"They All had a Heart for this Generation..."

Teen Mania issues statement related to the May 11 Kansas Plane Crash

GARDEN VALLEY, Texas, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Teen Mania Ministries is sad to announce that five individuals on board a flight to Acquire The Fire in Council Bluffs, Iowa were involved in a plane crash around 4:30 p.m. May 11. The plane went down in rural southeastern Kansas, and three of the five on board died at the scene.

Teen Mania asks for prayers for the families of Luke Sheets, 23 of Ephraim, Wisc.; Garrett Coble, 29 of Tulsa, Okla.; and Stephen Luth, 27 of Muscatine, Iowa. All three were graduates of Oral Roberts University. Coble was a long-time friend of Teen Mania Ministries, having served on 15 Global Expeditions missions trips. He also served as a professor at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Okla.

Hannah Luce, daughter of Teen Mania founder Ron Luce, and Austin Anderson were also aboard the plane when it crashed and were able to walk to a nearby roadway and get help. However, both Hannah Luce and Anderson suffered severe injuries and were evacuated to hospitals in Kansas City and Wichita, respectively. Luce is listed in serious but stable condition, suffering primarily from burns on 28 percent of her body. Sadly, Anderson succumbed to his injuries at 5:30 a.m Saturday, May 12 and went to be with the Lord.

Both Anderson and Stephen Luth were recently hired to the marketing staff at Teen Mania Ministries. Anderson recently graduated from Oral Roberts University with a degree in business administration and had served two tours of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq.

Ron Luce described all those on board the plane as being committed Christians who had a passion to reach the younger generation with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

"We are so saddened by what has happened and ask for all those who have been touched by this ministry in some way to rally around the families of all involved in the crash, especially the four young men who passed away. Please lift them up in prayer, and ask for the Holy Spirit to surround them with God's love and peace," Luce said. "They all had a heart for this generation, and were passionately pursuing God's call on their lives."

The mission of Teen Mania Ministries is to provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take his life-giving message to the ends of the Earth. Since its founding in 1986, TMM has reached more than 2.7 million teens in the U.S., and sent teenage missionaries to more than 50 nations to share the saving message of the gospel. To find out more about TMM and its various ministries, go to www.TeenMania.com.

Media Contact: Cindy Mallette Teen Mania Ministries, 903-522-0610, cindy.mallette@teenmania.org

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE Teen Mania Ministries

Search: