A small Indianapolis congregation is standing firmly behind a sermon in which a lay pastor told gay people to "blow yourself in the back of the head," and its leader says he won't apologize for what he calls "the Word of God."

What Was Said From the Pulpit

The sermon, titled "Pray the Gay Away," was delivered during Pride month at Sure Foundation Baptist Church on the city's northwest side. Falco told the congregation there was "nothing good to be proud about being a f*g," adding, "You ought to blow yourself in the head in the back of the head. You're so disgusting." He went on to accuse gay people of targeting children in schools, a familiar and thoroughly debunked line used to paint LGBTQ+ people as predators.

He wasn't alone. A man identified as "Brother Wayne" followed him with a sermon called "Worthy of Being Beaten," tying his rage at the LGBTQ+ community to broader complaints about immigrants and what he described as a national loss of discipline. "I think they should be put to death," he said of gay people. "I'll go further. I think they should be beaten in public first... and then they should take a gun and blow the back of their heads off."

The Church Refuses to Back Down

Rather than distance itself, church leader Justin Zhong doubled down after the video began circulating and was picked up by local radio station 93 WIBC. "The Bible is crystal clear that sodomites, homosexuals, deserve the death penalty carried out by a government that actually cares about the law of God," Zhong wrote, defending Falco's remarks.

I will not apologize for preaching the Word of God. I will not negotiate with terrorists, among whom the LGBTHIV crowd is full of domestic terrorists.
Justin Zhong, Sure Foundation Baptist Church

Sure Foundation Baptist Church's Indianapolis branch is young, having launched in 2024 with roughly 35 people on a typical Sunday. It grew out of a Vancouver, Washington congregation with roots in Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, and describes itself as "KJV only," meaning it accepts no Bible translation beyond the King James Version. The church isn't formally affiliated with the New Independent Fundamental Baptist movement, which has drawn national scrutiny for years over similar calls for LGBTQ+ people to be executed, but its pastor, Aaron Thompson, reportedly came from a new IFB church in Vancouver, and the theological overlap is unmistakable.

Falco's targets weren't limited to LGBTQ+ people. In a March sermon, he told the congregation Donald Trump would go to hell unless he repented, citing Trump's past remark that he'd date his own daughter if they weren't related. In the same June sermon, Falco said he had "prayed for the death" of former President Joe Biden, whom he called "a wicked reprobate." But by his own admission, his harshest words were saved for gay people.

Indianapolis Pushes Back

The backlash was swift. YouTube pulled the sermon video for violating its terms of service. LGBTQ+ community members and allies protested outside the church on July 13. The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, a coalition of Black faith leaders, issued a statement rejecting the sermon as a distortion of scripture.

Such messages are not only theologically irresponsible but pastorally dangerous. The pulpit must never be used as a weapon to dehumanize, isolate, or incite fear.
Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis

Equality Indiana called the sermon inflammatory and extremist, warning it could inspire real-world violence against LGBTQ+ people, not just rhetorical harm.

Worth Considering

It's tempting to write off a 35-person congregation as a fringe curiosity, but that undersells how these sermons travel. Once a clip lands on social media, it doesn't matter how small the pews are; the words reach far beyond them, and they land in a climate where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric have already surged nationally. Calling for a group's execution isn't theological debate. It's incitement, dressed up in scripture and posted for an audience of thousands.

That same Cato Institute survey found only 40% of Americans think the government should actually step in to stop it, a gap that helps explain why a church can broadcast calls for execution and beatings and face nothing more than a platform takedown. Free speech protections mean sermons like this one are unlikely to carry legal consequences. But community pressure, public condemnation and platforms enforcing their own rules against incitement remain some of the only real checks available, and Indianapolis residents have used all three.

Source: LGBTQ Nation

Cover photo: Tom Fisk / Pexels

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