Biola Announces Closure of The Dwelling

The Biola-structured ministry, for students who identify as LGBTQ, closed in the Spring 2026 semester.

At the end of the Fall 2025 semester, Biola University President Barry Corey announced on the Think Biblically podcast that The Dwelling, a ministry for Biola students who identify as LGBTQ+ and same-sex attracted (SSA), would be permanently discontinued in the Spring 2026 semester. In his conversation with Scott Rae and Sean McDowell, Corey explained that the original intention of The Dwelling was to provide pastoral care, but that recent concerns from online content creators and journalists have led to the decision to close it. Corey said he has tasked the President’s Council on Discipleship and Spiritual Formation to develop a new model to care for Biola’s same-sex attracted students.

Biola University campus / Photo via Google Maps

Emerging from a decade of campus tension, The Dwelling, a group housed under Pastoral Care, was founded in 2017 to help students walk with Christ through the unique challenges of their experiences with sexuality and gender. Despite leadership transitions and the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has successfully supported students and provided space for community.

The Chimes asked Mark Muha, vice president of Student Development, what led to the closure of The Dwelling. He said the ministry has always remained aligned with Biola’s long-held Christian convictions, but that confusion across multiple platforms has led to a misrepresentation of The Dwelling.

“The goal of the ministry of The Dwelling has always been to provide pastoral care to help students who sought guidance to steward their sexuality in a Scriptural way and root their identity in Christ, just like we shepherd all our students at Biola,” Muha said. “However, confusion in recent months — stemming from unclear language on our website, news coverage and social media posts — has led to misrepresentations of The Dwelling.”

Muha stated that Biola will continue to seek ways to care for its students who identify as LGBTQ+ and SSA following the closure of The Dwelling in the spring semester. He expanded on the details surrounding the new council.

“Moving forward, President Corey has asked the President’s Council on Discipleship and Spiritual Formation, co-chaired by Dr. Mike Ahn and Dr. Scott Rae, to recommend a new model of how we will deliver on our mandate to care for our students in a way that is biblically faithful, pastorally attentive and more clearly understood,” Muha said. “The Council will present their recommendation to the president during the Spring 2026 term.”

STUDENT REACTIONS TO THE DWELLING’S CLOSURE

For students who are a part of The Dwelling, the abrupt discontinuation of the ministry has sparked feelings of ostracization, fear, and disappointment. They say The Dwelling offered a safe and comfortable place to cultivate fellowship and process their sexuality, gender and faith.

Julia Silverman, a sophomore Cinema and Media Arts major who says she identifies as pansexual and attends The Dwelling, felt caught off guard by Biola’s decision to discontinue the group.

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“I was pretty shocked and I felt really discouraged, because I feel a lot of the [queer] students here on campus already don’t feel very welcomed to be out or open about that part of themselves,” she said. Silverman says The Dwelling was also the first Christian community where she could talk openly about her sexuality.

Pres Wilson, a Sophomore Writing for Film & Television Major, who identifies as a lesbian and attends The Dwelling, says The Dwelling aided her spiritual life and walk with Christ.

“I cannot tell you anything about The Dwelling that has steered me away from my faith in God; if anything, it’s brought me back and brought me back and brought me back,” she said.

Josiah McCracken, a senior Political Science major and Secretary of the Biola Conservatives Club, which will be a Turning Point USA Chapter in 2026, believes the university should have taken a different approach and that the media painted a limited picture of The Dwelling.

“I believe that, given the recent events, the decision to close The Dwelling may not have been the most constructive approach, especially considering the stated reason for its shutdown,” he said.

He went on to express that “Media outlets, mainly The Daily Wire, provided only a narrow and often inaccurate glimpse into the true purpose of The Dwelling, in some cases spreading outright misinformation just to produce another Biola hit piece. Biola, as an institution, should not allow outside noise to dictate “in-house” decisions.”

With the shuttering of The Dwelling, these students say they have lost their sole university-sanctioned refuge. For many, like Silverman, this loss casts a shadow of uncertainty over their future on campus.

“It’s not just shutting down the [ministry], but it almost feels like leaving these students to kind of fend for themselves,” she said, “To have that shut off was like they had to kind of go back to putting up walls around everybody. [The Dwelling] is more than the club; it’s about the whole community and about being able to truly trust in and be vulnerable with God.”

Kelly Van Duine also contributed to this report, which was originally published by Chimes, Biola’s student-run news publication.

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