‘Gays are going to hell’ School Responds To Comments Made To Students By Guest Speaker
Image: Image: Wikimedia Commons
A prominent Brisbane private school has launched a review of its guest speaker procedures after a Christian ministry trainee allegedly told students that gay people would go to hell.
Jonathan Vickers, a trainee associated with St Lucia Bible Church, addressed Year 7 and Year 8 students during a chapel service at St Peters Lutheran College in Indooroopilly last week.
However his comments did not go down well with all parents and students.
Complains lodged over anti-gay remarks by school speaker
The remarks, delivered to children aged about 12 and 13, prompted complaints and multiple communications from the school to parents. St Peters has since acknowledged the distress caused within its community and distanced itself from the message attributed to Vickers.
Head of College Tim Kotzur said the school regretted that parts of the presentation had caused genuine concern.
“The college recognises and regrets that some comments in the presentation caused genuine concerns for members of our community” he said in a statement.
He stressed that a person’s dignity and value were not conditional on their identity, sexuality, beliefs or circumstances writng “As a Lutheran school, we believe that every person is loved by God, and the dignity and worth of each person is not conditional upon their background, beliefs, identity, sexuality or circumstances.”
“The college does not support any message that could be interpreted as diminishing dignity, respect or belonging for any member of our community, nor do we believe faith should be communicated through fear or shame.
“We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the service, including the processes for selecting external speakers, to ensure that messages align with the college’s values and educational philosophy.”
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie publicly condemned the comments at a press conference on Friday stating “I haven’t seen those reports and comments, but that’s completely inappropriate.”
Vickers is listed by St Lucia Bible Church as a Ministry Training Strategy trainee for 2026–27.
The church holds regular services at Ironside State School in St Lucia. However, it does not provide religious instruction at that school, and there is no suggestion Ironside was involved in the St Peters chapel presentation.
The controversy has renewed scrutiny of how religious schools communicate teachings about sexuality to young people.
In 2022, Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College attracted national criticism after asking families to sign an enrolment contract containing provisions concerning sexuality and gender identity. The document described homosexual activity as sinful and asserted that gender distinctions would be applied according to biological sex.
Citipointe withdrew the contract following widespread opposition. The episode led to protests, staff and student departures and continuing debate about protections for LGBTQIA+ students in faith-based education.
You May Also Like
Support the Star Observer… while you still can
LGBTQIA+ media is under threat. Queer content is censored by tech conglomerates who amplify bigotry and push out AI slop — so we receive less financial support than ever.
When our community is muzzled and intolerance intensifies, we need queer media more than ever. Your donation means we can continue paying queer journalists to write queer news.
Don’t rely on the straight lies of big tech – support Star Observer instead and donate now.
Leave a Reply