May 1997 – AFA’s Hope ’97, an effort to introduce homosexuals to the Good News of Jesus Christ, has earned dismal participation by pastors and churches in the first three cities of the tour.

Hope ’97 features ex-homosexual Michael Johnston, who now has AIDS, taking his message of what Christ has done and is doing in his life.

AFA first went to several of the larger Phoenix churches and was unable to secure a sponsoring church for the event. Finally, our local coordinator, AFA State Director T.C. Bundy, was able to secure Palmcroft Baptist Church to host the rally and seminars.

In Phoenix, AFA mailed more than 12,000 flyers to supporters encouraging participation in the Hope ’97 event. Information went to more than 600 pastors in the Phoenix area. In addition, eight Christian radio stations and 10 Christian bookstores received promotional material, two press releases from AFA and Kerusso Ministries (Michael Johnston’s ministry) went to 35 local media outlets. News stories of the Hope ’97 Phoenix event ran on USA Radio Network News and Family News in Focus.

Because of several threatening phone calls to the church, AFA hired an off-duty Phoenix policeman to secure protection. When the rally began on Friday evening, there were 60 homosexual protesters outside the building and 50 participants inside. Among the protesters were three priests from the homosexual church, while the 50 participants included two evangelical pastors.

Michael Johnston asked our policeman to accompany him as he approached the protesters. Michael told them he was the speaker for the rally about to begin inside and extended them a cordial invitation to come in. Thirty of the protestors, including priests from the homosexual church, came inside.

During the rally, Johnston offered participants practical insights from a Biblical perspective on helping those caught in the trap of homosexuality. He took time to walk among rally participants at the close of his message and touch each one with the blessing, “God truly loves you.” Johnston reported that several in the crowd, including many homosexual youth, were visibly moved by the service.

One homosexual who attended the rally and seminars approached Michael and sought counsel. He later took off his wedding ring (he was “married” to a same-sex partner) and an earring (a symbol of his homosexuality) and gave them to Johnston as a symbol that, with God’s help, he was “coming out” of the homosexual lifestyle.

The next day, Johnston received a moving letter from a homosexual who attended the rally and seminars. “Dear Michael, I want to say thank you for talking to me at the Hope ’97 meeting. I had seen you on the TV the day before and for some reason I continued to watch...As I was watching I was thinking ‘It’s just another Christian that is going to say how bad I am and that I need to change.’ After the program I felt I needed to find out more about what was happening and really wanted to meet you. The things I heard you say are a lot different than things I have heard at the other meetings I have attended before. You gave me hope again. I had always been blaming others for me being this way. Now I am taking responsibility for the choices that I have made in my life.

“I have ended my relationship with my lover. It’s no longer OK for me to be with him. I have watched the tape you gave me. It’s powerful and I am going to ask my pastor to watch it. It took me two days to finish watching your tape. All the hurt that I had been holding inside myself broke through and I cried. I don’t cry very often for anyone or anything.”

Prior to the Hope ’97 event in Dallas/ Fort Worth, AFA mailed 6000 promotional pieces and two letters to more than 500 pastors. A similar public relations campaign like the one in Phoenix was conducted with the media, both Christian and secular. A total of 70 individuals attended, including only two pastors.

When Tom Pedigo of Colorado Springs, AFA State Director in Colorado, attempted to secure a church to host the rally and seminars, he was turned down completely by every church he contacted. Finally, AFA rented space at a local hotel for the event.

When Pedigo called one church, the pastor told him: “My main focus is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Anything else presented to my people would only sidetrack them.”

“Sir,” Tom responded, “with all due respect, I was a Baptist minister for 20 years and I also taught my people that Jesus called them to be ‘salt and light’ in their society.”

The pastor’s response? “I understand that. But certain ‘sin areas’ are not our priority.”

When told the pastor’s response, Michael Johnston responded: “Do you want me to translate that for you? [He’s saying] ‘Let the homosexuals go to hell.’”

AFA’s Hope ’97 tour will continue. Should you like to see what the pastors and churches are afraid of, we suggest you order a copy of Michael’s video On Wings Like Eagles available from AFA. You might even want to show it to your pastor and church.

AFA president Donald E. Wildmon said of the video: “It is the strongest and most moving video available regarding the homosexual lifestyle. It is the story of how Michael Johnston came to know Christ and the change it made in his life.”  

Help bring hope & healing to your church and community
The video On Wings Like Eagles chronicles the powerful and gripping life of Michael Johnston. It is a story of the yearning for love and acceptance and the struggle between right and wrong, hope and despair.

Ultimately On Wings Like Eagles is a prophetic warning and witness for truth – vital viewing for every pastor, parent and young adult. Michael, a former homosexual, now HIV positive, teaches from a unique perspective about one of the most explosive issues of our time, providing hope for anyone struggling with sin.

Also available: Give Them Hope, an interactive CD including music, video clips and an interview with Michael.