At 60 years old, evangelist Douglas Runkles — better known as “Runks” — considers himself the “elder statesman of youth ministry.”
But he is just as passionate now as when he entered ministry nearly 30 years ago, and noted that seeing lives changed for the glory of God is what keeps spurring him on as he travels around the country.
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“I’m not trying to be the cool guy with the hip lingo,” Runks acknowledged. “I just want to be real with students and to love them. Generation Z is definitely more open to spiritual things than Millennials were. They want to change the world and are open to spiritual change and awakening.
“After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, that’s really when revivals started breaking out. More people are buying Bibles and more people are having deep spiritual conversations on campuses. It’s had a huge impact on this generation.”
Through the years, Runks’ primary message to students continues to be, “Jesus saves y’all.” It’s a message that keeps motivating him to reach this generation.
“Everything I do is evangelistic and focused on sharing the gospel,” Runks declared, “and helping students find their identity in Christ.”
Humor as a tool
As a popular youth communicator, Runks likes to see audiences laughing so hard it hurts, because he has discovered that humor serves as his best tool to connect with students. After he captures their attention, he shifts gears to describe his own life struggles, and challenge young people to trust God to overcome issues and addictions.
For most of his life, Runks kept a dark secret. At age 7, he was sexually abused by two cousins.
“That set me off on a road of hating myself and shame,” he recalled. “My parents were godly people, and we attended church regularly. But I never told anyone what happened, because my cousins said they would kill me.
“When I got to junior high and high school, I was overwhelmed with anger and bitterness from being sexually abused. I started drinking and partying like crazy. I was the class clown and life of the party,” Runks related. “It would make me feel good until I came home. Then all those feelings would come rushing back. When I reached my junior year, I realized there had to be something else.”
During his junior year, a friend led Runks to faith in Jesus Christ by showing him what an authentic Christian life looked like.
“There was this guy in my geometry class, and it was driving me crazy, because I couldn’t figure him out,” Runks remembered.
“He didn’t get involved with the stuff that I was doing, like partying and drinking. I started watching his life, and after two months, I asked him: ‘What’s the deal? What do you have that I don’t?’ He told me about Christ. He didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, but it was someone my age telling me how Jesus made a difference in his life. At that moment, everything became real to me.”
‘Huge transformation’
Soon after he made his profession of faith, Runks felt God’s call to ministry.
“It was a huge transformation. I went from being the class clown to the preacher. People couldn’t believe that I was the same person.”
After high school, Runks went to McMurry College in Abilene, Texas, then earned a master of divinity degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
He was a youth minister for seven years, and in 1998 began traveling around the country communicating the gospel to teenagers and college students. He also is staff evangelist at First Baptist Church Levelland.
In his messages to students, Runks discusses relevant issues and presents ways to defend the truth of Christianity to a postmodern world.
“More than anything, I love pouring my life into teenagers,” he said. “My heart still beats for teenagers the same way when I entered this ministry. I love talking with them and getting to know them, especially kids that are hurting — the misfit or the loner — and being able to help them.
“I never want to just be the guy up on stage. I love interacting with them and talking with them.
“That’s really become one of the joys of my life — to be in a position now where God could use the horrible stuff that I’ve been through to help kids who are going through the same thing.”
Runks maintains a busy schedule speaking at a variety of events including youth conferences, DiscipleNow weekends and summer camps.
Finishing the race well
Although he has no plans to retire anytime soon, Runks does want to finish the race well.
“I want to finish strong,” he said. “I don’t think the end is in sight, but I don’t want to coast. I want to keep spending time with the Lord, to be current and fresh, and do what God has called me to do in sharing the gospel with this generation.
“I don’t always get to hear the stories after the events, but it’s about pouring little nuggets of truth into their lives and passing the baton onto the youth leader following the event for discipleship. It’s a unique calling, and I love that I get to point students to Jesus. It’s a message that never changes.”
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