Bill Rudge has spoken to thousands of United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard at military bases and ceremonies throughout the U.S. and in South Korea, Germany, and France. He has returned to minister at many of these bases several times and has also ministered to service men and women at centers and churches located near military bases as well as memorial services and special events.
Countless more military personnel have been touched through the ministry’s literature and audio ministry which provides free copies of Bill and BJ Rudge’s books, CDs, pamphlets, and newsletters to chaplains, enlisted men and women, officers, and their families.
Bill also has had many opportunities to impact the lives of servicemen and women, as well as new recruits preparing for boot camp, by training them on the Ultimate Challenge Obstacle Course. His training combines the emotional and spiritual along with the physical.
Desire for Military Service Fulfilled God’s Way
by Darlinda McDonald
with excerpts from an article by Joe Pinchot in The Herald
Bill Rudge was seventeen, just out of high school. His plan was to join the Marine Corps and go to Vietnam. In June of 1970 he went to Pittsburgh for the physical exam. He passed and was to return in a week to be sworn in. About the same time, his older brother, who was a Test Officer and Second Lieutenant in the Army at Fort Benning (right before being promoted to First Lieutenant and deployed to Korea as Compound Commander of a recreation center), told Bill to go into the Army and join the Rangers if he wanted rough training. This way he would have the tough training and adventure he wanted and also an opportunity for a future career. All Bill had to do was sign on the dotted line –– but there was this girl.
Karen and Bill were getting serious in their relationship and Karen did not want him to enlist and leave her so he agreed to wait. Besides, Bill knew he probably would have been killed or maimed in Vietnam because of how foolhardy he was. A year later, in June of 1971, Bill (18 years old) and Karen (17 years old) ran away and got married.
Bill was still interested in military service but Karen again begged him not to enlist. He agreed to wait and see if he was going to be drafted. One day Bill and Karen sat in front of the TV watching as the birthdays on the TV screen listed draft numbers for 18-year-olds. Bill hoped his would be low so he would have to go. Karen prayed Bill’s number would be high. It was high and Bill ended up in Bible college. That was it. Rudge’s life went in another direction and he never did do one push-up in basic training.
The Bible says that God gives us the desires of our heart. Several years later Rudge’s ministry took on a camouflage hue. Bill has been a frequent speaker at military bases in the United States and overseas, and the visits became an important part of his ministry. He has spent many weeks on military bases and has provided military personnel and their families thousands of free books he has written as well as his audio messages.
“In a roundabout way, I am paying back my military service and doing my ‘tour of duty’,” said Rudge, an ordained chaplain with The Christian and Missionary Alliance. Rudge, a 1970 Sharon High School graduate, mixes personal stories of life on the West Hill, his rebellious teenage years, and mission trips around the world with biblical examples to talk about peer pressure, courage, self-control, determination, commitment, overcoming giants, and so on to very attentive and receptive audiences.
Rudge, who has spoken over 50 times on military bases in the United States, Germany, France, and Korea, always set aside time after he spoke to talk to, pray with and counsel attendees. Rudge called his base visits “one of the single-most fulfilling things I do” because of the esteem in which he holds soldiers. He prepares for each trip by fasting and praying. He lives on base when speaking and often works out in the gym with the soldiers.
Rudge continues to minister to the military in any way he can. This includes training new recruits and active military personnel on the Ministry obstacle course. “They’re defending our country and our country’s freedoms,” he said. “I respect them for making that sacrifice.”
A Word about Bill from Colonel Mastriano
Bill Rudge has been a part of the U.S. Army chapel system for quite some time. It started in 1990 when he spoke at numerous functions at the Furth Military Chapel at Darby Kaserne in Nuremberg, Germany. God gave him a burden to reach the military and since then he has preached the Gospel to 3rd Infantry Division soldiers at Vale Chapel at Fort Stewart, Presidio of Monterey, the Greater Washington, DC area, Maxwell Air Force Base and even in Haiti and Korea.
Every time that he has lectured on base, I am astounded by the wonderful response from the military and family members. He is a definite plus to ministry endeavors and a complement to military outreach. I can personally vouch for his integrity (both personal character and financial) and his faithfulness to preach God's Word.
He is doctrinally sound and has a dynamic outreach to impact the world for Jesus Christ. The chaplains who invited Bill to speak can confirm all that I have written.
I praise God for all Bill does to reach America's Armed Forces. This is something that few do, making his endeavor even more crucial.
God has always provided what Bill needs and he gladly comes to minister at military bases whether or not his expenses are met.
