Freedom March Celebrates Broken Chains, Transformed Lives in Christ

On October 18, 2009, Ronald McCray had an encounter with the Holy Spirit that transformed his life from one of homosexuality and promiscuity to one of freedom and power to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

On Saturday, May 25, 2019, McCray, along with many others whom Christ has set free from similar circumstances, had an opportunity to share his incredible testimony with hundreds in attendance and thousands more throughout the nation via Facebook live from the Freedom March in Washington, D.C.

A diverse group of Christians who have been delivered from LGBTQ lifestyles celebrated their freedom in the nation’s capital Saturday through worship and testimony. Freedom March’s purpose is to connect, bridge and equip through connecting fellow overcomers, reaching out to the LGBTQ community in each city and equipping the local church.

McCray says he grew up in the church but spent several years in the LGBTQ community–until his encounter with Jesus nearly 10 years ago. He is now married to another former member of the LGBTQ community, Fetima, a woman he knew from childhood. They now have a child together.

McCray, who was sexually abused early in life, says he is grateful that God pursued him until he finally discovered the truth.

“At 9 years old, I had an experience that led me to an understanding of sexuality, and that led me to an out-of-control lifestyle,” said McCray, who was the subject of a film by Uprooted Heart Inc. called Here’s My Heart: A Documentary of Surrendering to Freedom, in 2017. “I sought to fill a void in my life with a lot of things, including the homosexual lifestyle, but never found fulfillment in any of those.

“I thought that God wanted nothing to do with me. I was drunk one night and at a club dancing when God began to speak to me. He began to chase me down. He began to send witnesses to me to remind me of His love. He spoke to my heart and said, ‘I have so much more for you. I have so much in store for you.’ So He took me and He redeemed me. I received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and I was delivered from the bondage of homosexuality and sin. I clung to 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says, ‘Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.’

“In an age where many people say it cannot be done. … I agree that conversion therapy is not the answer. I’ve never been to a doctor or a psychiatrist about same-sex attraction and how to cease from promiscuity. I thought my sin was unredeemable, but despite the life I was living, Jesus still loved me. I’m here to tell you, He loves you too and will deliver you.”

Fetima McCray, who has been married to Ronald for three years, was also featured in the Uprooted Heart documentary. For years, she says, she struggled with an identity crisis after losing several members of her family to death before she turned 23, including her father, when she was only 1 year old.

Her personal losses, she says, led to feelings of being unloved, and then snowballed to depression, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, addiction to masturbation and lesbianism. But then, she finally found her identity in Christ and has been serving God ever since.

“I spent so much time trying to find out who I was, but, you know, God knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb,” Fetima said. “He knit me together, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Jesus. I didn’t have to create anything.

“Jesus knows your struggles. He knows your frailties, your brokenness, your pain, your wounds, the generational curses you face. He knows all of that and yet, He still desires a relationship with you. He created you with a purpose in mind. The enemy will continually test you, but I am not the desires of my flesh. I choose not to identify with that. I put my flesh under subjection, and I will be who God says I can be. There’s help for you, there’s healing available. The gospel of Christ is never hindered because God is never hindered.”

Last May, a handful of people gathered near the National Mall in Washington to share how Christ set them free from homosexuality. Since then, Freedom March founder Jeffrey McCall and his team organized a similar rally in Los Angeles and have planned others in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Orlando, Florida.

MJ Nixon, the founder and CEO of Uprooted Heart Inc. and author of The Journey Back Home, also spoke Saturday at the Freedom March and says God is using those who have left the homosexual lifestyle to bring a powerful testimony to the nation.

“My heart is just overwhelmed by this event,” Nixon says. “This is a mighty army God is building up. What I see out here, we are all of the same heart. I see the Lord’s beauty in a way I’ve never seen before.

“Today we don’t march in hate. God is not shaking His fist toward anyone. It is His love that led me toward repentance. It was Him who reached me in the midst of my brokenness. I didn’t have to make myself righteous and justified. He did that for me. We stand for revival with the LGBTQ community. We’re not here to change anyone but to make Jesus known. This is just the beginning. A seed is being planted, and He will bring it to fertile ground.”