Kay Lee Arthur (November 11, 1933 – May 20, 2025) was an American Christian author, Bible teacher and co-founder of Precept Ministries International. She was a four-time winner of the ECPA Christian Book Award.

Early life and education

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

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

. She grew up in a religious household, which moved frequently. Arthur graduated from nursing school in 1955 when she was 21 years old and married her first husband, Frank Thomas Goetz, Jr. The couple were divorced in 1961. Previously disconnected from her religion, Arthur became newly committed to Christianity in 1963. Following Frank's death, Arthur moved to

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, to attend

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

, where she earned a Nursing diploma. There, she met Jack Arthur (b. March 14, 1926), who had graduated from TTU with a Graduate in

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who 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 Miss ...

in Mexico. Medical issues forced them to leave Mexico and return to the US.

Career

Precept Ministries International

After returning to Chattanooga, Arthur began teaching teenagers about the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in the couple's living room while Jack took over as manager of a local Christian radio station. As the Bible study group expanded, a 32-acre (13-hectare) farm was bought in order to accommodate the growing ministry. It was originally given the name Reach Out Ranch, but later became Precept Ministries International (PMI). The radio station was sold in 1972, and Jack became a full-time administrator for the ranch. Arthur hosted a daily radio, television and online Bible study teaching program called ''Precepts for Life''. In November 2009, Arthur signed an ecumenical statement known as the '' Manhattan Declaration'' with the aim of requesting

evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and Orthodox Christians not to comply with rules and laws permitting

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. Arthur spoke at several colleges, including

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

in 2015 and

Union University Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It was estab ...

in 2017.

Personal life and death

She had three sons (two from her first marriage, one from her second) and nine grandchildren. Her husband, Jack, died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in Chattanooga on January 9, 2017, at age 90. Arthur died on May 20, 2025, at the age of 91.

Publishing

Arthur won 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

She 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 com ...

(NRB) Convention and Exposition in 2011. Arthur received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga in 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Kay 1933 births 2025 deaths 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 Evangelical writers American television evangelists American women non-fiction writers Christians from Tennessee People from Chattanooga, Tennessee People from Jackson, Michigan Tennessee Republicans Writers from Tennessee Women Christian religious leaders