Kay Lee Arthur (born November 11, 1933) is Christian author and bible teacher and co-founder of Precept Ministries International.

Early life and education

Kay Lee Arthur was born on November 11, 1933, in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

. She grew up in a religious household, which moved frequently. She graduated from nursing school in 1955 at age 21, and married her first husband, Frank Thomas Goetz, Jr. They got a divorce in 1961. Previously disconnected from her religion, Arthur became newly committed to Christianity in 1963. Afterwards, she continued nursing and moved to

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

to attend

Tennessee Temple University Tennessee Temple University was a private Christian university in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Temple Baptist Seminary was the university's graduate school of Christian theology, also operating in Chattanooga. The university merged with Piedmont Inter ...

, where she earned a diploma. There, she met Jack Arthur (born March 14, 1926), who had graduated from Tennessee Temple University with a Graduate in

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in 1956. The couple were married on December 16, 1965 and served as

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Medical problems forced them to leave the mission field.

Career

Precept Ministries International

After returning to Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jack became the station manager of a local Christian radio station, and Kay taught the Bible to teens in their living room. The Bible study group steadily grew, and a 32-acre farm was purchased to accommodate the expanding ministry, which was named Reach Out Ranch. The radio station was sold in 1972, and Jack became a full-time administrator for the ranch. The ministry's name was eventually changed to Precept Ministries International (PMI). Kay hosts a daily radio, television and online Bible study teaching program called ''Precepts for Life'', which walks listeners through the Bible using the inductive Bible study method. ''Precepts for Life'' reaches an audience of 75 million households and broadcasts to over 30 countries. In November 2009, Arthur signed an ecumenical statement known as the ''

Manhattan Declaration Manhattan Declaration can refer to: * Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience, an American Christian cross-denominational declaration addressing a number of political issues in 2009 * Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change, a d ...

'' calling on evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox Christians not to comply with rules and laws permitting abortion, same-sex marriage and other matters that go against their religious consciences. In 2016 Arthur spoke at The Gathering, a religious rally promoting

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's presidential campaign. Arthur has spoken at several colleges, including

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

in 2015 and

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 2017.

Personal life

Kay has three sons (two from her first marriage, one from her second) and nine grandchildren. Arthur's husband, Jack, died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 9, 2017, at age 90.

Publishing

Since co-founding Precept Ministries International, Kay has written more than 100 books and Bible studies, with over 11 million in print. Her inductive Bible studies are available in over 180 countries in approximately 70 languages. She has won four Gold Medallion Book Awards for her books ''A Marriage Without Regrets, The New Inductive Study Bible, His Imprint My Expression,'' and ''Lord, I Need Grace to Make It Today.''

Selected works

* Lord, Teach Me to Pray, video teaching series * ''Lord, I Need Grace to Make It Today'',(1991) * ''As Silver Refined'' (1997) * ''A Marriage Without Regrets'' (2001) * ''The New Inductive Study Bible'',(2010) * ''His Imprint My Expression'' * ''How To Study Your Bible'',

Awards

Arthur received a

Doctor of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

from

in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2007. Arthur was awarded the NRB Hall of Fame Award at the

National Religious Broadcasters National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint comm ...

(NRB) Convention and Exposition in 2011.

References

External links

Kay Arthur's Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Kay 1933 births Living people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century evangelicals American evangelicals American television evangelists American women non-fiction writers Christians from Tennessee Evangelical writers People from Chattanooga, Tennessee People from Jackson, Michigan Tennessee Republicans Writers from Tennessee