Questions About Sharing

Sharing a story:

Q: What kinds of stories should I share?

A: We want to hear about your personal experience regarding LGBT inclusion in the church. Speak from your unique perspective, rather than try to relay another’s experience. Here are some questions to get you started:

• Were you once not supportive of LGBT inclusion, but now are? What changed your mind?


• Have you been rejected from a church community for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? Has the church community since changed its thinking? Have you found a welcoming church community? What did the experience of rejection do to your faith?


• Have you seen LGBT inclusion at work in your church? What are some of the successes? The challenges?


• Why do you Believe Out Loud? Why do you think it’s important to do so? What Christian values and teachings inspire you to Believe Out Loud?

Q. Can I share my story anonymously?

A. Yes.

Q: What types of pictures should I share?

A: Show us how you believe out loud. We’d love to see pictures of events, congregations, groups of friends and individuals that demonstrate how you are breaking the silence around LGBT inclusion in the church. Please make sure you have the rights to use the photo that you are uploading and please don’t upload photos of other people without their permission.

Q: My picture isn’t uploading, what’s wrong?

A: Check your file extension. We can accept jpeg, jpg, gif and png file extensions. Also the maximum allowable size is 1MG. Try resizing your picture to no more than 600x600 pixels.

Q: What kind of videos should I share?

A: We’d love to see expressions of how you Believe Out Loud at church and in your community. Show us your events, worship experiences or personal testimonies. Get creative! And please be sure you have permission to publish any material containing other people’s stories or identities.

Q: Can I upload my video directly to your website?

A: No, you must first upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo and then share the link with us. Again, as with pictures, please do not send us videos of other people without their permission. Once we receive the link and your video is uploaded to our site, the responsibility of permission to use will rest with you.

User Agreement. The following Rules of Conduct apply to all Sites. By using any Site, you agree that you will not post any User Content nor engage in any activity on any Site that:

(a) is defamatory, libelous, abusive, harassing, threatening, or an invasion of a right of privacy of another person;
(b) is bigoted, hateful, or racially or otherwise offensive;
(c) is violent, vulgar, obscene, pornographic or otherwise sexually explicit; or otherwise harms or can reasonably be expected to harm any person or entity;
(d) is illegal or encourages or advocates illegal activity or the discussion of illegal activities with the intent to commit them;
(e) infringes or violates any right of a third party including, without limitation, (i) copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary or contractual rights; (ii) right of privacy (specifically, you must not distribute another person's personal information of any kind without their express permission) or publicity; or (iii) any confidentiality obligation;
(f) is commercial, business-related or advertises or offers to sell any products, services or otherwise (whether or not for profit), or solicits others (including solicitations for contributions or donations);
(g) contains a virus or other harmful component, or otherwise tampers with, impairs or damages the Sites or any connected network, or otherwise interferes with any person or entity's use or enjoyment of the Sites; or
(h) does not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of the relevant Public Forum;
(i) violates any specific restrictions applicable to a Public Forum, including ,without limitation, its age restrictions and procedures; or
(j) is antisocial, disruptive, or destructive, including "flaming," "spamming," "flooding," "trolling," and "griefing" as those terms are commonly understood and used on the Internet. Believe Out Loud does not assure that other users are or will be complying with the foregoing Rules of Conduct or any other provisions of these Terms of Use. You hereby assume all risk of harm or injury resulting from any such lack of compliance.