Matthew Vines

Matthew Vines is the founder and executive director of The Reformation Project and the author of God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. He lives in Lenexa, Kansas.

Matthew attended Harvard University from 2008 to 2010. He then took a leave of absence in order to research the Bible and same-sex relationships and work toward LGBTQ inclusion in the church. In March 2012, Matthew delivered a speech at a church in his hometown about the Bible and same-sex relationships, calling for acceptance of gay Christians and their marriage relationships. Since then, the video of the speech has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube, leading to a feature story in The New York Times that fall.

In 2013, Matthew launched The Reformation Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to training LGBTQ Christians and allies to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Reformation Project has hosted conferences in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Kansas City, and Los Angeles; the 2017 national conference will be held in Chicago from October 26-28. The Reformation Project also runs a leadership development cohort for LGBTQ Christians and allies each spring, as well as an event series at non-affirming churches called “Elevating the Dialogue on LGBTQ Inclusion in the Church.”

(This biographical statement provided by Matthew Vines.)