Justin Ryan is an openly gay Christian singer, songwriter, and storyteller whose work reclaims the heart of Southern Gospel while expanding its theological and cultural boundaries. Deeply formed within the traditional gospel world, Justin brings a lifetime of musical heritage to his art—rich vocals, emotional honesty, and reverence for faith—while offering a voice shaped by lived experience, grief, and radical grace.

After choosing authenticity over acceptance, Justin emerged as a leading voice for LGBTQ+ Christians navigating faith beyond exclusion. His music and performances blend gospel tradition with contemporary storytelling, creating spaces that feel part concert, part testimony, and part sanctuary. His acclaimed album Explaining Jesus and subsequent work explore themes of loss, resurrection, humor, and hope, resonating with audiences both inside and beyond the church.

Justin is also the creator and host of the podcast Southern Gospel Sissy, where he reflects on faith, queerness, and church culture with insight, wit, and pastoral depth. He is closely connected with BALM Ministries, founded by Marsha Stevens Pino, and is recognized as a continuing voice in the legacy of LGBTQ+ Christian music and ministry. Through song, story, and sacred honesty, Justin Ryan offers a faith that survives the truth—and invites others to do the same.

Marsha Stevens Pino is a groundbreaking Christian singer-songwriter, author, and minister whose life and work have helped shape the landscape of contemporary Christian music while affirming the circle of who is welcomed at God’s table. Emerging from the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Marsha became one of the earliest and most influential voices in what would later be known as contemporary Christian music.

She is best known for writing the beloved hymn “For Those Tears I Died (Come to the Water)” at just sixteen years old—a song that has been sung across denominations, translated into multiple languages, and continues to offer comfort and invitation to people around the world. As a founding member of the pioneering group Children of the Day, Marsha helped lay the musical and spiritual groundwork for a generation of faith-based artists.

In the early 1980s, Marsha made the courageous decision to live openly as a lesbian, a step that cost her professional standing in much of the Christian music industry but clarified her calling. Rather than walk away from her faith, she leaned more deeply into it, dedicating her life to creating sacred space for LGBTQ+ people who had been told there was no room for them in the church.

Along with her wife, Cindy Stevens Pino, Marsha founded BALM Ministries, an international music and healing ministry rooted in authenticity, justice, and radical grace. Through concerts, mentoring, writing, and worship, BALM has served thousands of LGBTQ+ Christians and allies, offering a faith that heals rather than harms.

Today, Marsha’s legacy is one of courage, compassion, and enduring faith. Her music, ministry, and witness continue to remind the church that God’s love is wider than our fear—and that everyone is invited to come to the water.