Jerry B. Jenkins

Jenkins has written more than 200 books, in multiple genres, such as biography, self-help, romance, mystery, and young adult fiction. Nineteen of his 130+ novels have explored eschatological themes and settings. In 2016, Jenkins was described as a dispensationalist Christian by The Washington Post.

• Name — Jerry B. Jenkins • Birth Name — Jerry Bruce Jenkins • Born — 23 September 1949 • Birthplace — Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States • Education — * Moody Bible Institute (1967–68) • Harper College (1968–70) • Occupation — Writer • Organization — * Christian Writers Guild (2001–2014) • The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild (2016–present) • Children — 3, including Dallas • Mother — Bonita Grace Thompson • Father — Harry Philip Jenkins • Website — jerryjenkins.com

Jenkins was born September 1949 to Harry Philip Jenkins and Bonita Grace Thompson of Kalamazoo, Michigan. In a 2008 interview with The Modesto Bee, Jenkins said his Christian faith was inspired by a Warner Sallman painting, guided by his mother. After graduating from Forest View High School, Jenkins attended Moody Bible Institute from 1967 to 1968, and Harper College from 1968 to 1970.

After suffering an injury playing sports, Jenkins began work as a sports reporter while he was still in high school. Before he could drive, Jenkins covered high school sports for local newspapers. He was paid per inch. While attending Moody Bible Institute, Jenkins served as night news editor for the institute's flagship radio station, WMBI-FM. He served as Vice President of the Moody's publishing division from 1985 to 1988, and a writer-in-residence from 1988 onward. He was the managing editor of Moody Monthly from 1974 to 1979 and publisher from 1979 to 1981. Jenkins served as a member of Moody Bible Institute's Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2018. Jenkins serves on Colorado Christian University's board of trustees. CCU's Armstrong Center, built in 2024, contains a reading room dedicated to Jenkins and his family.

The Dallas O'Neil and The Baker Street Sports Club (1986) series, and its follow up, the Dallas O'Neil Mysteries (1988–89), prompted Gil Thorp creator Jack Berrill to open discussions with Jenkins on creating a line of young adult books about Gil Thorp and the athletes at the fictional Milford High School. The Gil Thorp series was never realized, but following Berrill's death in 1996, Jenkins was recruited by Tribune to continue to comic strip as its writer, with Rod Whigham as artist. During his tenure as writer, Jenkins introduced a number of controversial storylines, including a young shomer Shabbat joining the Milford football team. Jenkins's sons, Chad and Dallas, contributed to Gil Thorp by developing scenarios for their father to write. According to the Chicago Reader, Chad Jenkins wrote the strip from 2001 to 2004 without credit, which both Jenkins and his son say is not true. Chad served as a story consultant.

Jenkins and co-author LaHaye of the Left Behind series were profiled in a May 24, 2004 cover story in Newsweek magazine entitled "The New Prophets of Revelation". LaHaye, who conceived the series, handled the theological underpinnings of his end-of-the-world series, while Jenkins handled the writing. The Left Behind series includes 16 books which have sold over 63 million copies worldwide. Jenkins has said, "I write the best I can. I know I'm never going to be revered as some classic writer. I don't claim to be C. S. Lewis. The literary-type writers, I admire them. I wish I was smart enough to write a book that's hard to read, you know?" In 2018, Left Behind series was ranked No. number 77 in The Great American Read poll sponsored by PBS.

Jenkins and his wife Dianna (née Whiteford), whom he married in 1971, reside in Black Forest, Colorado. He is the father of Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen web television series; Chad Jenkins, the Sports Information Director at MidAmerica Nazarene University; and Michael Bruce Jenkins. When asked about his Christian denomination, Jenkins has often answered "Jesus Christ". Alissa Wilkinson, of Christian Today, described Jenkins as a dispensationalist Christian in an editorial for The Washington Post.

• Title — Date — Publisher — ISBN — Notes • Sammy Tippit — 1973 — Moody — — — biography of Sammy Tippit • You CAN Get thru to Teens — Victor Books • VBS Unlimited — 1974 • Bad Henry — Chilton Company — biography of Hank Aaron; with Stanley C. Baldwin • The Story of the Christian Booksellers Association — Thomas Nelson • The Gingerbread Man — Lippincott — with Pat Williams • Light on the Heavy — July 1978 — Victor • The Night the Giant Rolled Over — January 1981 — Little Word — account of the 1976 Papua earthquake • The Power within You — May 1983 — WJK — with Pat Williams • The Men Behind Moody — November 1984 — Moody — with Robert G. Flood • Teaching the Word, Reaching the World — February 1985 • Rekindled — March 1985 — Revell — with Pat Williams and Jill Williams • Keep the Fire Glowing — October 1986 • A Generous Impulse — October 1987 — Moody — biography of George Sweeting • Kindling — Thomas Nelson — with Pat Williams and Jill Williams • Hymns for Personal Devotions — July 1989 — Moody • Hedges — November 1989 — Wolgemuth & Hyatt • Lessons Learned Early — April 1990 — Moody — autobiography • Twelve Things I Want My Kids to Remember Forever — March 1991 • Just Between Us — October 1991 — Revell — with Pat Williams and Jill Williams • Life Flies When You're Having Fun — April 1993 — David C. Cook — autobiography • Verbal Judo — June 1993 — Morrow — with George J. Thompson • Families — July 1993 — Moody — as editor • Addicted to Recovery — June 1994 — Harvest House — with Gary Almy and Carol T. Almy • Winning at Losing — July 1995 — Moody • Homecoming — September 1997 — Zondervan — with Bill Gaither • Still the One — April 1998 — Focus on the Family • And Then Came You • As you Leave Home — August 1998 • Perhaps Today — October 2001 — Tyndale House — with Tim LaHaye • The Promise of Heaven — February 2003 — Harvest House • God Always Keeps His Promises — September 2003 • Jesus and the Hope of His Coming — January 2004 • Embracing Eternity — November 2004 — Tyndale House — with Tim LaHaye and Frank M. Martin • Writing for the Soul — F&W Media • In His Own Words — Tyndale House — with Billy Graham

Jenkins wrote the following memoirs and autobiographical works in which he received an "as told by" or "with Jerry B. Jenkins" attribution. • Title — Author(s) — Date — Publisher — ISBN • The World's Strongest Man — Paul Anderson — 1975 — Moody — — • Stuff It — Dick Motta — Chilton Company • Three Behind the Curtain — Sammy Tippit — Whitaker House • Running for Jesus — Madeline Manning Jackson — 1977 — Word • You, Me, He — Sammy Tippit — 1978 — Victor Books • Home Where I Belong — B. J. Thomas — W Publishing Group — — • Sweetness — Walter Payton — Contemporary Books • Reproduced by Permission of the Author — Sammy Tippit — 1979 — Victor Books • The Luis Palau Story — Luis Palau — November 1980 — Fleming H. Revell • Meadowlark — Meadowlark Lemon — April 1987 — Thomas Nelson • Carry Me — Christine Wyrtzen — August 1988 — Moody • Commitment to Love — Deanna McClary — April 1989 — Thomas Nelson • Out of the Blue — Orel Hershiser — August 1989 — Wolgemuth & Hyatt • Baby Mayfield — Larry Mayfield and Diane Mayfield — November 1989 — Moody • Joe Gibbs: Fourth and One — Joe Gibbs — January 1991 — Thomas Nelson • Singletary on Singletary — Mike Singletary — September 1991 • I Almost Missed the Sunset — Bill Gaither — August 1992 • No Matter What the Cost — Sammy Tippit — September 1992 • Miracle Man — Nolan Ryan — April 1993 • Field of Hope — Brett Butler — July 1997 • God's Secret Agent — Sammy Tippit — June 2001 — Tyndale House • Game Plan for Life — Joe Gibbs — July 2009 • As Good as She Imagined — Roxanna Green — Worthy • The Matheny Manifesto — Mike Matheny — Crown

• Title — Date — Publisher — ISBN — Notes • The Operative — September 1987 — Harper & Row • Rookie — March 1991 — Wolgemuth & Hyatt • The Deacon's Woman and Other Portraits — February 1992 — Moody • Though None Go with Me — September 1999 — Zondervan • 'Twas the Night Before — October 1998 — Viking Press • Hometown Legend — September 2001 — Warner Faith • Holding Heaven — Integrity — novella • Midnight Clear — October 2007 — Tyndale House — with Dallas Jenkins • Riven • The Last Operative • Sudden Impact — Zondervan • I, Saul — Worthy — with James MacDonald • Empire's End • The Valley of the Dry Bones

A Margo Mystery series was published by Moody. The first novel, Margo (1979), was published by Jeremy Books, but later reprinted by Moody. • No. Number — Title — Date — Publisher — ISBN • 1 — Margo — January 1979 — Jeremy Books • 2 — Karlyn — September 1980 — Moody • 3 — Hilary • 4 — Paige — May 1981 • 5 — Allyson — August 1981 • 6 — Erin — April 1982 • 7 — Shannon — September 1982 • 8 — Lindsey — February 1983 • 9 — Meghan • 10 — Janell — June 1983 • 11 — Courtney — October 1983 • 12 — Lyssa — January 1984 • 13 — Margo's Reunion — September 1984

A Jennifer Grey Mystery series was published by Victor Books. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Heartbeat — January 1983 • 2 — Three Days in Winter • 3 — Too Late to Tell — January 1984 • 4 — Gateway • 5 — The Calling • 6 — Veiled Threat — January 1985

The Soon Trilogy was published by Tyndale House. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Soon — September 2003 • 2 — Silenced — July 2004 • 3 — Shadowed — September 2005

The Jesus Chronicles series, written with Tim LaHaye, is a narrative retelling of the four canonical gospels. Published by Penguin's Putnam Adult imprint. Reprints from Center Point assigned numbers to the novels. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — John's Story • 2 — Mark's Story • 3 — Luke's Story • 4 — Matthew's Story

The Precinct 11 novels were published by Tyndale House. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Brotherhood • 2 — The Betrayal • 3 — The Breakthrough

The Dead Sea Chronicles series is based on and inspired by the work of Craig A. Evans. Published by Worthy. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Dead Sea Rising • 2 — Dead Sea Conspiracy

Below is an incomplete list: • Title — Date — Publisher — ISBN • The Youngest Hero — Warner Faith

The Tara Chadwick Series was published by Moody in 1984. Reprinted in 1992, including new cover art and formatting. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Springtime Discovery — June 1984 • 2 — Time to Tell • 3 — Operation Cemetery • 4 — Scattered Flowers

The Bradford Family Adventures series was originally published by Stanford Publishing, in 1984. Reprinted by Moody in 1990. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Daniel's Big Surprise — July 1984 • 2 — Two Runaways • 3 — The Clubhouse Mystery • 4 — The Kidnapping • 5 — Marty's Secret — July 1985 • 6 — Blizzard! • 7 — Fourteen Days to Midnight • 8 — Good Sport, Bad Sport • 9 — In Deep Water — July 1986 • 10 — Mystery at Raider Stadium • 11 — Daniel's Big Decision • 12 — Before the Judge

The Dallas O'Neil and the Baker Street Sports Club series was published by Moody in 1986. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Secret Baseball Challenge — March 1986 • 2 — The Scary Baseball Player • 3 — The Mysterious Football Team • 4 — The Weird Soccer Match • 5 — The Strange Swimming Coach — September 1986 • 6 — The Bizarre Hockey Tournament • 7 — The Silent Track Star • 8 — The Angry Gymnast

The Dallas O'Neil Mysteries series is a sequel to the Dallas O'Neil and the Baker Street Sports Club (1986) series. Also published by Moody. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Mystery of the Kidnapped Kid — October 1988 • 2 — Mystery of the Mixed-Up Teacher • 3 — Mystery of the Missing Sister • 4 — Mystery of the Scorpion Threat • 5 — Mystery on the Midway — September 1989 • 6 — Mystery of the Golden Palomino • 7 — Mystery of the Skinny Sophomore • 8 — Mystery of the Phony Murder

The Toby Andrews and the Junior Deputies series was published by Moody. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — House of Tunnels — July 1996 • 2 — Man with a Terrible Secret • 3 — The East Side Bullies — October 1996 • 4 — The Neighborhood's Scariest Woman

AirQuest Adventures The Global Air Troubleshooters series was published by Multnomah Books in 1996. Reprinted as AirQuest Adventures by Zondervan in 2006. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Crash at Cannibal Valley — September 1996 • 2 — Terror in Branco Grande • 3 — Disaster in the Yukon

The Red Rock Mysteries series was written by Chris Fabry and edited by Jenkins. Published by Tyndale House. The series was reprinted in 2020, including new cover art and new text. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Haunted Waters — May 2005 • 2 — Stolen Secrets • 3 — Missing Pieces • 4 — Wild Rescue • 5 — Grave Shadows — September 2005 • 6 — Phantom Writer • 7 — Double Fault • 8 — Canyon Echoes • 9 — Instant Menace — March 2006 • 10 — Escaping Darkness • 11 — Windy City Danger • 12 — Hollywood Holdup • 13 — Hidden Riches — September 2006 • 14 — Wind Chill • 15 — Dead End

The Renegade Spirit series was written by John Perrodin and edited by Jenkins. Published by Thomas Nelson's Integrity imprint. The premise is similar to The Soon Trilogy (2003–2005), written by Jenkins. • No. Number — Titles — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Tattooed Rats • 2 — Demon's Bluff • 3 — Seclusion Point

The Wormlings series was written by Chris Fabry and edited by Jenkins. Published by Tyndale House. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Book of the King — October 2007 • 2 — The Sword of the Wormling • 3 — The Changeling • 4 — The Minions of Time — February 2008 • 5 — The Author's Blood

The Thirteen science fantasy series was written by Trisha White Priebe and edited by Jenkins. Published by Barbour. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Glass Castle — March 2016 • 2 — The Ruby Moon — October 2016 • 3 — The Paper Boat — April 2017

The Left Behind series, created and developed by Tim LaHaye, was published by Tyndale House. Thorndike Press, Turtleback Books, and others, offered reprints in various formats. Graphic novel adaptations of the series were published by Tyndale from 2001 to 2002. Tyndale also published devotional calendars for 2002 and 2003 which featured text from the novels. Prior to the release of Soul Harvest (1998), the novels were not numbered. Not all printings include a number stamp. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Left Behind — September 1995 • 2 — Tribulation Force — September 1996 • 3 — Nicolae — July 1997 • 4 — Soul Harvest — June 1998 • 5 — Apollyon — February 1999 • 6 — Assassins — August 1999 • 7 — The Indwelling — May 2000 • 8 — The Mark — November 2000 • 9 — Desecration — November 2001 • 10 — The Remnant — May 2002 • 11 — Armageddon — April 2003 • 12 — Glorious Appearing — March 2004 • 13 — Kingdom Come — April 2007

Marketed as Before They Were Left Behind, the series retells events prior Left Behind (1995). The novels also function as prequels to Kingdom Come (2007), the final installment of the main series. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Rising — February 2005 • 2 — The Regime — October 2005 • 3 — The Rapture — June 2006

Left Behind: The Kids is a retelling of the main series from the point of view of four young survivors. The novellas were bound-up as the Young Trib Force (2003–2005) series. Reprints include updated text introduced in the Young Trib Force bind-ups. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — The Vanishings • 2 — Second Chance • 3 — Through the Flames • 4 — Facing the Future • 5 — Nicolae High • 6 — The Underground ‡ • 7 — Busted! ‡ • 8 — Death Strike ‡ • 9 — The Search ‡ • 10 — On the Run • 11 — Into the Storm ‡ • 12 — Earthquake! ‡ • 13 — The Showdown ‡ • 14 — Judgment Day ‡ • 15 — Battling the Commander ‡ • 16 — Fire from Heaven ‡ • 17 — Terror in the Stadium ‡ • 18 — Darkening Skies ‡ • 19 — Attack of Apollyon • 20 — A Dangerous Plan ‡ • 21 — Secrets of New Babylon • 22 — Escape from New Babylon ‡ • 23 — Horsemen of Terror ‡ • 24 — Uplink from the Underground ‡ • 25 — Death at the Gala ‡ • 26 — The Beast Arises ‡ • 27 — Wildfire! ‡ • 28 — The Mark of the Beast ‡ • 29 — Breakout! — June 2003 • 30 — Murder in the Holy Place ‡ • 31 — Escape to Masada ‡ — September 2003 • 32 — War of the Dragon ‡ • 33 — Attack on Petra ‡ — January 2004 • 34 — Bounty Hunters ‡ • 35 — The Rise of False Messiahs • 36 — Ominous Choices ‡ • 37 — Heat Wave ‡ • 38 — The Perils of Love ‡ • 39 — The Road to War ‡ — September 2004 • 40 — Triumphant Return ‡ ‡ Includes previously uncredited contributions from Chris Fabry.

Jenkins co-wrote three companions with Tim LaHaye. Are We Living in the End Times? (1999) was not marketed as a Left Behind title; however, the book explored themes and settings depicted in the novels. These Will Not Be Left Behind (2003) is a retrospective of reader's experiences with the series, and how they "came to faith." Reprints of the companions use the same cover design and typeface as the main series. • Title — Date — ISBN — Notes • Are We Living in the End Times? — October 1999 • These Will Not Be Left Behind — July 2003 — with Norman B. Rohrer • The Authorized Left Behind Handbook — February 2005 — with Sandi L. Swanson

Left Behind: The Young Trib Force bind-ups of The Kids (1998–2003) series, three or four novellas per volume. Chris Fabry wrote new material to link the novellas to the main sequence of novels. Several bind-ups included significant revisions to the original text, including reordering of events and character changes. • No. Number — Title — Date — ISBN • 1 — Taken — October 2003 • 2 — Pursued • 3 — Hidden — January 2004 • 4 — Rescued — February 2004 • 5 — Stung — July 2004 • 6 — Frantic • 7 — Shaken — February 2005 • 8 — Unmasked • 9 — Deceived — April 2005 • 10 — Protected • 11 — Hunted — May 2005 • 12 — Arrived

Jenkins has written twenty as-told-to biographies and memoirs of prominent athletes and religious leaders, such as Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Walter Payton, Joe Gibbs, Mike Singletary, and Sammy Tippit. Jenkins called those titles his "sports personality" books. His credit as writer is given via an "as told to", "as told by", or "with Jerry B. Jenkins" attribution. In an interview with Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn podcast, Jenkins explained he does not co-write, saying "if my name is on [the book] … I wrote every word." For works credited with Chris Fabry, such as The Wormlings (2007–08) series, Jenkins functioned as the editor, and Fabry was the sole writer. Jenkins said co-writing a book "is a nightmare," but can be successful if the roles among the credited writers are settled beforehand. His collaboration with Billy Graham resulted in In His Own Words (2018), published by Tyndale House, for which Jenkins received sole writing credit.

In 1965, Norman Rohrer established the Christian Writers Guild (CWG). Rohrer offered a 48-part correspondence course intended to teach the craft of writing, as well as history and theology Rohrer believed were necessary to improve the quality of fiction and non-fiction writing intended for the Christian market. In 2001, Jenkins purchased the CWG, and Rohrer remained on staff as "Dean of Instruction". CWG transitioned from mail-based delivery, to an online platform. Jenkins recruited many of his friends and fellow writers to function as mentors to CWG members, and to expand the guild's offerings. In 2013, Jenkins developed the Christian Writers Guild Press intended to publish original works by CWG members. Jenkins was criticized for creating a "vanity press", despite lambasting such publishing schemes in the past and closed the operation before contracting with any writers. According to literary agent Chip MacGregor, of MacGregor & Luedeke, Jenkins "was ready to return to his primary occupation and calling, that of full-time writing" by early-2014. Jenkins dissolved CWG in late-2014, which resulted in heavy criticism of both Jenkins and the CWG. Dennis E. Hensley told Christianity Today that Jenkins and the CWG had offered a "great service to developing writers." CWG's staff and mission were absorbed into a new organization called BelieversTrust, which operated until 2016. Since 2016, Jenkins has taught an online writing course via his own platform, Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.