to walk faithfully through life’s ongoing challenges. Again, the central message pointed people back to Christ.
“Jesus is the answer to this adulterous generation,” offering both hope and practical encouragement for those seeking freedom and restoration.
Homosexuality has divided the Church
In the afternoon, Andrew Comiskey returned to address how homosexuality has successfully divided the Church and the importance of fighting for the integrity of marriage. He asked us to not retreat from difficult conversations but to engage them with wisdom, compassion and conviction. We need to represent Jesus faithfully and become communities where truth and grace work together to bring healing and transformation.
Christians too easily fall into traps on this issue. One trap is to jump right in with simplistic ideas and solutions that could be unhelpful or even harmful. We need to help ordinary Christians understand what is genuinely helpful. But another trap is to ‘leave it all to the experts’. There are many ways that any faithful Christian can support someone struggling with their sexuality and identity – often by simply being a good friend, being kind and pointing them to Jesus Christ. There will undoubtedly be times when specialist help is called for but we will always need grace-filled, Christ-filled communities to support fellow Christians.
Courage, clarity and compassion
The day concluded with a powerful time of prayer and an insightful Q&A session titled “Courage, Clarity and Compassion.” This put the whole day together, applying it to our lives. We need courage to speak biblical truth, clarity in understanding God’s design, and compassion in ministering to those experiencing pain, brokenness and confusion.
We all were encouraged to not just agree with the teaching we had heard but to put it into action, stepping out in faith and becoming ambassadors of Christ’s hope and healing in our communities.
Throughout the conference, testimonies, teaching, prayer and worship all created a deep atmosphere of hope and renewal. There were moments of forgiveness, breakthrough, healing and renewed faith. Many spoke of being encouraged to have difficult conversations, support struggling family members, pray with greater confidence and engage more intentionally in ministry and outreach.
As one attendee told us:
“I am thankful to all the speakers who were willing to lay themselves bare, sharing with boldness, humility and honesty. Their openness and knowledge encouraged us to seek healing, take responsibility and accountability for ourselves, and bring everything that has been hidden in the dark into the light, and lay it at the feet of our wonderful Counsellor, Jesus, who brings healing and restoration.”
Society’s deepest needs can never be met apart from Jesus.
The message of the day could be summed up in one powerful truth: “The grace of the Cross of Jesus Christ changes everything.”
“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28 ESV)
