Doug Batchelor has experienced great extremes in his life. His journey
from anti-social, drug-using hermit to internationally respected Bible
teacher has helped shape him into an engaging speaker with whom audiences
the world over readily identify.
Today, he is the president of Amazing Facts International, a multimedia
Christian ministry. He hosts the weekly Bible Answers Live radio
program, which broadcasts every Sunday at 7:00 pm Pacific. He can also be
seen weekly on Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor on various
networks around the world.
As the teenage son of an aviation tycoon father and show-business mother,
young Doug had everything money could buy—yet he couldn’t find true peace
and happiness. A troubled youth, he fought at school, entertained suicidal
fantasies, and eventually ran away from home by the time he was just 15
years old.
Disgusted with life and convinced it had no real meaning, Doug was
determined to experience the world with reckless abandon. He turned to
drugs, committed crimes, and spent time in jail, while also living on high
adventure from stormy seas to blistering deserts. But years later, a
remote cave high in the mountains above Palm Springs became his home. And
even though his father owned a yacht and a private jet, Doug found himself
scavenging for food in garbage bins.
The happiness Doug searched for continued to elude him for years—until the
day he found a dust-covered Bible that someone left in his cave. As he
read, he believed in and accepted Christ as his Savior! You can read more
about his remarkable story in the book The Richest Caveman.
Today, Pastor Doug is an energetic speaker of vision and deep spirituality,
with an unusual ability to communicate not only to church-oriented people,
but also to the secular-minded. His spontaneous, lively humor and
down-to-earth approach to living the Christian life engage and reach
hearts in a way that few others are able.
Doug and his wife, Karen, currently live in the Sacramento area. His
hobbies include guitar, scuba diving, and racquetball. Like his father, he
is also an aviation enthusiast and pilot. His other books include
Shadows of Light: Seeing Jesus in All the Bible and
The Truth About Mary Magdalene.