Who we are, and what we're working toward.

My name is James Ellis, and I am the founder of The Way Out Ministry.

For over 30 years, I struggled with addiction and mental health, which led me down a very dark road. I experienced multiple incarcerations and homelessness, lost jobs, relationships, and eventually lost almost everything, including relationships with my family. I didn't know what love was because I didn't love myself.

At one of the lowest points in my life, I found myself weighing only 136 pounds, barefoot, with nothing but the shorts I was wearing. I felt completely lost, alone, and miserable. Drugs had become the only thing I felt I had left.

One day, while withdrawing from fentanyl, I crashed my bike and found myself bleeding on the sidewalk. I cried out, “Lord, I need help. I want to die, so please help me or kill me.”

I was arrested shortly afterward and found myself in full withdrawal in jail. I cried out to God again, asking Him to please help me. Then something changed. I stood up knowing that everything was going to be okay. I felt a love come over me like I could breathe again.

That was the beginning of a new life.

I began to see God answering prayers and opening doors. My family began talking to me again, and I came to understand that Jesus had accepted me when I felt like I had lost everything.

It has now been three years since that day. Today, I am married, I own a home, and I have relationships with my family and, most importantly, with my Heavenly Father.

When I see people who are going through what I went through, my heart breaks. I want them to see what I found in Jesus. I want to see the light return to their eyes and watch them begin to shine again.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” It was only when I surrendered my life to Him that things began to change.

That is why I started The Way Out Ministry.

I want The Way Out to be a place where people can come to find spiritual and physical healing, discover hope, and find the resources they need to rebuild their lives and become productive members of society.

If you are struggling, I want you to know this:

You are loved. You are not alone. There is always hope.

There is a way out. His name is Jesus.

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My name is Miranda Ellis, and I am a co-founder of The Way Out Ministry.

I didn't come to this ministry because I had everything figured out. I came because I know what it feels like to desperately need a way out.

For much of my life, I knew what it felt like to be broken. Before drugs, I was a dental assistant, a successful business owner, the backbone of my family, and someone who loved life. But addiction took so much from me. I lost my business, my home, and relationships with my children and family. I know what it feels like to struggle with addiction, incarceration, mental health, homelessness, and living in a vehicle. I was arrested nearly 30 times, went through treatment, and spent years in prison. I had people turn their backs on me. There were times I truly believed there was no way out and I was barely holding on by a thread.

Before I gave my life to the Lord, my life was in shambles. I was on a dead-end road headed toward utter destruction. I had no peace, no hope, and it seemed like everything I touched fell apart.

But God never stopped pursuing me.

I was raised in church, but I never truly knew who Jesus was until I saw Him change someone with the same kind of background as mine. Thirty years ago, I knew my husband James. We were roommates and partied together before life took us in different directions. Years later, I saw him again and I saw something I had never seen in him before: the Lord's light shining through him. He told me Jesus had set him free. I knew I wanted what James had.

I surrendered my life to the Lord. My first attempt wasn't easy and I failed, but I picked myself back up and kept going. By the grace of God, I am sober today. Something I never thought would be possible.

When I finally surrendered, things began to turn around for the good. The chaos gave way to peace. Hopelessness gave way to joy. I found a peace and joy I had never known. Doors began opening that didn't make sense to me, doors I knew could only have been opened by a mighty God. Jesus changed my heart and the way I think. He began teaching me self-control, obedience, and how to turn away from the drugs, the drinking, the lies, the stealing, the violence, and the life that was destroying me. I no longer wanted to hurt people. I wanted to do good.

He gave me a burning desire to live sober and to become a better mother, daughter, wife, friend, and woman. Today, I am grateful for the relationship God has restored with my family. There was a time when my mother believed prison was the safest place for me because at least she knew where I was. Today, God has restored that relationship and I don't take that restoration for granted.

During my third prison trip, the Lord placed it on my heart that I was called to help others. Even throughout my addiction, He gave me visions of myself helping people. I have known for a long time that this was part of my calling. There is a desire that burns deep inside of me, and when I am helping someone and telling them about Jesus, there is a mighty fire that burns in my bones. And today, that fire is still burning.

I know what it feels like to have someone talk to you about Jesus when you don't want to hear it. I remember being that person. So I understand why change is scary. I know how frightening it can be to step out of the boat and onto the water, to walk a path when you don't know what is ahead, and to surrender control to Someone you cannot see.

That is why we walk by faith and not by sight.

God never promised us a pain-free walk, but He promises He will never leave us nor forsake us. He makes a way in the wilderness and carries our burdens when we give them to Him. Most importantly, through Jesus Christ, He offers forgiveness and eternal life.

I don't stand above the people I serve. I stand beside them. I am a person just like them. I have struggles. I have hurt. I have had to surrender my life to the Lord not just once, but over and over again, sometimes every second. If it wasn't for the Lord, I wouldn't be here today.

That is why The Way Out Ministry exists.

I want every person who comes to us experience the love of Jesus. I want them to feel safe. I want them to know someone is on their side and they don't have to walk through their hardest days alone. When I sit with someone who is hurting, homeless, struggling with addiction, coming out of incarceration, or feeling like they have no hope left, I don't see a lost cause. I see someone who needs someone to believe in them and walk beside them.

I want to meet people where they are and walk beside them as they find their way off the streets, out of addiction, and into a new life. I want to believe in people when they have stopped believing in themselves.

No matter how far someone has fallen, I believe God still has a purpose and a plan for their life. He is a God of restoration. If He could reach me when I saw no way out, when I had lost hope and was headed toward destruction, then I believe He can reach them too.

I took that step out of the boat. And God has not failed me.

Your story isn't over. God is still writing it.

There is a way out. His name is Jesus.

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

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James Franklin serves as chairman of the board for the Way Out Ministry. His journey into homeless outreach began through his wife, who has spent years cooking and serving meals for the homeless in Plant City, eventually drawing their church into the work as well. Though his job often kept him away during serving hours, the times James did go, and a chance encounter when a friend brought a man from one of the homeless meetings to their home for Bible study, opened his eyes to both the need and the possibility of real relationship.

James was asked to join the board by the ministry's president and vice president, a husband and wife who were once homeless themselves in Plant City and later married. Their own experience on the streets gives them a trust with the community that can't be manufactured, and it's their bridge that the ministry is built on.

For James, the calling runs deeper than meeting physical needs. One night, after leaving a homeless feeding to join his wife at a Christian concert, he sat in a stadium full of people worshiping freely, and couldn't stop thinking about the people he'd just left behind, people who may never have tasted that kind of freedom, or who once had and had gotten stuck in bondage since. The man who sat in that stadium can't forget the ones outside it. That's the whole reason he's here.

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My heart has always been drawn to those who feel unseen, unworthy, or undervalued, those who quietly carry the weight of shame, loneliness, and hopelessness. Having experienced those feelings myself, I understand how easy it can be to feel invisible in a world that often overlooks the hurting. Through my own journey and through walking alongside family members who have struggled with mental illness, depression, and anxiety, God has given me a deep compassion for those who are hurting and a desire to help them experience the love, peace, and hope that can only be found in Him.

A few years ago, my family experienced the heartbreaking loss of my brother to suicide. In the aftermath, I wrestled with feelings of shame and guilt, carrying burdens I didn't know how to lay down. But God met me in the middle of my pain. He reminded me that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness, and He taught me to put on the full armor of God. Through that season, He began to show me a bigger picture, one that reaches beyond our pain and points to the hope and freedom found in His Kingdom. He reminded me that through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, we can run to our Heavenly Father with our brokenness, knowing that He loves us beyond what we can comprehend, holds us close, restores our joy, and gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding. He carries us through even our darkest valleys.

For nearly ten years, I have had the privilege of serving people experiencing homelessness by preparing meals and distributing survival kits. For the past five years, my team and I have also provided clothing and other essential items to those in need. While meeting practical needs is important, my greatest desire is for every person we encounter to experience something far greater: a personal encounter with our Heavenly Father and the life-changing love of Jesus Christ. I want people to know that they are seen, that they matter, that they are deeply loved, and that their circumstances do not define their worth. I pray they will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and discover the lasting peace, hope, and joy that only He can give.

I believe that no one is beyond the reach of God's love and that shame, guilt, and hopelessness do not have to be the end of anyone's story. Through surrender to our Heavenly Father and faith in Jesus Christ, we can begin to walk in the freedom He offers.

In addition to serving as Secretary and Treasurer for The Way Out Ministry, I serve as an outreach pastor at my church and am part of the worship team, where I have the joy of leading others in praise and worship. I am also a wife, a mother of a son and a daughter, and a grandmother. My family, my faith, and my calling to serve are all precious gifts from God.

My prayer is that every person who crosses our path will encounter the love of Jesus, discover that they are never forgotten by God, and find the courage to take their next step toward freedom. I want others to know that no matter what they have faced or what they are carrying, there is hope in Christ, peace in His presence, and a Father who welcomes them with open arms.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.” (Romans 15:13)

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