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Published in the March 2026 Edition
By Adam Romanik
March is Women's History Month. As I thought about women who have had an effect in my life—and one who has had a profound effect on many lives all around the world—Marsha Stevens-Pino seemed just the right fit to honor. So for this Women's History Month, we honor and recognize Marsha Stevens-Pino, the mother of contemporary Christian music.
Marsha was raised in Southern California. Her father was a Disciples of Christ pastor who had been kicked out of many, many churches for molesting little girls, and her mother, who was more than 20 years younger than him, turned to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain. During this time, Marsha took care of her kid sister, trying to steer her away from what was really going on at home.
When Marsha was a teenager, her older brother—who was 15 years older than her and from her father's previous marriage—took her to a weekly beachside praise and worship service. This is where Marsha learned terms like being filled with the Holy Spirit and being born again. After the second week that she attended, her life changed forever. She felt free from all of the chaos in her life and started to realize that she didn't have to be burdened by the mess of her parents. She also wanted to be a role model and mentor for her kid sister. As she had all those feelings, she tried to tell her friends about it. Most blew her off; some even asked what she had been smoking. She was very disheartened at the reactions she received, even from her kid sister. She decided to write a song to help others understand what she was feeling.
After hours and hours of wordsmithing and work, "For Those Tears I Died" was born. She was 16 years old at the time and also played guitar. She played it for her kid sister, and her sister cried. She received the same reaction when playing it for friends and for others. A few weeks later, she played it at her church service and received a huge reaction, and somewhere in that period of time the song spread like wildfire. Suddenly everyone seemed to hear it and know it.
The song was recorded when Marsha was 17, and even though she didn't realize the effect it was having on people, it seemed to be much larger than anyone could imagine—so much so that one night she received a call from Pat Boone. He called to ask permission to record the song. For those that might not know the name Pat Boone, he is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host, and philanthropist who was popular in the 1950s through the early 1960s and sold over 50 million records during that time.
After high school, Marsha formed a band with her kid sister, Russ Stevens, and Pete Jacobs. She knew Russ and Pete from school, and they attended church with her and became Christians. The band traveled worldwide singing and even performed at one time in front of over 100,000 people at a Billy Graham crusade.
Marsha eventually married Russ Stevens, and the two had two children together. During this time, "For Those Tears I Died" was also added to church hymnals and praise books starting in 1979.
In the late 1970s the couple was attending counseling. Their marriage was broken and headed for divorce. After the breakup Russ won custody of the children and royalties from their music. The judge in the case gave very specific orders in the custody battle, including no visitation, and she could not live with anyone she was not married to or related to by blood if she wanted even to visit her children.
Marsha says this was the first time she ever felt that she had wrestled with God but realized that it was time to get her life back on track. She turned again to her faith and found a priest who ran Dignity. As she met with the priest, he shared something with her that at the time was hard to swallow. He told her that she had been a Christian long enough to know that you reap what you sow.
"I've sowed hiding and lying and trying to stay on the DL and trying to avoid people," she said, "and so if I'm going to live in the light..."
She took a training course to be a medical assistant and found a job, eventually an apartment, and after nine long months was able to regain custody of her children.
In the early 1980s Marsha came out of the closet and experienced extreme amounts of hate. People would rip the pages out of hymnals and send them to her with written messages on them. During this time, she had come to the conclusion that her musical career had ended. She also missed church—the praise and worship as well as the fellowship.
She heard about the gay church and decided to attend, sitting in the back and taking it all in at a nearby Metropolitan Community Church. A few weeks later she attended a service where Rev. Troy Perry was preaching and speaking, and he recognized her. He called her out and asked her to come sing.
At first she was so nervous she had a hard time singing and had to start over. Rev. Perry and Marsha were both fluent in the King James translation and quickly began comparing notes and sharing scripture. Troy made sure to share with her that he would like her to come and be part of the next year's UFMCC General Conference.
During this time, Marsha formed BALM Ministries (Born Again Lesbian Music), and she traveled and sang, continuing to spread the radical love of Jesus.
In 2002, Dr. Mark Allan Powell, a professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, published The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, naming Marsha as the mother of contemporary Christian music. During this time Marsha connected with old friends and found it fascinating to see where some of these people were now and what they had been doing.
But 2002 was not all celebration. On New Year's Eve, Marsha and Cindy attended a Gaither Homecoming concert and had backstage passes to meet Bill and Gloria Gaither, Mark Lowry, and others. At midnight, as they began to prepare to ring in the new year, Bill recognized Marsha as being in attendance and acknowledged her contributions to contemporary Christian music. They then performed "For Those Tears I Died," with the audience singing along.
Marsha remembers that moment. She was so struck that they selected her song she couldn't even sing—she was completely speechless.
However, after that concert a picture of her along with the Gaithers was posted on social media and became a source of controversy. Eventually, after months, Bill Gaither posted a statement and appeared on the cover of Singing News Magazine distancing himself from her.
In 2003 Marsha married her partner Cindy Pino and changed her name to Marsha Stevens-Pino. Through BALM Ministries and King of Peace MCC in St. Petersburg, Florida, they created a music ministry training program for LGBTQ+ Christians who needed help and direction in getting started.
They raised the money and created several albums, including a Christmas album of new and upcoming LGBTQ+ artists. One of those artists was Justin Ryan. Some of you might know Justin from his production Southern Gospel Sissy, who produces a weekly show on YouTube featuring some history of gospel music.
Justin has now joined BALM Ministries, and together they continue to travel, sing, and spread the good news of God's radical love.
As we finished our interview, I asked Marsha if she had a favorite verse from the Bible or Bible story. She quoted Romans 8:35–39, where Paul declares that nothing can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This promise assures that God's love is unconditional, unbreakable, and secure, no matter what challenges or fears one faces.
As we continued to finish, what seemed to me to resound over and over in Marsha's life is the faithfulness of God, and I asked Marsha what she would like to share with our readers.
"I think that the most important thing about God's faithfulness is that it doesn't depend on you at all. That love is there for you. It's wonderful if you can open your heart to it, experience it, perceive it at work in your life. It's great if you can rest in the fact that God became human so that we'd know our pains and sorrows and fears and betrayals are felt and understood. But whether you know it or not, that mercy and grace is yours."
To purchase Marsha's music or book, or for more information on BALM Ministries, you can visit balmministries.net.