July 27, 2004 – this was the most difficult day of my nearly 20 years of service with Mission Journeys/Teen Mission.
On that day, Joshua Teegarden (Flemingsburg, KY) was killed while serving with us on a short-term mission trip in Mt Vernon, KY.
At the time of his death, Joshua was 23 and a student at Johnson Bible College (Knoxville, TN), preparing to go into full-time Christian service.
It was expected that Josh would walk across the stage to receive his diploma in the spring of 2005 and then be ordained by his father Bill into the Christian ministry.
Josh’s father Bill Teegarden would say, “Josh will not walk across the stage at JBC and receive his degree. On July 27, 2004, he stepped into eternity and received a much higher degree – The Crown of Life.”
To honor Josh and the Teegarden family, Mission Journeys began a summer internship program in 2005 – the year following his death.
Since that time, we’ve had several young people go through the program who are now serving in churches and on mission fields around the world.
In honor of the 10-year anniversary of Josh’s passing, the Teegarden family is doing a 5K run/walk fundraiser on Saturday, July 26, 2014, in Flemingsburg, KY. Proceeds will go to the establishment of a missions scholarship at Johnson University in Josh’s name. See below for more details.
