BOOK RELEASE: Check out Ready to Talk by Equip VP Amber Garrett Carroll

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About

Our Mission

Equip is a premier consulting and training solution for churches aspiring to be places where LGBT+ people embrace and thrive according to historic sexual ethics.

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Vision

In addition to equipping Christian leaders to better care for gay people according to a historic sexual ethic and teach everyone about God’s love and wisdom for gay people, Equip takes it a step further…

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We help churches prevent the wounds of the closet, raise the bar for everyone’s sexual stewardship, and ensure that vocational singles find lifelong family, not loneliness. We yearn for the Church to become a place where children hear their parents and pastors talk about same-sex attraction in theologically accurate and compassionate ways. So that when, in late elementary school or early middle school, some children realize they are attracted to other boys and girls of the same sex, they no longer respond with shame, fear, or hiding. Instead, we desire for them to share with their parents and pastors because they have heard that God still loves them and has good things for them. We help everyone in your church thrive according to God’s good and weighty wisdom. We do this through long-term partnerships that lead to long-lasting results, beginning with our signature Blueprint Process to identify a vision and strategy customized for your church.

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Beliefs

God has revealed His wisdom for every person’s sexual stewardship through the Church and the Scriptures, including God’s good and weighty wisdom for gay* people…

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  • God calls the Church to love and serve those who experience same-sex attraction regardless of what their journeys look like.
  • God loves LGBT+ people and values the gifts, talents, and fellowship they can offer the Body of Christ.
  • God promises a lifetime of sanctification and provision of fullness through Christ to all who seek Him faithfully.
  • People do not choose who they are attracted to, but they do choose how they respond. While we affirm and teach from a historic sexual ethic, we respect all people’s right to follow their own paths.

Equip does not promise change in a person’s same-sex attraction. Equip does not advocate for reparative therapy or sexual orientation change therapy. Learn more about our perspective on “pray the gay away” practices inside churches and counseling centers here. Learn more about what we believe here.

*We use a range of vocabulary to reach non-Christian teens and young adults with the gospel. Learn why here.

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Statement of Faith

As an evangelical and ecumenically Christian organization that works with churches from a variety of denominations, we believe in a historic understanding of the Nicene Creed and affirm the Lausanne Covenant.

Meet the Staff

Pieter Valk, LPC

Executive Director

Pieter established Equip in 2014. He’s a writer and speaker about discernment, vocational singleness, and LGBT+ topics according to a historic sexual ethic published in places like Christianity Today and Mere Orthodoxy. Pieter is a teacher and aspiring deacon in the Anglican Church in North America about celibacy and sexuality. He is a founding brother of the Nashville Family of Brothers, an ecumenical monastery building lifelong family for men called to vocational singleness. Pieter is a licensed professional counselor and  specializes in serving gay Christians hoping to steward their sexualities according to a historic sexual ethic. He graduated with Highest Honors in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University, studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and earned a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lipscomb University.

Pieter is motivated by the pain and beauty of his story and the stories of fellow gay Christians submitting their sexualities to the Lordship of Christ. Learn more about Pieter’s story here.

Equip is stewarded by a Board of Directors. Contact them at theboard@equipyourcommunity.org.

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Amber Garrett Carroll

Vice President of Impact and Parent Resources

Amber Carroll is the Vice President of Impact and Parent Resources at Equip, where she leads the development of resources that help families navigate conversations about God’s wisdom for sex, sexuality, and gender. Since joining Equip in 2019, she has helped shape many of the ministry’s parent initiatives. She is the author of Ready to Talk: A Christian Parent’s Guide to Gender and Sexuality and the creator of Equip’s Parent Course, a comprehensive video curriculum designed to help parents of children ages 2–12 confidently disciple their kids toward God’s wisdom for sexual stewardship.

Through practical conversation scripts, articles, webinars, and training resources, Amber has equipped thousands of parents, caregivers, children’s ministry leaders, and pastors to move from fear and uncertainty to confident, grace-filled discipleship. She has also developed many of Equip’s core educational resources and curated its extensive library of parent and children’s ministry content.

Amber’s passion for this work is both professional and deeply personal. As a mother of two and someone whose former husband left their marriage and the Christian faith after coming out as gay, she has experienced firsthand the questions many Christian families face. That experience fuels her commitment to equip parents with practical tools rooted in biblical conviction and genuine compassion so that families are prepared to disciple their children well and every person, including those who experience same-sex attraction or gender incongruence, encounters a Church that communicates both God’s love and the goodness of his design.

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Brett Eddy

Operations Administrator

Brett joined Equip in June 2025. He first discovered Equip after hearing Pieter’s story on a podcast and has followed the ministry’s work ever since through the monthly newsletter. When Equip posted an opening for a part-time Operations Administrator, Brett reached out. He has been serving alongside Pieter and Amber behind the scenes ever since.

For more than 20 years, Brett has served as a youth pastor at the same church in Wilmington, NC, working with middle and high school students and the adult volunteers who lead them. He’s passionate about creating environments where students can encounter the truth of the Gospel and engage in meaningful conversations about how it shapes their lives.

Brett is also a husband and a father to one adult daughter and two teenage sons. He’s excited to support the work that Pieter and Amber are doing through Equip and deeply believes that the Church should be a place where LGBT+ people can thrive in their relationship with God and where every teenager knows they are loved, no matter what.

Equip Collaborative Team

Greg McElyea

Guest Contributor

Simone Smith

Guest Contributor

Grant Overbeek

Guest Contributor

Lexi Carver

Guest Contributor

Iam Vargas Pereria

Español Resources Partner

Jessica McIntosh

Creative Team Member, photography

Vincent Nel

Creative Team Member, videography

John and Kathleen Dodd

Parent Care Liaisons

Jesse White

Trans Content Advisor

Kat Lapraire

Trans Content Advisor

Kailey Cornett

Ministry Collaborator

Board of Directors

Equip is stewarded by a Board of Directors. You may contact them at:

theboard@equipyourcommunity.org

Vincent Nel

Licensed Minister and Creative Producer

Rev. Dr. Erin Moniz

ACNA Deacon, Baylor University Chaplain, and Author

Staff care

Stephen Groner

Speech Pathologist Business Owner

Board Treasurer

Lauren Voncannon

Communications & Marketing Strategist

Lauren joined Equip in August 2020. She serves as the Marketing and Communications Strategist. Lauren is passionate about equipping Christians to better love sexual minorities. Lauren envisions the standardization of compassionate conversations regarding sexual minorities in the Church. She just wrote her first book, Trust Me, I’ve Got This, which details her own journey with same sex attraction, while also being a Christian.

She earned a BS in Communications from Liberty University in 2018 where she worked in several different roles from campus leadership to co-hosting a radio show. Now a Tennessee resident, Lauren is originally from North Carolina.

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Join the team

Do you have expertise in fund development, web development, or consulting/training? Are you passionate about helping churches become places where gay people can thrive according to God’s wisdom? Contact us today to start a conversation!

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Pastors,

Ready to take the first step towards equipping your church to better care for gay people?
CONNECT WITH AN EXPERT
Contact Us

info@equipyourcommunity.org 
(615) 787-8205