About the Jesus People Movement

By Oscar Merlo Director of the Center for Holy Spirit Today. Biola University. In what ways did the JPM influenced Latin America Christianity. I offer two insights based on research, and from my experience traveling for the last 15 years, throughout Latin America. During this time, I have visited over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 1st, The JPM focus on young people influenced Latin America Christianity to re-focus their evangelistic strategies on the new generations. The JPM [...]

By: Oscar Merlo Director of the Center for Holy Spirit Today. Biola University. Six decades ago, America experienced a period of moral, political, and even spiritual turmoil very similar what many are experiencing today. Years of political polarization were capped by an outpouring of protest and violence at the DNC Convention in 1968. The Vietnam War was increasingly seen as an intractable quagmire even as the casualty count grew. Political and cultural leaders were being assassinated at an unprecedented rate. [...]

“Have you heard the hippie preacher?” It’s a question spreading throughout Southern California in the late 1960s. To many it seemed a contradiction in terms. A preacher was a man in a suit telling people how to live but a hippie was someone who dropped out of established society. But that a hippie preacher didn’t seem to make sense was part of the draw. Years later, Love Song member Chuck Girard noted his own sense of disappointment when Chuck Smith [...]

By: John Fischer  As part of the Jesus People Movement Oral History, we interviewed over 60 people who experienced the movement first-hand. John Fischer’s story is included at jesuspeoplemovement.com and touches on his experiences as one of the JPM’s earliest musicians as well as his time at Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, California, the hub of the movement in northern California.. This project is in partnership with Biola University on the upcoming ABLAZE Conference on October 7-9 where we will explore [...]