My Journey: From a Secular Home to Salvation, Deliverance, and Healing

My name is Jeff Stephan. I grew up in a secular home in Indiana where faith, prayer, and Bible reading were entirely absent from my upbringing. My family knew nothing about Jesus, but the Lord had a different plan for my life.

Prompted by the Holy Spirit in 1999, I felt led to attend a church service and reached out to a cross-country teammate whose father was a pastor. I began attending Victory Christian Church in Portage, IN pastored by Cary Wilson.  I went  to every service and Bible study he offered. Shortly before my 21st birthday, while visiting Florida for an Amway conference, my aunt and uncle invited me to a Sunday service. When the pastor gave an altar call, I walked forward, accepted the Lord, and made a public profession of my faith in Jesus Christ.

The Battlefield

Becoming a Christian was not as easy as I had anticipated. I soon realized I had stepped into the middle of a spiritual war between God and Satan—and I was now a target. Satan, the devourer, had been targeting me since infancy, knowing God had placed a great calling on my life to proclaim the Gospel.

Over the years, I encountered “hell on earth” in many forms, navigating patterns of demonic attacks, generational curses, struggles with sin, failed businesses, rejection, betrayal, financial destitution, severe health issues, and divorce. Yet, no matter the attack, the Lord has always been faithful to His Word.

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” — Romans 8:37 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” — Psalm 34:19

The Turning Point: Left to die in the desert

While I accepted Christ in 1999, my true understanding of spiritual authority was forged in fire. In May 2024, when Satan tried to kill me through sickness and disease, I realized a devastating truth: despite decades in the church, I had zero training on how to fight the devil. I didn’t know how to enforce the victory of the cross or stand on the truth of Isaiah 53:5.  I laid in multiple hospitals and hospital beds.  I could barely muster the strength to even speak.  I was dizzy and couldn’t walk more than 200 feet.  My vision became impaired.  I had shortness of breath.  My resting blood pressure would spike to 215/120.  No amount of doctors could not figure out the cause of my disease and illness which attacked me viciously.  But I had the word of God!  I learned that the Lord is my Healer.  I learned that I could fully trust ALL the promises in the bible.

In that life-and-death battle, the Holy Spirit taught me to stop managing my problems and start commanding them to leave. I had to fight this battle to live or my children would be fatherless.  I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord! (Psalm 118:17) SinnerForgiven exists because I refuse to let others remain captives of the devil simply because they haven’t been taught how to fight.

A Deployment Mindset

This ministry was born out of a mandate to move beyond the traditions of men and into the demonstration of the Kingdom of God. I do not view ministry as a desk job, but as a deployment. Following the New Testament pattern of Jesus and the Apostles, I function as a “scout”—entering spiritual strongholds to clear the ground. My daily rhythm involves:

• The Morning Briefing: Seeking the Spirit’s “intel” for the day.The Walk: Itinerant scouting in the highways and byways. The Battle: Commanding healing, deliverance, and miracles as needs arise.

On June 1, 2025, the Lord gave me a personal purpose that defines every action of this ministry. I call it the BERTS Method:

• Be a Servant

• Exalt the Lord of heaven and earth

• Reach the afflicted

• Take new ground over the enemy

• Speak God’s Word (Enforcing the defeat of Satan)

Our Core Metric: Multiplication

The ultimate “win” for my ministry isn’t  high attendance or thousands of likes on a media post—it is taking new ground and setting the captive free. My heart is for your freedom and to see your maturity increase in the Lord!

When you are healed of disease or set free from a demonic spirit, I will not just rejoice with you—I will train you. I want to see you become a disciple who possesses the confidence to freely give that same healing and deliverance to others. We are raising an army of “devil-whippers” who were given authority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

Outside of ministry, I find rest and joy spending leisure time with my family in the outdoors—fishing, golfing, riding ATVs, camping, and getting out for my daily 30-minute hikes in the mountains of Arizona.

Thank you for visiting SinnerForgiven.  If you would like Jeff to pray for you please complete a message on the contact form.  The link is  Contact – Sinner Forgiven

Jeff Stephan