Exploring Fort Worth’s Gay And Lesbian Churches

Church isn’t a top priority for many gays and lesbians, but for others, life revolves around their spiritual community. Like most cities, Fort Worth has several predominately gay and lesbian churches, all of which welcome new members.

If you’re looking for a church home or want to explore how a gay and lesbian church can impact your life, the first two places to visit are Celebration Community Church and Agape Metropolitan Community Church.

Here’s a little information about these two church communities.

Celebration Community Church

Located on the Near Southside and just across Henderson Street from Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, Celebration Community Church is a vibrant and active community pastured by Rev. Carol West.

Claiming a membership of more than 300 people, Celebration tends to be conservative theologically, but the congregation is as diverse as Fort Worth itself. At least 40 different religious backgrounds are represented in the congregation, according to the church’s website.

As with most predominately gay and lesbian churches, everyone is welcome at the church whether they’re gay or not.

While Fort Worth doesn’t really have a gay neighborhood, Celebration has the advantage of being located near the most popular gay clubs and in the part of town that has historically been most associated with the gay and lesbian community.

While the congregation predates Rev. West’s involvement, it has grown significantly under her leadership and perhaps become a bit less conservative in its beliefs than it once was.

Agape Metropolitan Community Church

Much older than Celebration, Agape is also a much smaller congregation. This congregation is part of the Metropolitan Community Church denomination and is the oldest gay and lesbian church in Fort Worth.

In fact, Agape MCC dates to 1970, a few years before the formation of the MCC denomination. In the years since it’s founding, it has been led by only a few pastors, each servicing significant periods with the church. Both gay men and lesbian women have led the church in those years, but the 2009 election of Rev. David Wynn as pastor marked the first transgender pastor of the group.

While the size of Agape has varied over the years, it is once again flourishing under Rev. Wynn.

The church’s biggest disadvantage is its inconvenient location. It is located in far South Fort Worth off Interstate 20 at the Anglin Drive exit.

Other Churches

Other gay and lesbian churches come and go, sometimes as a result of a split with one of these two churches and sometimes for other reasons.

Arlington also has an MCC congregation. Trinity Metropolitan Community Church is led by Curtis Smith and meets in an industrial warehouse area on Division Street in the western edge of Arlington.

No Harm in Trying

Even if you aren’t sure religion or spirituality are for you, there’s no harm in visiting one of these congregations. You might find an experience and a community you enjoy. You might even be surprised how many faces you recognize from your night out at one of Fort Worth’s gay clubs.

The diverse Gay Fort Worth community includes room for those who enjoy the benefits of religion and those who don’t.

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