KBIA News

Alphabet Soup

What radical courage does it take to love in the face of hate? Through portraiture and personal narratives highlighting joy, belonging, found family and meaningful romantic and platonic relationships, KBIA’s Alphabet Soup challenges the notion that Missouri’s LGBTQ+ community is a monolith.Tucked away within the amalgamation of letters that makes up the LGBTQ+ community and the complex identities each represents is joy: rebellious, resistant, radiant. If you have a story you would like to share, visit https://tinyurl.com/LGBTQJoy or contact news@kbia.org.Created by Bailey Stover.

Jeff Terry & Travis Griffin: "You can have different viewpoints and still be a Christian, still be gay, still follow Christ."

KBIA | By Reporter & Photographer: Bailey Stover, Producer: Rebecca Smith, Photo Editor: Nick Sheaffer

Published September 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM CDT

Husbands Travis Griffin, left, and Jeffrey Terry sit in their living room with their dog on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at their home in Jefferson City, Mo. “It's hard for me to wrap my mind around, but, honestly, we really are kind of like this love story,” Terry said. “Like, something that you would read in a book or see in a movie or something, we really are kind of like this love story.” The couple first met in middle school and reconnected as adults following the 2011 Joplin tornado that destroyed much of their hometown and left 161 people dead. “I love him more today than I loved him yesterday, and more yesterday than when we first started dating. And I don't think I'll ever change,” Griffin said. “I hope when it says time to go that I go with him. I can't imagine my life without him.”

Husbands Jeff Terry and Travis Griffin live in Jefferson City. They met growing up in Joplin, but didn't reconnect or fall in love until after the 2011 Joplin tornado.

They spoke about their long and sometimes complicated relationships with God and about the joys of finding a supportive faith community.

Alphabet Soup shares LGBTQ+ Missourians’ stories through portraiture and personal narratives.

Jeff Terry: I lost my faith probably in my mid 20s. I started losing my faith because I couldn't understand why God would put me through what I had been through.

And I just kind of pushed God away. There were times when I would just question whether God even existed or not.

I didn't see it at the time, but I was being put through trials to make me stronger and to make me the person that I am today.

And so, we kind of started getting back into our faith. We started going to church. We went to the Presbyterian Church in Joplin. They were very affirming, very welcoming to us. They wanted us there. We enjoyed it there.

Husbands Jeff Terry and Travis Griffin, who are members of an Episcopalian church, hold hands showing their wedding bands and respective necklaces representing their faith on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at their home in Jefferson City, Mo. "There were times when I would just question whether God even existed or not because I couldn't understand my situation," Terry said. "There are times where I'll lay down and I'll pray and I'll say, 'You know, God, I believe in my heart that this is right and this is OK, but if I'm wrong, forgive me.' I don't have a lot of moments like that because I'm very confident that what Travis and I are doing and what we have is OK. … We love each other, and God is love."

And I slowly, kind of, started processing and making some decisions, personally. I was concerned about – and I am, I still am today – there's times where I'll lay down and I'll pray and I will say, you know, “God, I believe in my heart that this is right and this is okay, but if I'm wrong, forgive me.”

I don't have a lot of moments like that because I'm really, I'm very confident that what Travis and I are doing and what we have is okay. We love each other, and God is love.

Travis Griffin: We started back in church at the Presbyterian Church in Joplin, and that was good for us.

I was kind of on the sideline, though, but I saw then that a church can be affirming. You can have different viewpoints and still be a Christian, still be gay, still follow Christ.

And then we found the church that we're in today, which has been a godsend. It is the most affirming church. It is the most loving people. It's our lifeline. It really is, and it has been such a good experience.

Jeff Terry: We're members of the Episcopal Church, and one of the firm beliefs of the Episcopal Church is that each human is called to respect the dignity of every single human being, and that's something that I can get behind.

KBIA News

Travis Griffin & Jeff Terry: The Joplin tornado 'changed my entire life. I just saw a whole town destroyed, and I've got to live my authentic life.'

Bailey Stover

Jeff Terry and Travis Griffin both grew up in Joplin and met in middle school. They met in middle school growing up in Joplin, but didn’t reconnect – or fall in love – until their 30s after living through the 2011 Joplin tornado.