National network of 'ex-gay' ministries bites the dust

Last week was an awesome one for the LGBTQ community. Aside from a monumental SCOTUS ruling in our favor, a network of "conversion therapy' or  'ex-gay' ministries - considered one of the largest - is disbanding.

From NBC:

Hope for Wholeness, a prominent ex-gay ministry that boasts one of the most expansive networks of conversion therapy offerings in the United States, is disbanding. 

The Spartanburg, South Carolina-based organization, founded in 1999 as Truth Ministries, told members in an email Monday and obtained by NBC News that Hope for Wholeness would be closing its operations, citing the group’s difficulties in retaining a director to lead their efforts. 

“It has been a tumultuous several years for us. We lost the founding director, searched for two years for his replacement, hired a new director and then lost that director as well,” the memo, which was signed by the group’s board, states. “After much prayer and discussion, we have made the difficult decision to dissolve the organization. This was not an easy decision. But we do believe it is the right decision.”

Apparently, this decision was made on Monday, the same day of our latest SCOTUS victory. According to Newsweek:

Hope for Wholeness, which is based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was initially formed in 1999 under the name Truth Ministries by founder McKrae Game. Truth Ministries would eventually expand to incorporate several satellite ministries throughout much of the Southeast region, Game told Newsweek. In 2013, Game had changed the organization's name to Hope for Wholeness following the dissolution of Exodus International—formerly known as the world's largest ex-gay ministry.

The Newsweek article pointed out that Game was removed from his position in 2017. Two years later, he officially came out as a gay man and renounced the belief that 'ex-gay' therapy actually works. He said that 'ex-gay' ministries are like cults and that they are not financially thriving enterprises.

The NBC article also pointed out the following facts about 'ex-gay' ministries:

Conversion therapy — made up of various universally discredited and harmful methods of counseling and ministry meant to eradicate or suppress LGBTQ identities — has been banned for minors in 20 states and Washington, D.C. California was the first state to prohibit the practice in 2012, but over half of the bans have only been in effect since 2018. In June 2019, data from UCLA’s Williams Institute estimated that at least 698,000 adults in the U.S. have been subjected to some form of conversion therapy.