Jerry Bruce Jenkins (born September 23, 1949)^[3][1] is an American writer. He is best known for theLeft Behind series, written withTim LaHaye. Jenkins also writes the novels following the TV series about Jesus,The Chosen.^[4] Jenkins has written more than 200 books, in multiple genres, such asbiography,self-help,romance,mystery, andyoung adult fiction. Nineteen of his 130+ novels have exploredeschatological themes and settings.

In 2016, Jenkins was described as adispensationalist Christian byThe Washington Post.^[5]

Jenkins was born September 1949 to Harry Philip Jenkins and Bonita Grace Thompson ofKalamazoo, Michigan.^[2] In a 2008 interview withThe Modesto Bee, Jenkins said his Christian faith was inspired by aWarner Sallman painting, guided by his mother.^[6] After graduating fromForest View High School,^[7] Jenkins attendedMoody Bible Institute from 1967 to 1968, andHarper College from 1968 to 1970.^[1]

After suffering an injury playing sports, Jenkins began work as a sports reporter while he was still in high school.^[8] Before he could drive, Jenkins covered high school sports for local newspapers. He was paidUS$1 (equivalent to $10.14 in 2024) per inch.^[9] While attendingMoody Bible Institute, Jenkins served as night news editor for the institute's flagship radio station,WMBI-FM.^[1]

He served as Vice President of the Moody's publishing division from 1985 to 1988, and a writer-in-residence from 1988 onward.^[1] He was the managing editor ofMoody 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

Jenkins has written twenty as-told-to biographies and memoirs of prominent athletes and religious leaders, such asHank Aaron,Bill Gaither,Walter Payton, Joe Gibbs, Mike Singletary, and Sammy Tippit. Jenkins called those titles his "sports personality" books.^[8] 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 ofThe Creative Penn podcast, Jenkins explained he does not co-write, saying "if my name is on [the book] … I wrote every word."^[11] For works credited with Chris Fabry, such asThe 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.^[11] His collaboration withBilly Graham resulted inIn His Own Words (2018), published byTyndale House, for which Jenkins received sole writing credit.^[12]

TheDallas O'Neil and The Baker Street Sports Club (1986) series, and its follow up, theDallas O'Neil Mysteries (1988–89), promptedGil 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.^[7] TheGil Thorp series was never realized, but following Berrill's death in 1996, Jenkins was recruited byTribune 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 youngshomer Shabbat joining the Milford football team.^[13]

Jenkins's sons, Chad andDallas, contributed toGil Thorp by developing scenarios for their father to write.^[9] According to theChicago 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.^[14]

In 1965, Norman Rohrer established the Christian Writers Guild (CWG). Rohrer offered a 48-partcorrespondence course intended to teach the craft of writing,^[15] 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.^[9] In 2001, Jenkins purchased the CWG, and Rohrer remained on staff as "Dean of Instruction".^[16][17] 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.^[9] In 2013, Jenkins developed the Christian Writers Guild Press intended to publish original works by CWG members.^[18] 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.^[18]

According toliterary agent Chip MacGregor, of MacGregor & Luedeke, Jenkins "was ready to return to his primary occupation andcalling, that of full-time writing" by early-2014.^[19] Jenkins dissolved CWG in late-2014, which resulted in heavy criticism of both Jenkins and the CWG.^[17][20][21] Dennis E. Hensley toldChristianity Today that Jenkins and the CWG had offered a "great service to developing writers."^[20] CWG's staff and mission were absorbed into a new organization called BelieversTrust,^[17] which operated until 2016.

Since 2016, Jenkins has taught an online writing course via his own platform, Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.^[11][22]

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Jenkins and co-author LaHaye of theLeft Behind series were profiled in a May 24, 2004cover story inNewsweekmagazine entitled "The New Prophets of Revelation". LaHaye, who conceived the series, handled the theological underpinnings of hisend-of-the-world series, while Jenkins handled the writing. TheLeft 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 beC. 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?"^[23]

In 2018,Left Behind series was rankedNo. 77 inThe Great American Read poll sponsored byPBS.^[24]

Jenkins and his wife Dianna (née Whiteford), whom he married in 1971, reside inBlack Forest, Colorado.^[1] He is the father ofDallas Jenkins, creator ofThe Chosen web television series; Chad Jenkins, the Sports Information Director at MidAmerica Nazarene University; and Michael Bruce Jenkins.^[25][1]

When asked about his Christian denomination, Jenkins has often answered "Jesus Christ".^[1] Alissa Wilkinson, ofChristian Today, described Jenkins as adispensationalist Christian in an editorial forThe Washington Post.^[5]

Jenkins wrote the following memoirs and autobiographical works in which he received an "as told by" or "with Jerry B. Jenkins" attribution.

A Margo Mystery series was published byMoody. The first novel,Margo (1979), was published by Jeremy Books, but later reprinted by Moody.

A Jennifer Grey Mystery series was published byVictor Books.

The Soon Trilogy was published byTyndale House.

TheJesus Chronicles series, written withTim LaHaye, is a narrative retelling of thefour canonical gospels. Published by Penguin's Putnam Adult imprint. Reprints from Center Point assigned numbers to the novels.

ThePrecinct 11 novels were published byTyndale House.

TheDead Sea Chronicles series is based on and inspired by the work ofCraig A. Evans. Published by Worthy.

Below is an incomplete list:

The Tara Chadwick Series was published byMoody in 1984. Reprinted in 1992, including new cover art and formatting.

TheBradford Family Adventures series was originally published by Stanford Publishing, in 1984. Reprinted by Moody in 1990.

TheDallas O'Neil and the Baker Street Sports Club series was published by Moody in 1986.

TheDallas O'Neil Mysteries series is a sequel to theDallas O'Neil and the Baker Street Sports Club (1986) series. Also published by Moody.

TheToby Andrews and the Junior Deputies series was published byMoody.

TheGlobal Air Troubleshooters series was published byMultnomah Books in 1996. Reprinted asAirQuest Adventures byZondervan in 2006.

TheRed Rock Mysteries series was written by Chris Fabry and edited by Jenkins. Published byTyndale House. The series was reprinted in 2020, including new cover art and new text.

TheRenegade 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.

The Wormlings series was written by Chris Fabry and edited by Jenkins. Published byTyndale House.

TheThirteenscience fantasy series was written by Trisha White Priebe and edited by Jenkins. Published by Barbour.

TheLeft Behind series, created and developed byTim LaHaye, was published byTyndale 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.^[27] Tyndale also published devotional calendars for 2002 and 2003 which featured text from the novels. Prior to the release ofSoul Harvest (1998), the novels were not numbered. Not all printings include a number stamp.

Marketed asBefore They WereLeft Behind, the series retells events priorLeft Behind (1995). The novels also function as prequels toKingdom Come (2007), the final installment of the main series.

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 theYoung Trib Force (2003–2005) series. Reprints include updated text introduced in theYoung Trib Force bind-ups.

‡ Includes previously uncredited contributions from Chris Fabry.

Jenkins co-wrote three companions withTim LaHaye.Are We Living in the End Times? (1999) was not marketed as aLeft 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."^[28] Reprints of the companions use the same cover design and typeface as the main series.

Left Behind: The Young Trib Force bind-ups ofThe 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.

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