Kay Arthur

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.

Kay Arthur
Born	Kay Lee (1933-11-11)November 11, 1933 Jackson, Michigan, U.S.
Died	May 20, 2025(2025-05-20) (aged 91) Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Education	Tennessee Temple University
Occupation	Bible teacher author
Spouses	Frank Thomas Goetz, Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1955; div. 1961)​ Jack Arthur ​ ​ (m. 1965; died 2017)​
Children	3
Religion	Christian
Church	Interdenominational evangelical
Title	Co-founder − Precept Ministries

Early life and education

Kay Lee Arthur was born on November 11, 1933, in Jackson, Michigan.^[1] She grew up in a religious household, which moved frequently.^[1]

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.^[1]

Following Frank's death, Arthur moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to attend Tennessee Temple University, where she earned a Nursing diploma.^[1][2][3] There, she met Jack Arthur (b. March 14, 1926), who had graduated from TTU with a Graduate in Theology in 1956. The couple married on December 16, 1965, and served as missionaries in Mexico.^[4] Medical issues forced them to leave Mexico and return to the US.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Precept Ministries International

After returning to Chattanooga, Arthur began teaching teenagers about the Bible 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.^{[citation needed]}

Arthur hosted a daily radio, television and online Bible study teaching program called Precepts for Life.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2009, Arthur signed an ecumenical statement known as the Manhattan Declaration with the aim of requesting 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.^[5]

In 2016, Arthur spoke at The Gathering, a religious rally promoting Donald Trump's presidential campaign.^[6][7]

Arthur spoke at several colleges, including Liberty University in 2015^[8] and Union University in 2017.^[9]

Personal life and death

She had three sons (two from her first marriage, one from her second) and nine grandchildren.^[1]

Her husband, Jack, died from Alzheimer's disease in Chattanooga on January 9, 2017, at age 90.^[10][11]

Arthur died on May 20, 2025, at the age of 91.^[12]

Publishing

Arthur won Gold Medallion Book Awards for her books A Marriage Without Regrets,^[13] The New Inductive Study Bible,^[14] His Imprint My Expression,^[15] and Lord, I Need Grace to Make It Today.^[16]

Selected works

• Lord, Teach Me to Pray, video teaching series ISBN 978-1-4158-3212-7
• Lord, I Need Grace to Make It Today, (1991) ISBN 1-57856-441-7
• As Silver Refined (1997)^[17]
• A Marriage Without Regrets (2001) ISBN 0-7369-2075-7
• The New Inductive Study Bible, (2010) ISBN 0-7369-0016-0
• His Imprint My Expression ISBN 1-56507-399-1
• How To Study Your Bible, ISBN 0-7369-0544-8

Awards

She was awarded the NRB Hall of Fame Award at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Convention and Exposition in 2011.^[14]

Arthur received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga in 2007.^[18]