Ex-gay minister Frank Worthen’s memorial service is set for March 25, more than a month after he died. Worthen passed away Feb. 11 at age 87.
“Anita, Frank’s wife, is doing as well as can be expected after losing her beloved husband. Our loss is truly heaven’s gain,” Restored Hope Network’s Anne Paulk said in a newsletter.
Worthen, who struggled with same-sex attraction since childhood, helped found Exodus International, a ministry to set men and women free from homosexuality. He also founded Restored Hope Network, among other ministries.
Some considered the minister the “Mother Teresa” of ex-gay ministries.
“A great man has gone to God’s great reward. Frank Worthen, who is considered to be the father of the ex-gay movement, went to be with his greatest love, Jesus, this morning,” David Kyle Foster, a former homosexual and ex-male prostitute, said.
Paulk said this about Worthen’s legacy:
Frank finished well. He paved a path that many followed, myself included. He demonstrated faithfulness to Jesus for the remainder of his life after giving it completely over to the Lord in 1973. He went on to help found Exodus International and Restored Hope Network after attempting to bring Exodus back into theological and missional integrity under Alan Chamber’s errant leadership.
Frank was a key advisor and friend to me and to many others. His influence is hardly understated. This is a huge loss for many, but heaven’s gain and I do look forward to finishing my life well and gathering with Frank and the rest of the saints in the presence of God in glory.
I went to visit Frank recently and gathered his thoughts, many of which will be shared at our summer conference, HOPE 2017, where he will be posthumously awarded our first Lifetime of Service award to be named in his honor.
More than that, Frank was a loving husband to Anita, devoted to his step-son Tony and committed to the work of God in helping those who had same-sex attraction overcome sin and live victoriously. He was an elder at Open Door Church, San Rafael and highly regarded at his country church in rural Northern California, where he and Anita “retired.”
Frank couldn’t seem to retire and had many projects that were still in action months before leaving this earth. In 2012, he came out of “retirement” to be a key point person, with myself and Stephen Black, in founding Restored Hope Network.
Worthen founded a handful of other ministries and programs as well, including Love In Action (LIA), the first-ever residential program for men wishing to overcome their unwanted same-sex attractions.
You can read Worthen’s testimony here. {eoa}
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