In this video testimony posted by First Stone Ministries, Stephen Black recounts how childhood victimization and adolescent experiences led him into a homosexual lifestyle marked by compulsion and confusion. Drawing from his personal journey, Stephen describes how faith in Jesus Christ brought genuine transformation and freedom. His testimony serves as a message of hope for those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction, pointing to the power of the Gospel to heal and restore a life of holiness.
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2026 Summer Newsletter
The Summer 2026 First Stone Ministries newsletter centers on the theme of idolatry and inner child work. Women's Minister Bronwyn Welch offers a biblically grounded call to wholehearted devotion, warning against the subtle ways idols compete for our hearts. Office Administrator Joseph Thiessen shares a vulnerable personal account of reconnecting with his wounded childhood self through Husband Material Academy. Director Laura Leigh Stanlake contributes a warm anniversary reflection honoring 33 years of ministry and the many faithful people who shaped First Stone's story.
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Fifty Years of Faithfulness
In this heartfelt reflection, First Stone Ministries Director Laura Leigh Stanlake looks back on 33 years of ministry — from her introduction to Jeff Janes at a wedding to joining staff full-time in 1997. She honors the many staff members and volunteers whose unique gifts shaped the ministry's culture of honesty, hospitality, and healing. Laura's reflection is a tribute to community as the vehicle God consistently uses to bring hurting people into His presence and toward restoration.
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Regaining the Lost Voice of my Childhood
In this personal reflection shared by First Stone Ministries, Joseph Thiessen describes his journey through Husband Material Academy — a men's ministry program built around emotional healing rather than accountability alone. Through exercises like meeting his childhood self in imagination, writing blessing letters, and spending intentional time reconnecting with the boy he once was, Joseph began to recover a voice that had long been silent. He describes it as the most intentionally healing experience he has ever encountered.
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What Competes for Our Hearts? The Trouble of Idols
In this biblically rich article from First Stone Ministries, the author explores how idolatry — loving anything more than God — divides our allegiance and draws our hearts away from Him. Using passages from the Psalms, Isaiah, the Gospels, and the letters of Paul, the piece calls readers to honestly examine what they seek for comfort, approval, control, or security apart from God. The answer is not mere self-improvement, but wholehearted repentance and a full return to the Lord.
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What is Changing, and Why
Marking 50 years of ministry, First Stone Ministries announces a thoughtful evolution in how it communicates and ministers. While remaining firmly grounded in biblical conviction and the belief that healing is found in Jesus Christ alone, the ministry is adopting warmer, more accessible language, refreshing its website, and shifting internally toward Scripture-based identity formation rather than self-assessment. The goal is clear — to meet people where they are, welcome their whole story, and walk with them patiently toward freedom and wholeness in Christ.
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Holding Love and Truth When It’s Challenging
In this thoughtful article from First Stone Ministries, the author — a parent personally navigating a child's gender identity questions — examines how cultural pressure has redefined empathy as agreement rather than understanding. Drawing on Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 13, and the cautionary example of Aaron, the piece calls believers to hold love and truth together without yielding to coercive demands. True empathy, the author concludes, does not affirm what is contrary to God's will — it points people to Jesus.
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The Problem with Unforgiveness
“The Problem with Unforgiveness” warns that refusing to forgive carries severe spiritual consequences, as Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:14–15. Unforgiveness blocks prayer, fosters spiritual dryness, opens doors to the enemy, and reflects a graceless heart. Drawing from Acts 8:22–23 and June Hunt’s Forgiveness, the article details harmful traits—bitterness, pride, judgment, vengefulness—that poison relationships with God and others. By contrast, forgiveness reflects God’s nature, breaks captivity to sin, and restores freedom, intimacy, and spiritual vitality in the believer’s life.
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The Great Pronoun Debate: Should I Use Someone’s Preferred Pronouns?
Laura Smalts argues that using preferred pronouns contrary to biological sex conflicts with God’s intentional design of male and female in creation. She highlights purposes for sex distinctions—fruitfulness, complementary gifting, and whole‑body sexual differentiation—alongside research on the brain’s rapid recognition of sex. Smalts contends affirming cross‑sex identity harms truth and obscures God’s glory reflected differently in men and women. Practically, she advises kindness, restraint with pronouns, using given names cautiously, asking questions like Jesus, and prioritizing respectful, gospel‑centered conversations.
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Testimonies on YouTube
Curated testimonies on our YouTube channel. We hope you are blessed by these.
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Porn & Sex are Women's Issues Too!
Host Garry Ingraham talks with guest Laura Leigh Stanlake.
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