Educator | Pastor | Activist | Nonprofit Leader | Organizer | Author | Consultant
With over thirteen years of leadership in nonprofit and education spaces, the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp (he/they) is the Executive Director of LOVEboldly and the Pastor of Blue Ocean Faith Columbus. He is an active educator, author, speaker, consultant, and researcher interested in the intersection of faith, sexuality, gender, and race, as well as leadership broadly.
Ben earned an EdD in Educational Leadership with a specialization in Mission and Ministry (University of the Cumberlands), an MEd in Higher Education and Student Affairs (University of Vermont), and a BA in Philosophy (Sewanee: The University of the South). He also completed graduate-level coursework in Theology at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO).
Ben is an ordained clergy person in the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries.
He lives in Columbus, OH.
You can find a shortened version of Ben’s CV above under “About.”
About
NonProfit Leader
Ben is the executive director of LOVEboldly, a small faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Ohio. Founded in 2011 by Heidi Weaver-Smith as a ministry of reconciliation and bridge building between the Queer community and the Evangelical/fundamentalist parts of the church, LOVEboldly has developed into a progressive organization working for the full affirmation of LGBTQIA+ people in Christianity and beyond.
Pastor
Ben became the Pastor of Blue Ocean Faith Columbus in February 2024. He was ordained and commissioned by Blue Ocean Columbus on June 30, 2024. Founded in 2016 by people with backgrounds in the Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Charismatic traditions, Blue Ocean Columbus is a progressive Christian community faith rooted in Jesus as the center and a radical openness to all people regardless of their theological or political commitments. All Blue Ocean asks is that each person is open and affirming to their fellow seekers.
Ben was ordained as a clergy person by The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) on July 3, 2025.
Author, Podcaster, and Activist
Ben is a prolific writer who is particularly interested in the intersection of faith, spirituality, gender, sexual orientation, and race. He’s also interested in leadership broadly. Ben maintains a blog (where he shares his sermons and other writing) and has published op-eds and guest columns with Waging Nonviolence, Baptist New Global, The Columbus Dispatch, The Buckeye Flame, Red Letter Christians, and The Good Men Project.
With Siobhan Boyd-Nelson, Ben developed and co-hosts “Coming Out Christian,” a podcast focused on the tension of coming out Queer in Christian spaces and coming out as a Christian in Queer spaces. Timely, poignant, and often irreverent, you can listen to episodes at www.loveboldly.org/comingoutchristian or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ben is also active in the community as a member of the Steering Committee for the Columbus and Central Ohio Leadership Roundtable and a member of the Board of Directors for The Buckeye Flame.
