Riding for religious change.

Jarrett Lucas, 20, was raised by his grandparents as a Jehovah's Witness. He was 14 when he told them he was gay, and they promptly kicked him out of the house.

But Lucas kept his life together, and now he's a senior at Drexel University in Philadelphia. And he has kept his faith. "I still believe in God," he says. "I have a Bible and read it often."

In hopes of sharing his experience and making a difference for other LGBT youth of faith, Lucas has joined the Soulforce Equality Ride, which this spring will bring 35 LGBT students to 19 religious and military colleges that have policies barring gay students. "Our hope is we can have a productive day of dialogue about gay and lesbian issues" at each school, said Jacob Reitan, codirector for the ride, which is a nationwide bus tour being organized by Soulforce, an LGBT spiritual and nonviolence-advocacy network.

Reitan, 24, a recent graduate of Northwestern University, said the idea for the tour came to him after he met a gay student at a religious school. The student told Retain he was not open about his sexuality for fear of being expelled.

Some schools targeted by the ride have already told Soulforce not to come, and a few have even threatened to arrest riders if they set foot on campus. Others have been more receptive, including the president of a body that oversees many Christian universities. "We are aware that most of our member campuses ... will not agree that homosexual practice is consistent with Scripture," said Bob Andringa, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, in a statement to The Advocate. "However ... we hope that Equality Ride participants will experience good dialogue even on areas of disagreement."

Not everyone on the Soulforce Equality Ride has had a bad experience with coming out and being gay: Katie Higgins, 23, a graduate of Appalachian State University, grew up unaware of gay discrimination. "My grandmother is a lesbian," she says. "I never knew that gay was 'bad' until someone teased me about her in fifth grade. For me, the Equality Ride is something that is serious. I just want people to realize how much it affects someone to be in the closet. It is a constant feeling of hatred."

Lucas also hopes the ride will help him grow as an individual. "Lately I've been unfulfilled with life in general," he says. "I wanted to do something that meant something."