Kay Lee Arthur is an international Bible teacher, four-time ECPA Christian Book Award winning author, and co-founder of Precept Ministries International. Kay teaches inductive Bible study, and has authored many inductive Bible study workbooks. The Inductive method of studying the Bible, is a set of steps to follow to "mine" the details of the given book under study. It is accessible to lay persons and has been used by millions around the world being taught and utilized in small to medium-sized home, church, and market place study groups.
Early years
Kay Lee Arthur was born on November 11, 1933, in Jackson, Michigan. She grew up in a home that honored God. Her family moved frequently, and in each new community they looked for a church home first, and then looked for a house to live in. She graduated from nursing school in 1955 at age 21 and married her first husband, Frank Thomas Goetz, Jr.. They divorced in 1961 and although after becoming a Christian several years later she determined to reconcile, he committed suicide before they could reconcile. Kay explained in 2008, "Sin will take you farther than you ever intended to go, it will cost you more than you ever expected to pay, and it will keep you longer than you ever intended to stay. Unfortunately, over the next few years, I sought comfort with several other men including a two-year relationship with a married man." One day she went down on her knees, a harlot, and she got up a saint. Afterwards, she continued nursing and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee to attend Tennessee Temple University, where she earned a diploma. There, she met Jack Arthur, who had graduated from Tennessee Temple with a Th.G. in 1956. Jack served with for 10 years, taking him to 70 countries in Africa and Latin America. The couple were married on December 16, 1965 and served as missionaries in Mexico but medical problems forced them to leave the mission field. Kay and Jack returned to Chattanooga, Tennessee, confident that the Lord had further plans for them. Jack became the station manager of a local Christian radio station, and Kay taught the Bible to teens in their living room. The number of teens attending Kay's 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 full-time administrator for Reach Out Ranch. The ministry's name was eventually changed to Precept Ministries International, in order to more clearly communicate the organization's focus of establishing people in God's Word. Arthur's husband of 51 years, Jack, who battled cancer, died from Alzheimer's disease in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 9, 2017, at age 90.
Precept Ministries International
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. Precept Inductive Bible Study groups meet throughout the USA. Kay is a conference speaker who speaks extensively, both nationally and internationally, teaching the Word of God and the Inductive Bible Study Method. She was awarded the NRB Hall of Fame Award at the 2011 National Religious Broadcasters Convention & Exposition. "The paramount concern Kay Arthur has is for the sheep to follow the Good Shepherd," said NRB President and CEO, Dr. Frank Wright. "Kay and Jack have dedicated four decades to equip Christians with the tools necessary to mine the Scriptures on their own."
Precepts for Life
Kay hosts a daily radio, television and online Bible Study Teaching program called Precepts for Life, which walks listeners through the Bible, book-by-book and verse-by-verse, using the Inductive Bible Study Method. Precepts for Life has an audience reach of over 75 million households and broadcasts to over 30 countries. Precepts for Life was voted Best Television Teaching Program for 2004 and 2009 by the National Religious Broadcasters.
Recent updates
Kay was awarded the NRB Hall of Fame Award at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention and Exposition in 2011. Kay Arthur, Lois Crawford, and Aimee Semple McPherson are the only female recipients of this prestigious award, which has also been awarded to Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, William Bright, James Dobson, and Larry Burkett. In 2007 and 2008, Kay Arthur, along with Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer, spoke for Deeper Still: The Event, a LifeWay weekend conference featuring the three women. Kay received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2007. Kay is active in social media outreach and has currently more than 100,000 Facebook fans and builds community on Twitter.
Ecumenical relations
In November 2009, Arthur signed an ecumenical statement known as the calling on evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox not to comply with rules and laws permitting abortion, same-sex marriage and other matters that go against their religious consciences.
