Precept History
55 years.
One man and woman with hearts on fire for God.
Hearts on fire—and a passion in their souls to share that fire with others. To reach out with the truth of God’s Word. To bring others closer to Him.
Thus began a story that would impact thousands upon thousands for decades to come...
Bell-bottoms and Bible Study
It was the year 1970. Bell-bottoms, bright colors, and the Jackson 5 were all the rage.
But for Jack and Kay Arthur, freshly home from the mission field, fashion trends and pop culture were not the priority. Rather, their priority was for people to feed on God’s Word. (Although this is not to say that Kay didn’t enjoy being stylish!)
It started off as a Bible study ministry in their home. But soon they purchased a 32-acre chicken farm in the Tennessee Valley—the Reach Out Ranch, headquarters of the newly formed Reach Out ministry.
That’s where it all began.
Precept Upon Precept® Is Born
The ministry there at the Reach Out Ranch continued for several years. Then in 1975 a landmark event happened that would shape the future of the ministry and the lives of thousands upon thousands: Kay wrote the first Precept Upon Precept® course on the epistle of Romans.
The course was meant to help equip a women’s group to study the Bible for themselves when Kay was unable to be there to teach them.
But Kay scarcely could have envisioned the ripple effect her desire to equip these women would have—and the impactful work that God was going to continue to do.
God’s Precepts Over the Decades and Across the World
As the years went by, more Bible studies were created. More men and women were taught. More leaders were raised up to spread the truth of God’s Word and the joys of inductive Bible study to those around them.
Books were written. Teaching videos were produced. And the name of the ministry changed in 1982 from Reach Out to Precept Ministries, reflecting the life-transforming impact of teaching people how to study God’s precepts for themselves.
More people learned the inductive Precept method and used Precept resources to dig deep into Scripture. Thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands.
And the impact wasn’t just limited to the United States. Men and women all over the world learned to know God deeply through Precept Bible studies, books, training institutes, workshops, camps, and study groups.
The Word of God was unleashed in dozens of languages—and over 150 countries.
(And when the Word of God is unleashed... there’s no telling how the Holy Spirit will work.)
A Legacy of God’s Faithful Power
After decades of ministry, Jack Arthur passed into the presence of Jesus in 2017—leaving behind a legacy of faithfulness that Kay, their son David, and the staff at Precept continued to carry on.
Even with study resources using the Precept method available on every book of the Bible across several different levels of study, there was still (always) more to be done.
Thousands of Bible study leaders were trained worldwide.
Over the decades and even now, new product series are being written to help all generations learn to love Bible study.
And this year, in 2025—the year of the 55th anniversary of Precept’s founding—Kay Arthur joined her husband in glory.
But the mission continues on.
Jack and Kay’s legacy of helping people experience the transformative power of God’s Word still stands.
God’s Word will not be stopped.
The Life-Changing Impact of God’s Precepts
What kind of impact can the precepts of God’s Word have on hearts and lives?
Consider Neama Church in Marrakech, Morrocco, whose members must meet in secret in order to avoid government oppression, yet whose hearts are hungry for the precious food that is God’s Word.
Or consider John who went from a life of disappointment and anger to genuine faith in Christ—largely because of studying the book of Revelation.
There’s also Merry, who says that “learning to study His Word allows me to seek and find Him with a greater intimacy. ... [It] prepares my mind for the testing that will strengthen my faith and ready my character for His next assignment. It replaces my thoughts with higher thoughts and opens my ears and eyes to see where He is already working all things for the good.”
This is the kind of work God has done, and is doing, through Precept. And we praise Him for it!
Because we believe that God’s Word has power—and that it “shall not return to me [God] empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 ESV).
There are still lives to impact. There are still hearts to transform. The Holy Spirit wants to work through His Word.
It’s been 55 years.
Here’s to 55 more.
This article was originally published by Precept US on 1st October 2025. The original post can be viewed here.