A Gay Couple Tried To Sign Up For A Christian Camp’s Reunion Weekend. The Anti-LGBTQ Pushback They Faced Was The Final Straw, They Said. – BuzzFeed News
“Christianity meant the world to me,” he said, though he no longer identifies as a Christian. “The theology gave deep meaning to my life, and even to the pain I felt. Everything in my life hinged on being a part of the Christian community and believing the ‘right’ way. That made it extra scary to come out.”
Within Young Life, Malibu and its rugged mountaineering sibling camp, Beyond Malibu, are lauded as the “crown” or “jewel” of its 26 camps. A hundred miles north of Vancouver, the inlet is a three-hour ferry ride up a coastline of granite and dense forest, an idyllic setting for teen campers to nourish their sense of faith and adventure.
Though Thomas’s hopes for closure among the mountains were short-lived, his exclusion from the reunion pushed a small but vocal groundswell of former Young Lifers to speak out.
On Jan. 9, Becca Williams Leach, who became a guide at Beyond Malibu in 2006, wrote to Chad Sievert, the senior vice president of Young Life’s camping division, asking why the reunion was canceled. Williams Leach left Young Life in 2017 after her friend was banned from camp for falling in love with another woman, but she’d been eager to return for the reunion.
“I am crushed that this opportunity has been taken away from me and my family, and for what?” Williams Leach wrote.
Young Life maintains that the event was never canceled, according to a statement from a spokesperson. In early January, after Thomas tried to make plans to attend with his husband, the organization announced in its newsletter that the camp’s 50th celebration would now be moved to a one-day event in Seattle.
“The reason for this decision is so Young Life can facilitate all people wanting to celebrate this incredible ministry program having an opportunity to do so,” Sievert replied by email to Williams Leach. He did not respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.
“Our goal was and is to plan an event that the most people can come to, and that means holding it in a place that’s easier to get to,” a Young Life spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in an email.
Kate Hamman, another former Young Life guide at Beyond Malibu, wrote to Sievert the same day as Williams Leach more directly about the organization’s treatment of LGBTQ members. She has yet to receive a response.
“Since 2016, I have been asking Beyond and Young Life to be honest about its theological commitments and exclusion of LGBTQ people,” she wrote. “I quit being a Young Life leader in 2013 after two students were denied work crew because they were queer girls. It has now been a decade, and Young Life continues to cling to fear and deceit.”
Young Life neither responded to BuzzFeed News’ questions about its correspondence with Thomas nor clarified the organization’s policy on LGBTQ couples attending events.
“Young Life expects those seeking leadership positions to support Young Life’s beliefs, tenets and policies on a wide range of theological issues,” the spokesperson wrote, noting that the organization trains its leaders to ensure “they are equipped to create an environment in which every young person, regardless of their background, is welcomed with the love and understanding of faithful adults who personally demonstrate the compassion and truth of Jesus.”
For decades, Young Life has spread its Christian message by fostering friendships among middle school, high school, and college students, who work alongside adult leaders. The leaders, often young adults themselves, are tasked with “meeting [students] as they are and believing in who they can be,” according to Young Life’s website. Between weekly after-school clubs, Bible studies, and summer camps, the organization boasted reaching 1.5 million kids last year.
But in spite of its friendly image, former Young Life members said the organization has held tightly onto its anti-LGBTQ policies — even after criticism that it’s creating harmful environments for queer youth.
In 2016, it first made camp staffers sign a sexuality agreement that states that sex is only between men and women. Thomas then in 2020 launched the #DoBetterYoungLife campaign on Instagram, shedding light on the experiences of hundreds of current and former staffers who have been mistreated and hurt from the group’s anti-LGBTQ policies.