The RenewaNation Review 2020 The Collingsworth Family Special Edition | Page 7

F
from the
ounder’s Pen
Dear Reader,
I was five years old the first time I heard Kim play the piano; she was
four. From her earliest years, she was fixated on this instrument. When
she was seven, I watched our mother move across the church to the
organ bench as Kim took over the piano. When we were teenagers, we
traveled across the country singing and playing in churches, camps,
and conventions. I never understood why people thought it was so
amazing for a 14-year-old girl to be playing the piano like Kim played
it. I literally thought it was normal since it’s all I had ever known. When
Kim and Phil were married a year before I was, our house seemed so
empty and quiet. Kim played the piano by the hour when she was
home, and I missed it more than anything when she left.
Over the years, our family has celebrated the fact that millions of people have now been introduced to the beauty of Jesus
through the gift God gave Kim and to the beautiful family she and Phil have raised.
In 2008, in the midst of an 18-year pastoral ministry, God led me to launch the ministry of Renewanation. Ironical-
ly, God began to birth this vision in my heart the night after Thanksgiving in 2007. It’s ironic because I was with the
Collingsworths, celebrating the lighting of the Christmas tree in downtown Cincinnati. As I was standing in the Westin
Hotel, God spoke clearly into my heart and launched me on a mission to see millions of new children developing a
biblical worldview.
In the fall of 2011, I left the pastorate to lead Renewanation full time. In the early years, it was the greatest test of faith I
had ever experienced. However, God used those years to purify my heart and clarify the mission of Renewanation. Today,
we celebrate the fact that in the last three years, we have influenced more than 50,000 children to begin a new or more
rigorous process of developing a biblical worldview.
Throughout this magazine, you will learn more about The Collingsworth Family as well as the vision and mission of
Renewanation and how we are helping children develop a biblical worldview.
We are honored to be a ministry partner of The Collingsworth Family. They would be the last ones to ever place them-
selves on a parenting pedestal. However, the fact that their children love the Lord and are giving their lives in His service
and for His glory is a testimony to their effectiveness in giving their children a biblical worldview.
Please let us know how we can help you give the children in your family, church, or school a biblical worldview.
Renewing our nation, one child at a time,
Jeff Keaton
Renewanation Founder & CEO
“
We are honored to be a ministry partner
of The Collingsworth Family.”
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