“The rainbow is in Genesis. What I love about that is that it’s the Lord’s.”
The woman who leads a growing number of former LGBTQ people who are now following Jesus instead, MJ Nixon, remembers hearing the gospel at a church as she sat next to her female partner of six years.
Drawn by the worship with guitars, drums and a clear message of salvation, MJ knew seeds were planted within her that day, though they remained dormant during the ongoing season with the woman she met in college.
“We both innately knew that there’s always a tug-of-war between the spirit and flesh, so we started to pray for a way out of the relationship,” said Nixon, who today leads a ministry she co-founded with a man who was gay at one time.
The Lord answered both women’s prayers.
Nixon clearly remembers the day because it was the last time she saw her girlfriend and the first experience she had hearing the voice of God.
“I was driving from Kentucky to Atlanta alone when the Lord said, ‘MJ, you have to choose this day life or death, blessings or curses.'”
Recognizing the words from Proverbs 18:21, Nixon saw in the Spirit a line in the sand. She knew the Lord was calling her to lay down the relationship, her sexuality, and potentially calling her to live a celibate, single life.
It was a frightening challenge for Nixon, a former college basketball player, but she accepted the Lord’s call to a new lifestyle of discipleship and sanctification.
Growing up, Nixon was a middle child between a younger and older brother. The family was conservative and Catholic – a cause of Nixon’s shame and secret about her sexuality, until the day she saw Jesus in a vision.
“I encountered the living God as He’s sacrificing Himself for me,” Nixon said.
Reflecting on that day and a Mark Twain quote – “The two greatest days in your life are the day you were born and the day you realize why” – Nixon realized God’s purpose for her.
“Because I was yet a sinner up until that moment that Jesus saw me. He wanted to have a relationship with me. Anything I had to lay down doesn’t compare to what Jesus has done for me,” Nixon said.
Fifteen years after her encounter with the Lord, the memory still empowers Nixon to take up her cross daily to follow Jesus, who is greater than any struggle, desire or pull of the flesh.
“With that has come so much peace and joy, though it’s not always easy,” said Nixon.
In February of this year, Nixon was a guest speaker at a Texas megachurch after she met its pastor at her brother’s wedding.
The founding pastor of Faithbridge Church, Ken Werlein, invited Nixon to speak to a seminary class of students he teaches after hearing her testimony and about the ministries she leads.
Though the seminary class was small, the Holy Spirit moved as Nixon shared with students her testimony of distorted identity and same-sex attraction.
“One of the students emailed the next morning and said the class was incredibly needed because, ‘I’ve struggled with that and it has given me so much hope,'” Werlein said.
WATCH “Sexual Identity: A Conversation with MJ Nixon at Faithbridge Church
Nixon explained that some LGBTQ people get saved and then marry the opposite gender, but, for many others, the men and women begin a journey of walking with the Lord, living for Him and dying to their flesh.
For those who are called to singleness and celibacy, the Body of Christ provides valuable community, support and discipleship for formerly LGBTQ people, as well as for everyone else who comes to faith in Jesus.
“I would love for the church to be a safe place where someone can process and walk through this transformation as God works in their hearts,” said Nixon.
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She believes God wants to raise up more spiritual fathers and mothers because many who come into the kingdom feel like orphans after leaving the LGBTQ community.
“We believe there is an undercurrent that is happening in this generation of so many coming out from this place of false identity into their true identity as sons and daughters,” said Nixon.
The ministry she co-founded plans to march in New York City – not during June “pride” events – but in December, the happiest season of all for some who celebrate Christmas.
Freedom March – now in its ninth year – first rallied in Washington, D.C., bringing worship, evangelism and prayer to each subsequent city, including Portland in 2025.
Since 2018, Nixon and a combination of male and female leaders who’ve come to faith in Jesus have adopted the rainbow’s significance and visibility at Freedom March.
“The rainbow is in Genesis. What I love about that is that it’s the Lord’s; it is not the enemy’s,” said Nixon.
She sees in the rainbow God’s love for all humanity, instead of an agenda or wicked thing. “I see a community of people that doesn’t not understand God’s mercy for them,” Nixon said.
The rainbow also represents God’s completion with seven colors, unlike the LGBTQ community’s alteration of it.
“They took out a color, indigo, leaving six. It actually represents the fall of man. It literally represents their pride,” Nixon added.
Rainbow Revival leaders pray for a year, asking the Lord where He wants Freedom March to go next. Whatever city He chooses becomes a cause for more intercession.
Freedom March is for everybody, Nixon pointed out. Cultivating community is important, along with Rainbow Revival’s three foundational principles: discipleship, prayer and evangelism.
During Pride Month in Atlanta, Nixon’s home city, 80,000 people turn out for one of the big, citywide events. She believes about 60 percent of the people who come to the event are allies of the LGBTQ community.
“We as Freedom March and Rainbow Revival, are calling the Body of Christ to come and stand with us at these marches, standing on the Word of God, His principles and the gospel; you don’t have to be former LGBTQ.”
“We need the Body of Christ to come and stand with us, to hold our arms, to be alongside us,” Nixon said.
