In 2012 the number of children confirmed to be victims of maltreatment in the USA was 603,854.
In 2013 the number of kids committed to state custody in Tennessee was 6954.
In 2014 I met more teens from more places that need the hope and strength that Christ provides than ever before. Through our High Impact Teen youth outreach ministry I have had the privilege to preach, teach, counsel and spend hours in one on one conversation with teens from Mississippi, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I’ve also had the opportunity to develop volunteer ministry teams that are now reaching even more youth in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia and Tennessee. God is placing on the hearts of caring, committed adults to join us in ministry and that opens unlimited doors to reach more youth as we move forward in the days ahead.
*Ronnie has big dreams but he also has significant obstacles to overcome. I met him in the gym during recreation time at a juvenile development facility in Tennessee. He has a speech problem and that hinders his communication skills significantly but after a while we had a long conversation about his dreams. He was about to turn eighteen and was soon to be released. He had submitted his college application to the school he really wanted to attend and was waiting to hear whether he would be accepted. He said, “I’m either moving on to a college campus or into a homeless facility… those are my two options.” His words stunned me. I imagined being eighteen and facing the challenges Ronnie was facing. But as we talked more about his situation he began to tell me about a local church that had taken an interest in him. He said, “This church has raised money to help me buy books, they have been collecting clothes and school supplies and when I get that acceptance letter from the college, I’ll be ready.” He did get accepted into that college and that is great news! I’ve been in touch with him this fall and he has faced some significant challenges already but through other Christian connections in the area, we are trying to help him one step at a time.
*Jimmy is in the seventh grade. We played ping pong together at French Camp Academy, a Christian boarding school for nearly three hundred middle and high school students in French Camp, Mississippi. He stated pointedly, “My parents both died… that’s how I ended up here.” But he’s doing fine because he’s surrounded by an incredible Christian family of staff and great house parents who love him and are guiding him each day. I’m speaking four times this school year at French Camp Academy on spiritual growth principles for these youth.
Eighty-five to ninety percent of the youth we minister to are fatherless. This year we have been able to reach more youth than ever before and new ministry doors continue to open in youth facilities to provide Bible studies and discipleship. Approximately 60 donors make up our “ministry team” of partners that makes it all possible. Their gifts range from $25 up to several hundred dollars per month. Most of our supporters give monthly but some choose to give annually or quarterly. We’ve been blessed this year and with the expanded growth in to several states and every financial gift has made a big difference! Words can’t describe the gratitude we have for donors like you that stand in the gap to bring the hope of the gospel of Christ to the youth we serve. Please consider a year end gift to help reach high-risk and fatherless youth into the coming year! You can mail your gift to Ken Turner Ministries, PO Box 1325, Dayton, TN 37321 or give online at www.kenturnerministries.org/give
In Christ,
Ken Turner
*Names are changed to protect the privacy of the youth we serve.
A few years ago I received a call from Missionary Fred Kearney. He explained how he had walked in to his office and found a book on his desk in his office in Ghana, West Africa. To this day he has no idea how it got there. It was a High Impact Teen Spiritual Journal for youth. My phone number was printed on the book so he called me. He said, “We really need something like this.
Our youth have very few resources to help them understand the Word and grow.” He told me about a youth conference he was holding and we put together a plan to get 75 HIT Journals to their youth. Many of my ministry friends donated to help raise funds to get the books to these youth from surrounding villages. Fred told me weeks later how God had used the HIT Journal to revive the hearts of many of their youth. They really grew through the structure and discipline of keeping a spiritual journal.
NOW THEY NEED MORE
Fred Kearney has been in Africa for many years and is now in need of 200 HIT Journals for his upcoming youth conference called “Because of the Hour.” The youth will learn to have a consistent devotional life, keep a spiritual journal, keep an organized prayer journal, keep sermon notes and develop in seven areas of discipleship.
For every $12 given a HIT Journal will be provided to the youth in Ghana, West Africa. We need sponsors and donors. Could you give today to help with this special project? I have submitted the files to the printer and am trusting the Lord to provide so we can make this investment in the youth of Ghana, West Africa.
We need a total of $2400 to fund HIT Journals for 200 youth in Africa. The youth conference begins July
30 so we need to raise the funds in the next few days. I hope you will prayerfully consider a gift.
*Note: Any funds raised over the amount needed will provide HIT Journals to fatherless youth we are reaching in the outreach to juvenile detention centers.
I am honored to preach in chapel this Friday morning, March 7, 2014 at New Hope Academy.
Here is a statement from their website:
We are a community of hope.
We believe that changing our culture begins with understanding and that understanding takes place in genuine relationships. Separately, we remain impoverished and underprivileged—the poor and affluent alike. Together, we become empowered and enlightened lifting one another to a Christ-centered life.
Join us Monday night March 10 and Monday night March 17 from 6:00-7:15 PM for a special session for parents of teens.
Are you struggling to teach your teenager “right from wrong?” Are you feeling the pressures of friends, neighbors, media and society to be permissive, give your teen more space and give in when your heart tells you that you need to be more engaged as a parent in your teenager’s moral and spiritual character development.
Come join us for an open, honest look at a Biblical approach to parenting your teenager. Come find the courage you need to teach your teenager “right from wrong.”
If you played in the NFL and won a Super Bowl… then coached in the NFL and won a Super Bowl… then became a best selling author and NFL TV analyst among many other successes… how would you define the happiest moment of your life? While working as a co-author on the book “The Jersey Effect”, I had the opportunity to ask Tony Dungy the question, “What was one of the happiest moments of your life?” And for the next four minutes he answered. The answer he gave me had a lot less to do with football, success, money or fame.
It was revealing and it might help you understand why you are happy today… or why you are not. Listen here:
By the way, if you haven’t read “The Jersey Effect”, click here to get your copy. For a $15 suggested donation I will send you one… shipping included (inside the USA).
Ken Turner
Ken Turner Ministries
PO Box 1325
Dayton, TN 37321 kenturner@highimpactteens.org
Learn more at http://jerseyeffect.org[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
You can make a difference that will last for eternity by giving to bring the gospel to hundreds of youth.
90% of the youth we serve are fatherless.
70% of youth in juvenile detention have committed “crimes of survival” meaning they are in trouble for choosing to do something to help them survive. Things such as stealing food because they are hungry or skipping school to try to support their family in poverty are common.
Over 300 teens have accepted Christ as Savior since our ministry started.
Your gift will fund a gift of a student Bible and my spiritual journal which teaches teens how engage with God through His word and really develop a personal relationship with Him. Our goal is to provide the gospel to 29 youth facilities in Tennessee and in Indiana.
$15 provides 1 Bible and 1 Spiritual Journal.
$75 provides 5 teens with a Bible and Spiritual Journal.
$150 provides for 10 teens, $300 provides for 20 teens, $1500 funds an entire detention facility of 100 youth! Click here to make your tax deductible gift today. Click here to set up a monthly donation to provide the gospel month after month to fatherless youth and become a part of our ministry support team!
After twenty-one years in church youth ministry I established an outreach ministry in 2008 with a key focus on reaching troubled youth in the community of Indianapolis, Indiana. Our ministry moved to Tennessee in July 2010 and I continue to minister to high-risk and fatherless youth.
In 2014 I met more teens from more places that need the hope and strength that Christ provides than ever before. Through our High Impact Teen youth outreach ministry I have had the privilege to preach, teach, counsel and spend hours in one on one conversation with teens from Mississippi, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I’ve also had the opportunity to develop volunteer ministry teams that are now reaching even more youth in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia and Tennessee. God is placing on the hearts of caring, committed adults to join us in ministry and that opens unlimited doors to reach more youth as we move forward in the days ahead.
