The History of This Redeemed Life

The History of This Redeemed Life

I founded This Redeemed Life in 2007 (formerly called Redeemed Girl Ministries) with one passion burning in my heart. I longed for women across the globe to know Jesus is better! I wanted women to experience the same grace that had rocked my world and set me free. Like the old saying goes, “if you have the cure for cancer, wouldn’t you share it?” That’s how I feel about Jesus! He gave me life and I want everyone to experience it!

Let me back up for a hot second… my life before Jesus was nothing short of a train wreck. I was on a tailspin of bad choices fueled by alcohol and desperation. Today I call myself a “redeemed girl” because that is precisely who I am. Before Jesus, I was running to men, substances, money, parties … basically, anything the world said would bring me happiness, but all I found was a prison of emptiness, regret, and shame.

Thankfully, at age 25, I was in a bar (yes, you read that right) and prayed, “God help me.” The Lord answered my prayer by leading me to Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas where I first heard the Gospel that Jesus came to rescue sinners just like me and give me a new life. I surrendered my life to Jesus and never looked back.

That season began my life-long love for Jesus, one that has endured and transformed my entire life. How can you not fall head over heels for the One who died to redeem you for you? The word redeem means to “buy something back and to restore it to its original intent.” This restoration is Jesus’ specialty. He takes the shattered, bruised, crushed and defeated… and transforms the broken into something beautiful.

After I became a Christian, I spent the next few years devouring God’s word (which I still do to this day). What this did was help me to see the world and my life through God’s eyes. The Bible totally transformed my thoughts, my emotions, and my destiny, (which is why I am so passionate for women to experience solid Biblical teaching and why we provide it for FREE on our website and app.)  I was also blessed to be discipled by some godly women who poured truth into me and taught me how to live for Jesus. I was also rooted in my local church where I first heard the call to ministry and invited to teach God’s word.

It was through a series of events in my early thirties that led me to launch this ministry and step outside the wall of the church. I sensed the Lord breaking my heart for women who were still experiencing the same hurt, shame, pain, and brokenness that I once knew. I wanted to reach the women who would typically never set foot in the church, but who desperately needed to know that God loved them and He could make something beautiful out of their mess.

I felt God calling me to write my story, which became my first book, Sex and the City Uncovered. After it was released, I spent much of the next decade traveling the country, sharing my redemption story and the grace of Jesus Christ with college women. During that time, over 11,000 women have said “yes” to Jesus at one of our events. (There is no greater joy in the whole world than seeing a woman experience God’s grace.)

During that season, I was a single girl living on mission for Jesus and leading others to my Redeemer. I wrote a few more books, traveled the world as an evangelist, and kept up a full Bible teaching ministry at Second Baptist Church in Houston.

Then in 2012 I married the love of my life, best friend, and ministry partner, Justin Ellis. God writes the best stories. Just when I had given up and believed that I’d be single forever, the Lord brought this amazing man into my life and united our stories to better tell His story! I’m still amazed every day how God perfectly matched our gifts to serve Him. We are absolutely better together.

Today, This Redeemed Life is based in San Antonio, Texas, where I live with my husband Justin and our three kiddos (Andrew, Brenden, and Sydney.) In addition to my writing and speaking ministry, I also serve as the Director of Women’s Ministry at Mission City Church, where I teach women the Word of God and how to experience freedom in Jesus Christ. In 2020 we launched the This Redeemed Life Podcast which equips women to know the truth and empowers them to live for God’s glory.

Friends, while many things have changed in twenty years, the one thing that will always remain is the anthem of my heart; “Jesus is Better!”

For His Glory,

Marian Jordan Ellis