During the 1970s, a virtual flood of filth invaded the lives of average Americans through the sudden emergence of adult entertainment. One of its victims was a young man named Steve Gallagher, who became terribly addicted to pornography and the many other forms of sexual sin that so often accompany it—a secret lifestyle he kept hidden from his new wife, Kathy.
In 1981, Steve joined the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, but within two years his sexual addiction was so out of control that Kathy left him. Their lives would begin to take a drastic turn several weeks later when he put a gun to his head, ready to end it all. The Lord intervened that day and began to restore their marriage and give them each a newfound passion for God.
Eventually, Steve felt called by God to go into ministry. He left the Sheriff’s Department and entered a two-year Bible school in Sacramento. At this point, pornography and sexual addiction were spreading rapidly throughout the evangelical world—a fact that few church leaders grasped. It was during Steve’s time in Bible school in 1986 that the Lord laid a burden on his heart to begin a ministry to men in sexual sin—something unheard of at the time.
Pure Life Ministries began as a support group in a Sacramento church in 1986. During this period, Steve began sharing his testimony on many local radio and television programs. He also published the first version of At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry, which would later become the ministry’s flagship book.
Within the next two years, the church was rocked by scandals involving two nationally known Christian leaders—Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. As a result, Steve found himself sought after as a guest on Oprah, The 700 Club, Focus on the Family, 48 Hours with Dan Rather, and many other radio and television shows across the country. It was an exciting time for Steve and Kathy as doors seemed to be opening in every direction. The Lord was expanding the vision for Pure Life Ministries.
In1989, buried under a landslide of phone calls and national interest, the Gallaghers sold everything they owned, loaded up an 18-foot motor home, and embarked on a nine-month, cross-country speaking tour to promote the ministry.
The need for a solid biblical solution to sexual addiction was even greater than the young couple had imagined. The public scandals of Bakker and Swaggart had brought the unforeseen consequences of the sexual revolution of the 1960s into the public eye. Suddenly sexual addiction became a household issue for which more and more people were seeking help.
The need turned out to be overwhelming. It became obvious to the young couple that the Lord was calling them to provide a level of care to sexual addicts that could not be achieved through a support group. To meet the growing need, the Gallaghers felt led to purchase a home in the Northern Kentucky area, which would function as a residential program for men in sexual sin.
In January 1990, six men moved into the Gallaghers’ small yellow house in Crittenden, Kentucky, officially opening the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program. This marked the beginning of a new era for Steve and Kathy. The focus began to shift away from a ministry to faceless thousands via radio and television to one that concentrated on the extreme needs of the individuals coming to them for help.
Steve and Kathy Gallagher had already abandoned the notion that psychology, self-help or behavioral modification could meet the extreme needs of the men coming to them for help. But it soon became undeniably clear that even sound, biblical counsel (as vital as this is) was not enough—these men needed the transforming power of God to be unleashed in their hearts.
They also realized that ministering in such an intense ministry was far beyond their abilities or spiritual maturity. They, as well as their staff, needed a deeper work of God in their own lives. Driven by sheer desperation at the personal and corporate needs of Pure Life Ministries, they desperately sought God for help.
In the early 1990s, an unexpected answer came when they were told about a ministry just north of Chicago called the Zion Faith Homes. This place was described as a spiritual powerhouse. Though uncertain of what they would find, the Gallaghers felt their need so deeply that, with trembling hearts, they attended a service there. The presence of God was so palpable that they instantly knew they had discovered what their souls had been thirsting for. The ministers at the Zion Faith Homes exhibited a deep consecration to God, spending two hours in private devotion daily and countless other hours in intercession. Because of this, it was common to encounter God there in incredibly powerful ways.
Steve and Kathy began to make regular trips to the Zion Faith Homes to seek the Lord for their own personal needs and to be trained in how to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit. They became convinced that Pure Life Ministries needed to be saturated in the presence of the Holy Spirit. They now understood that when God was in a place, His presence would do the work. The Spirit would pierce hardened hearts with deep conviction, fill despairing souls with hope, and press spiritual realities home to people that had long grown accustomed to powerless religion.
The focus for them and their modest staff over the next ten years was to seek God with all their hearts. A fresh sight of the Cross brought deeper repentance and a desire to live in the consecration of what Jesus described as “the narrow path.” They also learned how to love others as Jesus did—by meeting their needs.
By the end of the 1990s, the Residential Program had moved to a new 45-acre location, and a phone counseling program called Overcomers-At-Home (OCAH) was now ministering to men who were unable to relocate to Kentucky for seven to nine months. Help through telephone counseling was also made available to hurting wives.
It was at this time that Steve began to realize that an increasing degree of worldliness and carnality in the church was creating a self-centered culture. He began to write with urgency, authoring Intoxicated with Babylon, Irresistible to God, and Living in Victory.
By 2001, several new buildings had been added to the ministry’s campus, increasing the maximum capacity of the Residential Program to 35 students. This expansion, combined with Steve’s increasing influence, came just in time to help meet the escalation of sexual sin due to the internet. Christian men, now faced with easy access to obscene material, were being caught up in pornography in record numbers. The problem was skyrocketing in the body of Christ.
By the turn of the century, it became increasingly clear that the Lord wanted to expand the work of Pure Life Ministries beyond its early boundaries. In 2001, while Steve and Kathy were on an extended preaching tour in New England, Steve sensed the Spirit impressing upon him that it was “time to promote the ministry.” Up to that point, Pure Life had remained a small “mom-and-pop” operation, with awareness spreading primarily through word of mouth, program graduates, and pastors who had invited Steve to preach. Now the Lord was leading them to take the message all across the nation.
The challenge, however, was that Steve—though a gifted visionary and preacher—was not a natural promoter. But God had already prepared the answer. Just a year earlier, a young man named Justin had completed the Residential Program and experienced a radical transformation. When Steve asked how he might serve the ministry, Justin replied immediately, “I would like to promote Pure Life Ministries. God is doing incredibly powerful things here, but hardly anybody knows about it.” That conversation became a turning point in the ministry’s future.
Over the next decade, Steve and Justin criss-crossed the nation together, speaking in churches, denominational gatherings, men’s retreats, and prisons. In time, the demand became so great that additional teams had to be formed. Soon there were two, and then three teams of speakers traveling simultaneously to spread the message of repentance and freedom in Christ.
During this same decade, PLM was busy developing new avenues for outreach. A website was launched, making it possible for desperate men and women to find the ministry through a simple internet search. An annual conference was established so that graduates, friends of the ministry, and prospective students could spend a weekend seeking after God together. And the Purity for Life podcast began releasing episodes weekly to help Christians face the tough issues in their battle against sexual sin.
It was a season of remarkable growth and open doors, as the Lord made His name known through Pure Life Ministries across the country.
The year 2015 marked another major milestone. Years of giving themselves to the heavy demands of the ministry had left many long-time staff members very weary. To everyone’s great surprise, nearly a third of the staff made plans during that year to move on from their roles at PLM.
It was a deeply unsettling time. With 22 buildings to maintain, a Residential Program and two virtual counseling programs to run, as well as numerous other outreach efforts to push forward, the workload was enormous. The sudden departure of so many staff created a season of uncertainty and dependence upon the Lord.
Yet out of this difficult period, God brought renewal. Over the next year, it became clear that the Lord Himself was ushering the ministry into a new season. Not only did Pure Life continue to function, it also began to flourish in unexpected ways.
One of the most significant changes occurred within the Residential Program under the leadership of its new director, Ed Buch. He discerned that the men arriving in 2015 were markedly different from those who had come in previous decades. Unlike the earlier generations of students, this new generation often carried a deep cynicism and mistrust of leadership. Counselors quickly realized that the first and most vital step was to build genuine trust before attempting to confront entrenched heart issues.
This realization brought about meaningful adjustments. The dynamic between staff and students shifted toward modeling discipleship through daily time together—while still preserving the healthy authority structure required for students to receive correction at this crucial point in their lives.
Staff were encouraged to spend time interacting with students in the dormitories, sharing their testimonies, and praying with them. They were also encouraged to take their mealtimes in the Student Center, eating alongside students and fellowshipping with them. The Tuesday night accountability hour was reshaped as staff-developed, four-week small group classes on topics relevant to developing a deeper Christian life, and students could sign up for the classes that interested them most. Friday night prayer groups were now led by staff who modeled what it means to intercede for the needs of others. These changes reflected wisdom for shepherding a new generation—yet another evidence of God’s faithfulness in leading the ministry forward.
A year later, Pure Life Ministries experienced another shift. Up to that point, the ministry’s work had been largely conducted face-to-face, with little emphasis on digital media. But it became clear that if the message of repentance and purity was to reach the wider church, new channels would be needed.
That year, several initiatives were launched. The website received a major overhaul with a focus on providing free content through a regularly updated blog. A significant video project used Steve’s book At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry to create a fourteen-week video curriculum for individuals and small groups. The ministry also began to strengthen its presence on YouTube and social media and committed greater resources than ever before to producing high-quality video content.
One of the most impactful results of this new emphasis was the creation of the 20 Truths video series. These powerful short-form videos were designed to deliver essential biblical principles for those seeking freedom from sexual sin. Then, in 2021, following much prayer for the series, one of the videos suddenly went “viral,” its view count soaring into the hundreds of thousands within weeks. This surge not only multiplied the reach of that single message but drove tens of thousands of viewers to the other nineteen videos as well. The result was an unprecedented wave of engagement with Pure Life Ministries’ teaching.
This growing digital outreach marked a new chapter, as the ministry’s message spread far beyond what could be achieved through one-on-one counseling or speaking events alone. By harnessing these new tools, Pure Life was able to bring timeless truth to a generation increasingly shaped by online culture.
One of the most exciting recent developments was our role in helping establish a sister ministry in Brazil.
It began with Paulo Gouvea, whose own life and marriage were once on the brink of collapse. Through the Portuguese versions of Steve Gallagher’s At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry and Kathy Gallagher’s When His Secret Sin Breaks Your Heart, Paulo and his wife Railça experienced a marvelous transformation. With this newfound life in Christ, Paulo’s heart soon burned to see other men in Brazil experience the same redemption.
In 2021, the PLM Brazil Residential Program opened its doors. The first year began humbly, with only two students, but the Lord was clearly in it. To offer assistance to the fledgling ministry, teams from America regularly traveled to Brazil to offer assistance to the fledgling ministry. Steve Gallagher, Nate Danser, Jordan Yoshimine, and Dustin Renz traveled allover Brazil, preaching in churches, generating awareness, and raising funds to help with the operating costs.
Today, the fruit is undeniable. 25 men have now completed the residential program in Brazil. In addition, more than 150 men have received help through their at-home counseling program. What began as the cries of a broken couple, has steadily grown into a healthy ministry that carries the same message of the Cross into the heart of South America.
Pure Life Ministries was founded when God found one shattered man and woman whose lives and marriage were ravaged by sexual sin and radically changed them by His power. Out of their brokenness, He raised up a global ministry that now reaches countless souls.
From the first six men in the Gallaghers’ small yellow house, the Residential Program has expanded into a 79-bed facility. Nearly 400people a year enroll in our At-Home programs. Our weekly podcast receives thousands of downloads every month, while our Annual Conference now welcomes nearly 1,000 attendees each year. Last year alone, we traveled to 50 different events to equip and resource pastors, church members, and students in colleges. We even had representatives minister in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Brazil. Hundreds of thousands of people also visit our website annually to read blogs, explore programs, or watch teaching videos. All of this testifies to one truth: God is able to do the impossible.
And yet, we recognize that the broader American church culture grows more compromised and complacent with each passing year. The ancient paths of repentance, purity of heart, and wholehearted devotion to God are steadily being replaced with an obsession over catering to felt needs, pursuing temporal desires, or even explaining away immorality altogether. These sobering realities remind us that the challenges ahead are significant, and the need for a faithful witness to holiness has never been greater.
From forty years of experience, however, we know this: God will preserve this ministry as long as possible so that men and women ravaged by sexual sin have a place to turn for sound, life-giving counsel. For our part, we are determined to stand firm on the truth, to continue rescuing souls from the brink of destruction, and to train them in the ancient paths of real repentance, genuine faith, and wholehearted devotion to Christ. With that assurance, we can say with confidence that the best is yet to come for Pure Life Ministries.
