About the Jesus People Movement Oral History Project
The Wheaton College Billy Graham Center has partnered with the Study of the Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit Today to interview those who experienced the revivals first-hand. With over sixty interviews, this oral history of the movement aims to help people understand what it felt like to be in the midst of such a dynamic and complex movement.
Interviews
Over the past several years, we have interviewed over sixty former Jesus People Movement leaders and participants. In these interviews you will hear their stories, experiencing the movement as they lived it. These interviews range from Southern California bands who reshaped Christian music to student revivals in the American Midwest to renewal efforts in Europe. For more information or if you’d like to submit your story to the JPM Oral History Project, please email our team.
Exhibitions
A series of short exhibition videos tracing central themes of the Jesus People Movement are being released in 2021. The first 4 in this series were featured at the Ablaze Conference hosted at Biola University on October 7-9, 2021. These exhibitions weave together the various interviews of the collection, incorporating pictures and music of the era to tell the story of the movement through the experiences of those who lived it.
Contributors
Thank you to those who worked to produce this project.
Andrew MacDonald
Project Lead
Andrew MacDonald is associate director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Research Institute and a doctoral candidate in historical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Through his work at the WCBGC Research Institute, MacDonald has led research projects on the history of evangelicalism, evangelical politics during the 2016 election, the rise of evangelical entrepreneurialism in the late 20th century, and the National COVID-19 Church Attendance Project. Aside from academic publications, MacDonald has bylines with the Dallas Morning News, Christianity Today, ChurchLeaders.com, Evangelicals Magazine and Outreach Magazine.
Oscar Merlo
Director and overseer of the JPM research project and Ablaze
Oscar is the Director of the Center for the Study of the Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit Today at Biola University.
Tyler Steingard
Website Production
Tyler Steingard is a creative media consultant based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. His team at The Lakeside Collective creates branding and marketing strategies, digital and print assets, and online presence platforms for businesses in the USA and Canada, as well as global missions organizations.
Jedidiah Cheng
Video Editor
Jedidiah is a film editor from Washington but currently based in the Los Angeles area. He is a creative and collaborative film editor with a passion for telling people’s stories and making their voices heard through storytelling in a variety of film mediums (narrative, documentary, experimental). As an editor, he has worked on many short films, documentaries, trailers, and has even worked on two seasons of a talk show. Fun fact: he loves to read and his favorite film genres are documentaries and heist movies.
Cole Williams
Video Editor
Benjamin Folgert
Video Editor
Benjamin Folgert is an editor, sound mixer, and music video director who is passionate about visual storytelling. He has recently obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Production at Biola University. In these four years Benjamin has gained extensive knowledge in multiple areas of film studies. He continues to work on various projects in the greater Los Angeles area. His goal is to tell impactful stories that also encourage others to tap into their creative talent.
Benjamin currently works for HisChannel in Anaheim, California, as a production assistant and broadcast intern, while residing in Fullerton, California. He spends his personal time DJing, biking, and finding time to assist others in creating films and enjoying the working process. Benjamin values teamwork, dedication, and healthy relationships with his peers. He has had multiple opportunities to put his skills to work, ranging from a lead editor position for an award-winning documentary to filming live concerts for Chris Tomlin and the Newsboys.
Rawleigh Grove
Composition
Rawleigh Grove is a composer, sound mixer & designer, and director based in LA. Rawleigh is currently in his final year of a BA in film production at Biola University’s School of Media and Film. His credits include a wide range of short film projects, including ‘This Time Around’, ‘Never Felt Better’ and the 2020 and 2021 Biola films ‘Burst!’ and ‘Healing.’ he made his directorial debut in early 2021 with the film ‘I’m Fine’ that went on to win best experimental at the Guerilla Student Film Festival. Outside of film credits, Rawleigh has contributed to several marketing projects in various capacities. For more information on Rawleigh and his work, visit rawleighkgrove.com, his SoundCloud, or his social media.