Redemption Ranch is a beautiful 85 acre piece of property 30 minutes outside of St. Louis County. It is nestled in the rolling hills of Lincoln County with picturesque rock-bottom creek, mature trees, and a large lake. The property was first purchased by Bryan and Debbie Short in the spring of 1999. They founded El Shaddai Ranch as a non profit, interdenominational, Christian camp ministry committed to furthering the Gospel of Christ among youth and families. For 17 years they sacrificially served as the executive directors, growing the ministry to where it is today.

In 2017, after much prayer and consideration, Bryan and Deborah Short, along with the El Shaddai Ranch Ministries board, decided it is time to pass the baton onto the next generation. They asked Jason Zellmer, a church planter and previous board member, to assume executive leadership of the ministry. On February 1st of 2017, the ranch came under new ownership as Redemption Ranch.

With a passion for serving the community and developing leaders, Jason and Heather Zellmer brought a fresh vision for the next generation of ministry. In addition to carrying on legacy of evangelizing youth through God’s creation, the leadership of Redemption Ranch have plans to expand the ministry by offering family camps, marriage retreats, leadership development, and large scale outreach events. By partnering with local church and other non-profit organizations, they hope to share the message of Christ’ redeeming love to the greater St. Louis community.