Christian Mental Health Megacenter Pushes LGBT+ Agenda

A Christian mental health empire in Grand Rapids, Mich. promotes an LGBT+ agenda medically, socially, and politically. Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services claims to operate "from a Christian world-view," despite its historical ties to a Christian denomination that still holds to biblical teachings on marriage and gender. Pine Rest says its mission is "to express the healing ministry of Jesus Christ," but it clarifies that its version of the Christian worldview is "sensitive, inclusive, and without apology."

By any measure, Pine Rest ranks among the nation's largest mental health groups. It claims to be "the second largest non-profit behavioral health provider in the U.S.," according to its website. Its 2024 Annual Report (the most recent posted on its website) recorded annual operating revenue and expenses above $210 million, while it treated nearly 54,000 patients, including more than 7,000 children.

Separately, Philanthropy.org ranks Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services as the nation's 13th-largest "mental-health nonprofit" by revenue and expenses reported on 990 forms -- a slightly larger category with slightly updated data.

This sizable budget translates into a sizable footprint in Western Michigan. Google Maps shows Pine Rest hospital locations in both Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, as well as six geographically separate clinics in Grand Rapids and one each in Kalamazoo and Grand Haven. In March 2026, Pine Rest opened a 136,000-square-foot Pediatric Center of Behavioral Health, which cost $98 million and includes 66 inpatient beds.

Pine Rest dates back to 1910, when it was formed by pastors and laity of the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church in America. While not officially affiliated with any denomination, the institution claims to "still reflect our faith-based heritage in all we do by providing professional behavioral health services that are rooted in Christian teaching and values."

Pine Rest retains residual connections to the Reformed denominations through its donor base. For example, the David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation donated $8 million towards the construction of a Pediatric Center of Behavioral Health. The Van Andel family made its fortune from Amway and has been involved with the Christian Reformed Church for generations.

In 2020, the Christian Reformed Church issued a Human Sexuality Report that grounded its framework for interpreting human sexuality in Jesus's teaching in Matthew 19, which appealed to creation, the fall, and redemption in Christ. The report concluded that "biblical teaching concerning human sexuality ... restricts sexual intercourse to the context of a marriage between husband and wife." It further concluded that, while "some people experience a disconnect between their gender identity and their sex ... there is no redemption in embracing this disconnect as a sign of God's good intent."

Despite its background in this Christian tradition, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services has adopted and advocated for a health care model that unquestioningly promotes LGBT lifestyles.

Using the "Find a Clinician" function on the Pine Rest website, The Washington Stand counted 25 providers listed under the treatment category "LGBTQ+ Affirming Care" (archived here). When TWS further specified "LGBTQ+ Affirming Care" as the treatment category and the patient's age as "Child," TWS counted seven providers in the Pine Rest system (archived here).

"Gender-affirming care" refers to a clinical strategy that never questions a person's expressed internal feelings about their gender in counseling or treatment options. It usually involves providing the patient with cross-sex hormones and ultimately surgeries in a quest to validate their transgender feelings. 

In many cases, the rush to affirmation has caused health care providers to overlook other serious mental health factors, which were therefore left untreated. The alternative to "gender-affirming care" is "watchful waiting," which postpones any drastic physical interventions like drugs or surgery to see whether a person's expressed feelings persist unchanged.

Pine Rest has adopted an official policy to insulate staff who may identify as LGBT from criticism on religious grounds or otherwise. It has an "internal grievance procedure" to swiftly resolve "complaints alleging any action prohibited by Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act." The Pine Rest discrimination notice explains, "Any person who believes s/he has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, age or disability may file a grievance."

However, the application of Section 1557 to gender identity has varied by administration. In 2016, the Obama administration Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) interpreted Section 1557 to apply to gender identity by expanding the definition of "discrimination on the basis of sex" to include gender identity and sexual orientation. In 2020, the Trump administration HHS reversed this policy with a rule applying sex-based discrimination only to discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity or sexual orientation.

In 2024, the Biden administration HHS reversed the policy again, reverting to the 2016 language that defined "discrimination on the basis of sex" to include gender identity and sexual orientation. On July 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi stayed (Tennessee v. Becerra) the effective date of the 2024 rule nationwide "in so far as this final rule is intended to extend discrimination on the basis of sex to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity."

Thus, the Pine Rest non-discrimination policy, in prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity, appears to comply with the Biden-era regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which are currently not in effect. For Pine Rest to maintain its prohibition of discrimination on the basis of gender identity, even when not required by federal regulations, means the policy is a deliberate choice by the organization.

One Pine Rest provider who may benefit from this policy is Dr. Kimberley Kunze, Psy.D. According to her biography page on Pine Rest's website, she strives "to bring a warm, empathetic approach to therapy rooted in honesty and a deep commitment to your growth. I believe transformation happens when clients feel truly seen, heard and supported in a space that fosters trust and openness. ... Ultimately, my mission is to empower clients to break through their barriers, gain confidence, and build a life that's not just better, but more vibrant, fulfilling and true to who they really are." Her listed specialties include "LGBTQ+ Affirming Care" and "Gender Dysphoria/Gender Identity Issues," but otherwise the description of her work is nondescript.

On other sites, Dr. Kunze is more open about her agenda. "I am a clinical psychologist at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids, MI, where I seek to affirm and celebrate gender and sexual diversity," Dr. Kunze states on Transgender Michigan's "TransPages" (apparently a play on "white pages"). She continues:

"I have focused on improving care and access to care for transgender/gender expansive/gender non-conforming individuals since 2012. I am a member of WPATH and can provide outpatient therapy for individuals, families, and couples. I am especially passionate about helping transgender folks who are having trouble being accepted or affirmed by their families, religious institutions, schools, or work. I love to coordinate care with doctors, endocrinologists, and surgeons who serve transgender/gender expansive/gender nonconforming individuals. I am proud to provide letters of support for hormone suppression, hormone replacement therapies and gender confirmation surgeries, when applicable."

In a database for the Grand Rapids LGBTQ+ Healthcare Consortium, Dr. Kunze is listed as a "Member of the LGBTQ+ Community." As her reason for joining the database, Kunze put, "I want to do everything I can to improve access to affirming and dignified healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community." Kunze also appears in a collection of "Transgender Care Listings" on transcaresite.org.

Pine Rest has also sponsored at least three separate Pride events in 2026. The Grand Rapids Trans Foundation announced that it was "Proudly partnering with Pine Rest" to host the Lowell Pride Festival on June 6. In nearby Grand Haven, the Pride festival listed Pine Rest as a "Blue Sponsor," meaning the Christian nonprofit contributed $1,000 to the event. In a brochure for the Pride festival in Holland, Mich., "Out on the Lakeshore," Pine Rest made a short list of "Affirming Therapists." The brochure also featured an LGBT-themed advertisement for Pine Rest:

Relatedly, Pine Rest staff are also involved in pro-LGBT trainings. In May 2026, the Community Action House received a $1,000 grant from the Allegan County Pride Fund for a project titled, "Inclusion, Belonging, and Opportunity for All." According to the grant description, "Funding will support trainings for staff and leadership in partnership with Pine Rest, covering topics like unconscious bias, cultural intelligence, culturally sensitive communication, and inclusive work practices."

Pro-LGBT advocacy at Pine Rest dates back at least several years. In 2022 or 2023, Pine Rest joined a pro-LGBT coalition supporting two state laws which claimed to ban so-called "conversion therapy," although it also prohibited counselors from offering simple talk therapy to clients wishing to leave an LGBT lifestyle.

The coalition was organized by Doug Booth, "a dedicated member of the board of directors for the Grand Rapids LGBTQ Healthcare Consortium," the same organization that featured Dr. Kunze. In the spring of 2022, Booth organized a petition drive, asking the city of Grand Rapids to adopt its own counseling ban.

Eventually, the ambitions of this campaign expanded from Grand Rapids to the entire state of Michigan. In October 2022, Crains Grand Rapids named Booth its "40 Under 40 award recipient" for enlisting "more than 50 businesses and nonprofit organizations and 700 individuals calling for a ban on conversion therapy in Michigan."

The petition website, banconversiontherapymi.com, is no longer supported, so the full list of signatories is unavailable. However, Pine Rest was clearly implicated the next summer by Booth's testimony before the Michigan legislature. On June 7, 2023, Booth testified in support of Michigan's counseling ban (HB 4616 and HB 4617). By this point, Booth said that his coalition had gathered support from 1,100 individuals and 60 organizations, "such as University of Michigan Health-West, Bethany Christian Services, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, the West Michigan Partnership for Children, the Children's Advocacy Center of Kent County, and many more."

Weeks later, Michigan enacted its counseling ban, with Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signing HB 4616 and HB 4617 on July 26, 2023.

However, Michigan's conversion therapy ban was partially blocked last week, when the state agreed to a judgment issued for the Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee, and Hillsdale Counties. The ruling follows the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Chiles v. Salazar, which concluded that a so-called counseling ban in Colorado "censors speech based on its viewpoint." The order prevents Michigan from enforcing its counseling ban "against licensed professionals who engage in therapy that consists exclusively of talking." Pine Rest did not respond to a request for comment on this development.

But Pine Rest's endorsement of an LGBT agenda did not begin with Michigan's counseling ban. Publicly available documents show that Pine Rest was supporting LGBT activity as far back as 2019, although its support may have begun even before then. 

In a February 2020 resource, Grand Rapids Pride listed two Pine Rest providers as "Mental Health Professionals Specializing in LGBTQ+ Issues." One was Dr. Kunze, featured above, and the other was Dr. Krista Anderson, a counselor and GenderSAFE group facilitator. The resource also indicated, with an asterisk, that Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services was a vendor and/or sponsor of the Grand Rapids Pride Festival in 2019.

The motivations informing Pine Rest's embrace of an LGBT agenda remain unexplored. Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services did not respond to a request for comment on this article, including a request to explain the apparent inconsistency of promoting an LGBT agenda while avowing a "Christian world-view."

A common motivation for health care institutions is profit. "Medicalizing some men and women's discomfort with their sex and transforming them into patients for life dependent on medical experiments is, it turns out, incredibly lucrative," noted Quena González, FRC's senior director of Government Affairs. In a 2024 report, the American Principles Project estimated that the gender transition industry in America was worth $4.12 billion in 2022, with an estimated growth rate of 8.4% through 2030.

Whether Pine Rest was motivated by profit or some other undisclosed reason, its pro-LGBT position has enabled it to flourish under the pro-LGBT Whitmer administration. Pine Rest obtained $50 million in state grants for construction of its new pediatric center, or just over half of the $98 million price tag.

Originally published at The Washington Stand