CHANGED Movement vs. transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed August 30, 2026 3 min read

CHANGED Movement is an American ex-gay and ex-trans Christian ministry. CHANGED features religious testimony by people who claim they are no longer lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The group actively opposes bans on anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy.

Background

CHANGED was founded by Ken Williams and Elizabeth Woning, both pastors at Bethel Church in Redding, California. Bethel Church is also home to Moral Revolution, another anti-trans organization founded by Kris Vallotton.

Williams and Woning both no longer identify as gay.

According to the Bethel Church website:

“CHANGED is both a movement and a ministry led by Bethel pastors Elizabeth Woning and Ken Williams, who both left behind LGBTQ and married opposite sex spouses almost two decades ago. As they began working together in 2016 to equip Bethel and other churches to navigate LGBTQ, California proposed new legislation that would have stolen freedoms of religion and conscience from those seeking to follow their faith convictions on matters of sexuality.”

Anti-trans activism

In 2018, Williams and Woning testified in opposition to California Assembly Bill 2943, which would have classified paid conversion-therapy services and related materials as consumer fraud.

Williams and Woning compiled dozens of personal testimonies into the 2018 book CHANGED: #OnceGay Stories.

CHANGED is a co-signatory on a 2022 declaration by International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice that claims “banning ‘conversion therapy’ infringes human rights and freedoms.”

Their website’s #OnceTrans tag lists a number of ex-trans activists:

United States

Outside United States

Jeremy Bate (Australia)
Spouses Simon Noel [ex-trans activist] and Ruth Shekinah Noel [former gender nonconforming queer person] (Malaysia)
Edmund Smith (Malaysia)
Michael Edward Ukus (Indonesia)

References

Cruz, Eliel (April 19, 2024). The Changing Face of Conversion Therapy. Teen Vogue https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-changing-face-of-conversion-therapy

Toesland, Finbarr (February 19, 2025). Exporting Conversion Therapy: A trans-Atlantic evangelical alliance is popularizing a dangerous and debunked practice across African nations. The Progressive Magazine https://progressive.org/magazine/exporting-conversion-therapy-toesland-20250219/

Swan, Kim (March 4, 2024). Founder of ‘Ex-gay’ Group Comes Out as Trans – Again. OutSFL https://outsfl.com/national/founder-of-ex-gay-group-comes-out-as-trans-again

Miller, A. W. (2022). #Oncegay stories: Exploring social conversion through the Changed Movement. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 16(3), 224–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2022.2033814

Anti-trans coverage

Brown, Jon (June 17, 2025). Ex-LGBT Christians gather at Calif. state Capitol to protest gov’t censorship, offer hope. Christian Post https://www.christianpost.com/news/ex-gay-christians-gather-at-california-state-capitol-to-give-hope.html

Johnston, Jeff (October 11, 2022). Changed Movement Provides Alternative to ‘National Coming Out Day.’ Focus on the Family / Daily Citizen https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/changed-movement-provides-alternative-to-national-coming-out-day/

Johnston, Jeff (September 16, 2022). Elizabeth Woning Left Lesbianism for a Relationship with Christ – She Wants Others to Have that Same Freedom. Focus on the Family / Daily Citizen https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/elizabeth-woning-left-lesbianism-for-a-relationship-with-christ-she-wants-others-to-have-that-same-freedom/

Staff report (January 5, 2020). Former LGBTQers Testify: If You No Longer Want to Be Gay or Transgender, You Don’t Have to Be. CBN https://cbn.com/news/us/former-lgbtqers-testify-if-you-no-longer-want-be-gay-or-transgender-you-dont-have-be

Showalter, Brandon (November 1, 2019). Former LGBT-identified men, women and Pulse survivors share stories of transformation at US capitol. Christian Post https://www.christianpost.com/news/former-lgbt-identified-men-women-and-pulse-survivors-share-stories-of-transformation-at-us-capitol.html

Selected writing by CHANGED

Woning, Elizabeth (September 23, 2025). Our ex-LGBTQ+ community’s reflection on Charlie Kirk’s murder. Christian Post https://www.christianpost.com/voices/our-ex-lgbtq-community-and-charlie-kirks-murder.html

Brief of Amicus Curiae CHANGED Movement in Support of Petitioner, Chiles v. Salazar, No. 24-539 (U.S. Dec. 12, 2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-539/335082/20241213134219541_241212a%20AC%20Brief%20for%20efiling.pdf

(). https://www.changedmovement.com/press-1/on-jeffrey-mccall-former-leader-of-freedom-march [archive]