Pastor Mitchell is also gay and, according to the article, is one of the first openly gay pastors in central Nebraska.
He's trying to use his status as a gay pastor to attract new members to the congregation -- specifically LGBTQ Christians and their friends and families. And it seems that he's successfully attracted several new gay members to the church.
Two things grabbed my attention about this article. There was this paragraph:
As one of the first openly gay pastors in central Nebraska, Reverend Steven Mitchell is trying to build a congregation that isn't just accepting of alternative lifestyles, but one that is open and affirming to them.I understand that this phrase came from the TV station and not from Pastor Mitchell or his congregants, but haven't we as a culture moved away from talking about "alternative lifestyles" when it comes to LGBTQ people? I mean, go back to the 80s!
Lastly, and more humorously, someone needs to teach the reporter Alex Whitney how to pronounce "congregational" (kong-gri-gey-shuh-nl). It's not "congressional" (kuh n-gresh-uh-nl). Which he said several times throughout the segment. That made me chuckle a lot.
Still, it was nice to see an LGBTQ affirming church highlighted in the press. I am curious about the claims that Pastor Mitchell is one of Nebraska’s first openly gay pastors. Surely there are more in the state. But I suppose he might have been the first many years ago.
You can watch the segment for yourself here.