A disturbing sermon delivered at an Indianapolis church has drawn sharp condemnation after the preacher called for the death penalty and suicide of LGBTQ+ individuals, sparking outrage across the community and among religious leaders.
The message came during a sermon titled “Pray the Gay Away” at Sure Foundation Baptist Church, located on the city’s northwest side. Preached during the church’s “Men’s Preaching Night,” the event was livestreamed on Facebook.
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“There’s nothing good to be proud about being a f****. You ought to blow yourself in the head, in the back of the head. You’re so disgusting,”* said Stephen Falco from the pulpit.
In a continued tirade, Falco denounced queer individuals, claiming they target children and should be met with open rejection.
“A bunch of f***** that want to come around, walk on our streets, and demand our children, and we should walk in the eye and say, ‘No, you’re not going to have our children,’”* he added.
Falco’s sermon included repeated calls for the execution of LGBTQ+ people.
When I-Team 8 contacted the church, a spokesperson stood by Falco’s statements, writing in an email:
“He’s only calling for the death penalty and suicide for the actual sodomites (homosexuals). The Bible teaches that those people are worthy of death. They are supposed to be executed by the government. We are not to take the law into our own hands.”
Community Reaction
The sermon has drawn widespread condemnation from local clergy, advocates, and former members of fundamentalist churches.
Ali Klausing, a mother of four and LGBTQ+ advocate, emphasized the harmful impact such messages have—especially on young people.
“Children are targeted silently and violently,” Klausing said. “These children don’t know social constructs until we teach them that, and so when we’re teaching them through hate and disguising it through Scripture, what we’re doing is abusing them invisibly.”
The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis called the message “theologically irresponsible and pastorally dangerous.”
Eric Skwarczynski, a former fundamentalist church member and host of the Preacher Boys podcast, said hate-filled language like Falco’s was once whispered behind closed doors—but is now boldly public.
“You’re just seeing it get worse and worse,” he said. “I don’t know which one’s scarier—the people who say it, or those who silently agree but never say it out loud.”
He noted that within some fundamentalist circles, such extremism is encouraged and even escalated as churches compete to be more radical.
“The phrase ‘they need to be shot in the back of the head’ was said more than once,” Skwarczynski added. “Clearly, it’s something being repeated from within their community.”
Klausing said she sees these individuals as deeply disconnected from empathy.
“When this stuff happens, I look at them and I think they’re sick and need mental health help,” she said. “They’re so disconnected from themselves and from love.”
I-Team 8 has reached out to the church’s broader denomination leadership but has not yet received a response.
