by Ken Turner | Nov 28, 2023 | Faith, Ministry To Fatherless, Ministry Update, Outreach
Your gift will help bring the gospel to fatherless youth!
On this Giving Tuesday, join us in our outreach to high-risk and fatherless youth. Your gift to High Impact Ministries will be used to bring the hope of the gospel of Jesus to youth who desperately need it.
Here are a few ways your gift today will help us reach youth at the end of the year!
High Impact Ministries – Outreach project to provide Bibles and devotional journals to fatherless youth in juvenile centers across Tennessee, Indiana, and our newest outreach in Illinois. Our other project is to provide Christmas gift bags to 500 or more teens in juvenile centers. Each teen will receive a gift on Christmas with personal toiletries, a Bible, and a devotional book. Your gift will impact hundreds of youth.
High Impact York – Our outreach in York, PA, led by Tom Vietti, focuses on reaching high-risk and fatherless youth in the York County Youth Development Center and the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center. Tom also leads a Wilderness Discipleship Ministry throughout the year. Funds are needed to bring the gospel to the youth in York, Lancaster, and the surrounding area and for expenses to grow the Wilderness Discipleship Ministry. Thank you for praying and partnering with this vital ministry.
High Impact School Outreach – Joshua Goodling leads our outreach and speaks in public schools throughout KY, TN, VA, GA, SC, and NC. He never charges for his time or travel expenses, yet he has spoken to over 20,000 students in the past few years. Joshua is working on getting his booklet “How to Walk With God” into the hands of students through public school FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) clubs. In the past year, he launched Operation FCA Booklets. He has mailed over 4,000 booklets to almost 60 schools in 12 states. Your gift will help with printing more booklets and getting them into the hands of our young people. Your support will allow Joshua to continue spreading the gospel to students!
Join us and make a difference in the life of a fatherless teen on this “Giving Tuesday.”
In Christ,
Ken Turner
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by Ken Turner | Sep 15, 2016 | High Impact Stories, Ministry To Fatherless, Ministry Update, Word for Today
Yesterday, I was with a group of six high school boys in one of our outreach programs in a juvenile facility. Two of the six boys made this statement, “I’ve been on my own since I was twelve.”
They went on to explain they weren’t homeless since age twelve but they were “on their own” in the sense that their parents had essentially “checked out” on them by the time they were twelve. In some cases, fathers leave and never return and moms fall into crime or are battling addictions at such a deep level they can’t function well enough to be a parent.
There are no easy answers, but I’d like to hear from others who have overcome difficult circumstances like this. What advice would you give a teenager who said, “I’ve been taking care of myself since age twelve.”
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by Ken Turner | Jul 29, 2015 | Faith, Family, Ministry To Fatherless
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6
After living in Indiana for 21 years we moved to the mountains of Tennessee in 2010. Our family enjoyed so many things about Indiana. The people we served in the two churches where I was a youth pastor became like family. Our farm house in the country was surrounded by corn fields and flat… really flat land. But it had it’s own sense of natural beauty.
When we moved to Tennessee I constantly found myself admiring the mountains. I grew up in the foothills of South Carolina but it had been a long time since spending much time around mountains. I remember so many times during our first year here I would comment to my wife and kids about how beautiful the scenery is here. I would often say, “I bet the people who have lived here all their life don’t even notice these mountains. They are probably just so used to it.”
Don’t you think that’s one of life’s great pitfalls? It’s especially true of our relationship with God. Do you remember a time when you hungered and thirsted for God more than you do now?
That’s one thing that is so rewarding about the ministry we have with youth in juvenile detention centers. Many of them are fatherless and so many have never really known much about God or the Bible. But God often uses this time in their life to speak to them and show Himself real in their life.
Sometimes the words I hear from these youth bring conviction to me. It causes me to ask, “Do I still hunger and thirst for God? Do I still notice His hand at work in my life… or have I gotten used to it?”
Here are 10 powerful statements from 10 different youth I have met. I hope this inspires you to be thirsty for God today.
- My dad died at 15, I’m 13 and I don’t want to die on the street like my dad. (13 year old boy)
- I’m locked up, I’m 12 and I have two kids. Is my life over? (12 year old girl)
- I gave my life to Jesus. Now I am reading the Bible and praying everyday. Please don’t bring me any other books, I just want to read the Bible. (13 year old boy)
- Will you pray with me? I want God to change me. I want to know Jesus personally. (15 year old boy)
- My dad died on the street two years ago and I have no one. How do I know God’s plan? (13 year old boy)
- I’m glad I got locked up. This is like the whale in Jonah’s life. If I had not landed in the belly of this place, my path would not have changed. I’m ready to follow God’s path, I have given my life to God. (15 year old boy)
- I have no one. I don’t even know where my dad is and my mom lost custody of me when I was 2. (15 year old boy)
- Will you pray with me? Will you talk to me? Can I see you when I am released? Will you teach me to study the Bible?
- I came to the Bible study tonight hoping there would be food. I got something more fulfilling than food. I learned about God and His word. (17 year old boy)
- Before I got into trouble, I told everyone I was an atheist. But I now realize there really is a God and I’ve decided to believe in Him and trust Him as my Savior.
Question: When you find yourself becoming spiritually complacent, what have you found that reignites your passion for God?
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