“I thought I was broken”
For many transgender and intersex people, the message they’ve grown up hearing—explicitly or implicitly is You’re broken. You’re unnatural. You’re a mistake. Some have even been treated like monsters, as if we’ve regressed to the cruelty of medieval times—when difference was feared, mocked, or punished.
But the truth is, they are not broken. They are not a mistake. And they are not alone.
This page exists to let transgender and intersex people speak for themselves. Not filtered through theological debates. Not reduced to stereotypes. Just real people telling the truth of their own experience—in their own voice.
Some were told they didn’t belong in church. Others found God more clearly once they embraced who they were. All of them carry stories worth hearing.
Personal Stories
- Grace Thomas & Lucas Hall (2024 Video, 1:13 minutes). Brian Nietzel interviews Grace Thomas and Lucas Hall, as they share their stories and perspectives, and help us consider how to better love our trans neighbor.
- A Texas Mom’s Faith is Tested (2017 Video, 5 minutes). Story from The Today Show, a morning TV show on NBC.
- Call Me Malcolm, is the powerful story of Malcolm and how shame and fear are overcome by grace, compassion and knowledge.
- Trans Stories with Grace Thomas & Lucas Hall (2024 Video, 1:13 minutes) Brian Nietzel interviews Grace Thomas and Lucas Hall, as they share their stories and perspectives, and help us consider how to better love our trans neighbor. Brian’s channel is focused on rethinking the Christian Response and Responsibility to LGBTQ+ People: healing wounds, righting wrongs, and reconciling what is divided.
- Austen Hartke, M.A. Luther Seminary, Author, Speaker, transgender man (2019 Video, 1:04 minutes). Justin Lee interviews Austen Hartke, founder and director of Transmission Ministry Collective, winner of the 2014 John Milton Prize in Old Testament Writing. From 2015 to 2018, Austen also created one hundred videos for the Transgender and Christian YouTube series, which sought to share parts of the Bible that relate to gender identity and the lives of transgender individuals. As a transgender person of faith, Austen’s greatest passion is helping other trans and gender-expansive people see themselves in scripture. You can learn more about Austen and his work at austenhartke.com.
- Will Ferrell and Harper, a documentary/movie about Will Ferrel and his friend, who comes out as a trans woman. They decide to go on a road trip around America.
- Nicole Garcia is a Trans, Latina, Lutheran Pastor tells her story.
- “Transgender and Christian” with Allyson Robinson and Austen Hartke
- Personal Stories (books)
- Belonging in the Body, a collection of stories from the lives of transgender Christians (2018 Video, 53 minutes). For purchase, this series of stories is an opportunity to learn, to understand, and to advocate for our transgender siblings in Christ. This video is accompanied by a PDF guide that offers small group discussion questions, a glossary, and links to additional resources. Belonging in the Body is a timely and invaluable glimpse into the lives of transgender Christians.
Made this beautiful way
It’s easy to argue with theology. It’s harder to argue with someone’s story—especially when it’s shared with vulnerability and courage. These are not hypothetical people or abstract issues. These are beloved children of God.
If your heart hurts reading these, that’s okay. Let it hurt. Let it stretch. Let it soften. That ache might be the beginning of seeing someone not as a category—but as kin.
What we see in these stories is not brokenness. It’s resilience. It’s faith. And it’s the image of God shining through in unexpected, holy ways.