Church History · Late 1960s to 1970s

The Jesus Movement

In the late 1960s, thousands of hippies and young seekers on the West Coast came to faith in Jesus. Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel and young evangelist Lonnie Frisbee opened the doors, Time put the Jesus Revolution on its cover in 1971, and a new kind of worship music was born.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 11:28 to 30 Matthew 9:10 to 13 Luke 15:11 to 24 John 8:36 Acts 2:41

The Jesus Movement was a wave of young people, many of them hippies, surfers and spiritual seekers, who came to faith in Jesus in the late 1960s and 1970s. It started on the West Coast of the United States and spread across North America and beyond. Its best known home was Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, led by pastor Chuck Smith and a long haired young evangelist named Lonnie Frisbee. In June 1971, Time magazine put a hippie style Jesus on its cover with the words “The Jesus Revolution.”

Who Were the Jesus People?

The 1960s counterculture was full of young people searching for meaning. Many had dropped out of school or left home. They tried drugs, communes, Eastern religions, astrology and free love. They wanted peace, honesty and something real. A lot of them found that the high wore off and the questions stayed.

Some of those seekers ran into Jesus. Not the Jesus of a stiff Sunday suit, but the Jesus of the Gospels, who welcomed outsiders, ate with sinners and talked about love. They kept their long hair and bare feet, carried big Bibles and talked about Jesus everywhere. People called them Jesus People, or Jesus freaks. Many of them wore that second name proudly.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28 to 30

What Was Calvary Chapel?

Chuck Smith became pastor of a small church called Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa in December 1965. It had about 25 people. Smith was a straight laced, middle aged pastor, but he and his wife, Kay, had a burden for the young hippies they saw on the beaches of Southern California.

In March 1968, Smith met Lonnie Frisbee, an 18 year old who had come to Christ out of the hippie scene. Frisbee looked like a painting of Jesus and talked the language of the street. Smith had the Bible teaching and the church building. Frisbee had the connections and the fire. Together they opened Calvary Chapel to hippies, and the hippies came by the hundreds and then the thousands.

Not every church member was thrilled at first. A famous story says some people were upset about barefoot hippies dirtying the new carpet. Smith is said to have answered that if the carpet kept people out, they would tear out the carpet. That is a pastor who knew what the church is for.

What Happened at Pirate's Cove?

Calvary Chapel held mass baptisms in the Pacific Ocean at Pirate's Cove in Corona del Mar. Hundreds of young people at a time waded into the surf to be baptized. Photos of those baptisms became some of the most famous pictures of the movement. Soon the church outgrew its building, put up a big tent, and then built a new sanctuary. Smith's simple verse by verse Bible teaching became the pattern for over 1,000 Calvary Chapel churches.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

How Did the Jesus Movement Change Christian Music?

This may be the movement's biggest legacy. The Jesus People did not want to sing organ hymns only. They played guitars and wrote songs about Jesus in the style of the music they already loved. Bands like Love Song came straight out of Calvary Chapel. Larry Norman, often called the father of Christian rock, released a famous song asking why the devil should have all the good music.

In 1971 Chuck Smith started a label called Maranatha! Music to record these new songs. That music grew into what we now call contemporary Christian music and modern worship. If your church has a band and lyrics on a screen, you are singing in a house the Jesus Movement helped build.

How Big Was the Jesus Movement?

By 1971 the movement was national news. Time's cover story ran on June 21, 1971. In June 1972, Campus Crusade for Christ held Explo '72 in Dallas, and about 80,000 young people came. Billy Graham spoke there.

Jesus People communes, coffeehouses and street ministries popped up all over the country. Some groups stayed healthy. Sadly, a few fringe groups became controlling and cult like, which is a reminder that every movement needs good teaching. Most historians say the movement had faded as a distinct movement by the 1980s, but its people became pastors, worship leaders and missionaries.

Churches like Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard trace their roots to it. Greg Laurie, who came to Christ as a teenager in 1970, went on to lead Harvest Christian Fellowship and huge evangelistic events. The 2023 movie Jesus Revolution tells his story along with those of Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee. Frisbee's own life was complicated, and he died in 1993, but God used him powerfully in those early years.

Why Does the Jesus Movement Matter Today?

The Jesus Movement proves that the people the church is most nervous about are often the people most ready for Jesus. The hippies were hungry for truth, love and real spiritual experience. They were already looking. They just needed someone to open the door and stop staring at their feet.

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Matthew 9:12

Today's spiritual seekers might be into crystals, yoga, energy, psychedelics or meditation. Many are searching for the same things the hippies wanted. Peace, meaning and a God who is real. The lesson of 1968 is simple. Love them first. Teach them the Bible. Keep the carpet optional.

Jesus told a story about a son who wandered far from home. The father did not wait for him to clean up. He ran to meet him.

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Luke 15:20

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Questions People Ask

What was the Jesus Movement?

The Jesus Movement was a revival among young people, especially hippies, in the late 1960s and 1970s. It began on the West Coast of the United States and spread widely. It led to new churches like Calvary Chapel and gave birth to contemporary Christian music.

Who was Lonnie Frisbee?

Lonnie Frisbee was a young hippie evangelist who joined Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel in 1968, when he was 18. His street style and passion helped draw thousands of young people to Christ. He later ministered with the Vineyard and died in 1993.

When was the Time magazine Jesus Revolution cover?

Time magazine's cover story on the Jesus Revolution ran on June 21, 1971. It brought national attention to the Jesus People and their movement.

Is the movie Jesus Revolution a true story?

Yes, the 2023 film Jesus Revolution is based on real events. It follows Greg Laurie, Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee at Calvary Chapel, though like most films it simplifies and dramatizes some details.

Sources

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