REV. DR. KATIE HAYS

Katie is a pastor and author who grew up fundamentalist, scared of hell and the God who could send her there. Also called to ministry, but unable to say that for a long time, #becausegirl. Then, to make a long story short, there’s a multi-decade jumble of faith de/reconstruction, ordination, denominational exile, ecclesial trauma, lots and lots of therapy and education, and voilà: she’s finally firing on all cylinders at 50+ because God is good, and Katie is stubborn as hell – yeah, the hell she doesn’t believe in anymore.

So she served for nearly two decades of ministry in traditional, small-steeple churches in Birmingham AL, Long Island NY, suburban Atlanta GA, and Arlington TX. In 2013, Katie left her last traditional congregation and, with a team of co-conspirators (less than) half her age, launched Galileo Church, a next-church community of belonging in Jesus’ name. And you can’t know Katie if you don’t know Galileo, because, well, that’s where she figured out what it means to be the Whole Beautiful Self God made her — and you — to be.

Galileo is a quirky church for spiritual refugees, especially LGBTQ+ people, neurodiverse people, and the people who love them. They meet for worship in the Big Red Barn, a rented, sheet-metal sanctuary tucked under I-20 on the far southeast edge of Fort Worth, Texas. You’ve maybe never seen anything so beautiful as when that candlelit barn fills up with people who used to think God couldn’t stand to be around them, but are risking everything on the chance that God’s love might just be the realest thing in the world, and might actually be for them.

Katie serves as Galileo’s Lead Evangelist, unapologetically inviting pretty much everyone she meets to “come and see.” That includes you. Find Galileo IRL just off I-20, exit 442A, Sunday nights at 5 pm (Central). Worship with Galileo’s livestream at galileochurch.churchonline.org, also (logically) Sunday nights at 5 pm (Central).

And Galileo is ultra-available online. Investigate G-infrastructure at galileochurch.org. Find and follow Galileo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok.

Katie and her fam live on the Hays-Pape Homestead, a rustic (!) seven acres in unincorporated Tarrant County, Texas. Fam = Dr. Lance Pape, spouse of 3 decades, homiletics prof at Brite Divinity School, and gentleman farmer; Lydia Pape, comp-sci nerd, TCU graduate, completely her own person; and Jack Pape, video game mod-maker, also completely his own person. Lydia and Jack live across the orchard from Katie and Lance in a refurb prefab double-wide. Lance’s parents live in a new house across the pasture. Katie and Lance live in-between, in the original farm house, which is juuuuust right. Goats, chickens, dogs, cats, honeybees, and assorted wildlife abound.

KATIE IRL

Preacher, Day1 Radio Program
October 2021
“Predecided Love (Mark 10:17-31)”

Keynoter, regional assembly
Florida region, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
October 2021
“Next Church: A Vision from the Rampart (Habakkuk 2:1-3)”

Preacher, Brite Divinity School’s Ministers Week
Fort Worth, February 2021
“Two Trillion Galaxies in a Manger (John 1:1-18)”

Preacher, Festival of Homiletics
Atlanta, April 2020
“Atheism: the Preacher’s Most Important Work (Numbers 11:1-15, 31-35)”

Lecturer, Festival of Homiletics
Atlanta, April 2020
“Is it true? Does it matter? Preaching that Saves Lives”

Teacher, Commissioned Ministers Training
Southwest Region, Christian Church (DOC)
Houston, February 2020
Evangelism competency course

Designer and Keynoter, Financial Literacy Academy for clergy
Indiana Region, Christian Church (DOC)
Indianapolis, October 2019
“The Power of Stewardship in God’s Economy”

Preacher, regional assembly
Tennessee Region, Christian Church (DOC)
Memphis, October 2018
“Romans 12:11-13: Unboxing the Church”

Keynoter, Stewardship Summit for clergy
Western Louisiana Episcopal Diocese
Alexandria, LA, October 2018
“21st Century Stewardship”

Keynoter and Workshop Leader, “Now What” 
ecumenical stewardship seminar for clergy and lay leaders
Dallas, April 2018
“The Why of Faithful Generosity” keynote
and Narrative Budgeting workshop

Adjunct Instructor, Brite Divinity School
Fort Worth, January 2017, July 2018, July 2020
“Evangelism in the Contemporary North American Religious Landscape”

Guest Lecturer, Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, fall and spring, 2017 to present
“Feminism and Queer Allyship as Christian Ministry”

Author and Lecturer, LGBTQ+ inclusion seminar
Galileo Church and others
Dallas-Fort Worth, 2015 to present
“For the Bible Tells Me So”