About
Christian author and former missionary known for creating the bestselling devotional book Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence along with the books Jesus Today, Jesus Always, Jesus Listens, Jesus Lives, Dear Jesus, and multiple children's devotionals such as Jesus Calling for Little Ones and Jesus Calling Bible Storybook. Her work is also known for expanding into a larger media platform including the Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith podcast and a television series of the same name that premiered in October 2020.
Before fame
She attended E. C. Glass High School in Virginia before enrolling at Wellesley College where she earned a degree in philosophy in 1968. She completed graduate studies at Tufts University and also studied at Covenant Theological Seminary. She earned a counseling-related degree from Georgia State University. She encountered the teachings of Francis Schaeffer and eventually visited L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland where she became a Christian. She began keeping devotional prayer journals in 1992 and writing reflections based on Scripture and what she described as "listening prayer. Her journals eventually became the foundation for Jesus Calling. She published her first book Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence in 2004 which became a best seller.
Trivia
She won the ECPA Christian Book of the Year Award for Jesus Today in 2013 and again for Jesus Always in 2018. Her book Jesus Calling received the ECPA Double Diamond Milestone Sales Award in 2023 for selling over 20 million copies. She was honored posthumously with the ECPA Pinnacle Award in 2024 for her lifetime impact.
Family life
She was born Sarah Jane Kelly. She grew up in a family of educators in Tennessee. She married Stephen Young in 1977. She had two children named Stephanie van der Westhuizen and Eric Young. She died from leukemia in August 2023.
Associated with
Her Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith television series was hosted by Lauren Alaina.
