Way back around 2008, I received a call from Missionary Fred Kearney in Ghana, West Africa. We did not know each other, but he explained he recently walked into his office in Ghana, and a book was on his desk. It was my High Impact Teen one-year spiritual journal. To this day, no one knows how it got there. He called the phone number printed on the back of the book, and I answered. He explained that this one-year devotional journal was exactly what he needed to disciple youth and young adults in Africa. We shipped him about 75 HIT Journals, and since then, we have reprinted and shipped HIT Journals that hundreds of youth have used in his ministry from surrounding churches.
He needs 120 more HIT Journals for his “Because of the Hour” youth conference in October. What excites me about this is that I know the youth in Africa value the one-year spiritual journal; they appreciate it so much, and they write on every page. Here in the USA, we have tracked the statistics and teenagers that have used the HIT Journal average spending at least 4 out of 7 days each week in personal devotions. I’m sure in Africa, that statistic is higher.
If you would like to donate to help fund this amazing project, it costs about $12 per journal, and your investment will provide a spiritual impact that will carry on for a full year. After we exceed the needed funds for the youth in Africa, we are printing more HIT Journals for the youth we serve in the juvenile centers in IL, IN, TN, and beyond.
High Impact Ministries PO Box 375 Benson, IL 61516
Here are some ways you can partner with us and impact a fatherless teenager.
1. We send Bibles, devotional books, and spiritual resources to youth in juvenile centers. Your support each month helps provide these resources for teens. If you’d like to partner with us on this project, you can give online or at the address below. Select the “High Impact Needs” fund on our online giving link to support this project.
2. We are continuing to collect “Letters to Fatherless Youth.” You can write and submit a letter online using the form we provide at this link. It’s quick and easy! https://forms.gle/US37RjyLRoR4REVm6
Accepting Jesus as your Savior is the greatest decision you will ever make but have you experienced the freedom of being fully surrendered to God.
Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Here is what it means to be fully surrendered to God based on Romans 12:1.
The Decision to Yield – “Present your body.” The word present means to yield. Just like the image of a fork in the road, a choice between two options and a “my way or His way” option… every person will one day have to decide whether to give Christ his or her all or hold back. The world is filled with examples of people who have chosen Christ to have a “free ticket to heaven” but continue to pursue their goals without seeking His will. The beginning of a life of surrender is to yield to Him and say, “I’ll choose His way over my way.” Are you open to asking Him before making plans for your life? Are you willing to hear His voice and yield to His will?
The Degree of Surrender – “Your body.” The word body means the entire instrument of life. Jesus asks us to yield our whole body. Can you tell Him, “I yield my eyes to you and ask you to take control of everything I choose to see. I yield my mind to you and everything I choose to think about. I yield my ears to you and everything I choose to listen to. I yield my heart to you and every desire. I yield my hands and feet to you and everything I choose to do with my hands and every place I choose to go with my feet. I yield my tongue to you and every word that comes from my mouth.” The decision is to yield, and that decision’s degree or depth is 100% of your life.
The Dedication – “Holy and acceptable to God.” To be holy is to be set apart for a special purpose. It’s not only to be separated from something but also to be separated unto something. Are you willing to take the eternal gift of salvation and a promise of heaven and tell the Lord that you will live out your life here on earth 100% surrendered to Him, dedicated to His service, and yielded to His will? You will be amazed at the peace and joy you will experience when you stop fighting for your own will and yield to the perfect will of God.
Why not pray today and tell Jesus, “I’m so thankful for your salvation, and I want to commit myself fully to you, fully surrendered and yielded to serve you and follow your will.”
If you struggle to read the Bible you are not alone. When I was a youth pastor in Indianapolis, IN I surveyed our youth group of almost 100 teens about their relationship with the Bible. Most of them were living in strong Christian homes and were attending church and youth group weekly. I found that only 20% of them ever opened the Bible on their own during the week. So, 80% of them never read the Bible on their own. But let’s be honest… this struggle is common among so many of us!
As I think back to my teenage years, I remember struggling with Bible reading too.
One of the reasons I struggled with my relationship with the Bible is that I thought I needed to read A LOT of the Bible for it to count. But I learned later on that it’s not about reading chapters and chapters in the Bible, it’s that we just get into the Word, that counts.
So, I created a process to encourage teens to read smaller portions of scripture and make short entries in a spiritual journal. I learned that reading literally 5-15 Bible verses a day was a game-changer. After deciding to read smaller portions in the Bible, over 80% of the teens in the same group were reading the Bible at least 4 out of 7 days each week!
Think about this quote. “You will be the same person in five years you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Charlie Jones, author of Life Is Tremendous.
So, if reading can change a person so dramatically… imagine how much more enriched our life would be if we read the Bible… the most powerful book ever written?
So here’s my challenge to you… begin to read with a desire to grow! This is different than reading out of obligation to complete an assignment. And make reading the Bible a top priority.
Here Are 9 Benefits of Reading the Bible From Psalm 119
1. Victory Over Sin In Your Life
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Verse 11
2. Cleansing From Sin
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Verse 9
3. More Joy
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. Verse 14
4. Wisdom and Direction
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Verse 18
5. You Will Be Revived… Rejuvenated
Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lovingkindness. Verse 159
6. Renewed Strength
Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Verse 117
7. You Will Experience Liberty and Freedom
And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. Verse 45
8. Less Shame and Embarrassment
I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. Verse 46
9. Comfort in Affliction
This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. Verse 50
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
Each month, I enjoy sharing stories of how God is at work in the hearts and lives of the high-risk and fatherless youth we are reaching. In our Bible study in the juvenile center this past week, one of the high school guys wanted to share how God has been transforming his heart. Here is his story.
“I’ve spent much of my life angry at my parents. I’ve felt they gave up on me and didn’t provide for me all the things I needed to make it in life. Eventually, the conflicts and struggles in our home led to my parents making the decision to place me in foster care. I felt abandoned. My anger grew worse after being in and out of a few foster homes and now in juvenile detention. But as we’ve studied the Bible together each week, God has been transforming my heart. I now realize that not all of the issues in my life were because others may have failed me. Much of my struggles come from my own heart. As I’ve given my life to Christ and been growing in Him, I realize I have so much more to be thankful for than I ever realized. So, I have chosen to forgive any hurts of the past, and I’ve been writing letters to my parents and each of my foster families that have invested in me. I’ve taken time to thank each of them and also to apologize for my actions and attitudes when they were trying to help me.”
There’s change, and there’s transformation. This story is a story of transformation. When our heart changes and our thinking changes, we know that God is really at work and He is transforming us into the person He has purposed us to be.
Please keep these youth in your prayers! God is doing great things.
Over the next few months, we have some special ministry projects and will definitely need the support of our ministry friends. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we will provide hundreds of Bibles, devotional books, spiritual resources, and gift bags to teens in IL, IN, and TN juvenile centers. I’ll get more details to you soon, but please pray for these important outreach projects. I can’t imagine anything more important than planting the seed of the gospel in the hearts of 500-1000 youth over the next few months.
God is doing great work in the hearts of fatherless and high-risk youth weekly, and the prayers and support we receive make it all possible!
Thank you for all your prayers and support! It’s because of you and your partnership and the faithfulness of God we can reach fatherless youth.
In Christ,
Ken Turner
PS. If you haven’t made a recent gift to help bring the hope of the gospel to fatherless youth, please consider donating today. Give at https://kenturnerministries.org/give/ *The names mentioned are not their real names to protect the privacy of these minor youth. Please keep in your prayers the outreach ministry in Normal, IL; Peoria, IL; Galesburg, IL, led by Rob Skow; the outreach in York, PA, led by Tom Vietti; the outreach ministry of Joshua Goodling in Knoxville, TN, and the outreaches that continue to flourish in Nashville, TN, Memphis, TN, Dandridge, TN and Indianapolis, IN.
Our mailing address is: Ken and Jennifer Turner High Impact Ministries PO Box 375 Benson, IL 61516
I meet new teenagers regularly in my weekly High Impact Teen Bible study in the juvenile center in Normal, IL. There are a few guys I’ve been seeing for months, and the spiritual growth I see in them is encouraging! A couple of weeks ago, I met two new guys, and they were very engaged in the scripture we were studying together. As we came to the end of the study, I mentioned the subject of the gospel… and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I asked if they had ever been told how to know Jesus as their Savior personally. These “new guys” said, “No, I’ve never heard this before.” I proceeded to share the gospel message, and it is such an honor to be in a front-line ministry where I have the opportunity to be the first person ever to share the gospel with someone. I was on vacation last week on a trip to Florida, but I will see these guys again tomorrow at our next Bible study. Pray for them as they have been “pondering” the meaning of accepting Christ.
Please keep in your prayers the outreach ministry in Normal, IL; Peoria, IL (where I recently completed a three-month study on fatherhood); the outreach in Galesburg, IL, led by Rob Skow, the outreach in York, PA, led by Tom Vietti, the outreach ministry of Joshua Goodling in Knoxville, TN, and the outreaches that continue to flourish in Nashville, TN, Memphis, TN, and Indianapolis, IN.
Thank you for all your prayers and support! It’s because of you and your partnership and the faithfulness of God we can reach fatherless youth.
In Christ,
Ken Turner
PS. If you haven’t made a recent gift to help bring the hope of the gospel to fatherless youth, please consider donating today. Give at https://kenturnerministries.org/give/
Our new mailing address is: Ken and Jennifer Turner High Impact Ministries PO Box 375 Benson, IL 61516
