[4] Jenkins has written more than 200 books, in multiple genres, such as biography, self-help, romance, mystery, and young adult fiction.
[2] In a 2008 interview with The Modesto Bee, Jenkins said his Christian faith was inspired by a Warner Sallman painting, guided by his mother.
[6] After graduating from Forest View High School,[7] Jenkins attended Moody Bible Institute from 1967 to 1968, and Harper College from 1968 to 1970.
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 as Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Walter Payton, Joe Gibbs, Mike Singletary, and Sammy Tippit.
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 with Billy Graham resulted in In His Own Words (2018), published by Tyndale House, for which Jenkins received sole writing credit.
[12] 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.
[7] 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.
[13] Jenkins's sons, Chad and Dallas, contributed to Gil Thorp by developing scenarios for their father to write.
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.
[17][20][21] Dennis E. Hensley told Christianity Today that Jenkins and the CWG had offered a "great service to developing writers.
[11][22] 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".
[24] Jenkins and his wife Dianna (née Whiteford), whom he married in 1971, reside in Black Forest, Colorado.
The Jesus Chronicles series, written with Tim LaHaye, is a narrative retelling of the four canonical gospels.
The Dallas O'Neil and the Baker Street Sports Club series was published by Moody in 1986.
The Thirteen science fantasy series was written by Trisha White Priebe and edited by Jenkins.
The Left Behind series, created and developed by Tim LaHaye, was published by Tyndale House.