The following is Part Two of a reflection written by CBR Project Manager Brad Martel about an encounter he had with a student at Cleveland State. Part One was sent last week and can also be viewed here. 

As Stevie neared the end of her story, I knew the answer: Stevie needed the Gospel. “God loves you,” I began. I had her full attention. Had anyone ever said this to her before? “God knows everything about you. He knows the parts that you don’t share with others and even the parts that you don’t understand yourself. And He loves you. He wants an eternal relationship with you. But there’s a problem.”

I told her how our sins separate us from God and how Jesus reconciles those who trust him. I then thanked Stevie for her time and wished her well. She left the display, found a friend nearby, and wept with her. We both experienced the power of the Gospel message.

Transgender people are especially ready to hear the good news about Jesus, for a few reasons. First, they know something is wrong. The Gospel makes clear that we all have a deeply rooted problem. We agree on this main point. It remains for Christians to explain the problem, what separates individuals from God.

Second, they are looking for a major transformation. The Gospel explains that when anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation! Christians are further exhorted to be transformed by renewing our mind, to put away the “old man.” Here again, we both agree on this main point. It remains for us to explain the healthy and truly necessary transformation.

Lastly, they want, above all, to be accepted. The Gospel assures us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, and that there is fellowship for the believer with God and man. As a church, we are members of a body. Transgender people lead difficult lives and they need the Gospel. They need the truth about their inherent dignity as people created in the image of God.

The following is Part One of a reflection written by CBR Project Manager Brad Martel about an encounter he had with a student at Cleveland State. See Part Two here.

How do you talk to college students about the transgender issue? I was still a volunteer when CBR introduced new signs tackling this topic in 2022. After much experience, I was comfortable debating abortion with students, but this was a whole new world. Though I felt tentative about the subject, I understood its necessity. It’s not as if CBR sought out another moral evil to address. No, the transgender issue found us.

At each college we visited in 2021, we encountered students advocating to normalize transgenderism. In 2022, we discovered that at least 1,130 girls under 18 years old received “top surgeries” between 2016 and 2019 in the United States. These surgeries consist of removing healthy breasts from girls who identify as boys. This child mutilation masquerading as “gender-affirming care” demands a response.

At Cleveland State University, I met “Stevie”. Based on her own experience, Stevie believed that girls, at least as young as 16, should be allowed to receive “gender transition surgery.” She shared stories of being bullied growing up, of not being allowed to use either male or female bathrooms at times, and of parents complaining to her school about their children having to be in the same room with her. Stevie attempted suicide at 17.

Stevie later underwent a double mastectomy, but she still suffers from scoliosis from the years of binding her breasts to hide them. She described many rounds of therapy and vetting before transitioning. Her life would have been less difficult, she claimed, had she been allowed to have her surgery earlier.

At this point, my sympathy for Stevie was immense. She had suffered for years from gender dysphoria and ostracism. She was convinced that her decision to transition to a “man” was the right choice for her. What do you say to such a person?