Lonnie Frisbee - Jesus Movement, Calvary Chapel

Jesus Movement, Calvary Chapel

Chuck Smith, meanwhile, had been making plans to build a chapel out of a surplus school building in the City of Santa Ana, near Costa Mesa when he met Frisbee. Smith's daughter's boyfriend John was a former addict who had turned to Christianity and when Smith wanted to meet a hippie John brought home Frisbee who was hitch-hiking so he could meet people to tell about Jesus and salvation. Frisbee and his wife Connie joined the fledgling Calvary Chapel congregation and Smith was struck by Frisbee's charisma, "I was not at all prepared for the love that this young man would radiate." Frisbee became one of the most important ministers in the church when on May 17, 1968 Smith put the young couple in charge of the Costa Mesa rehab house called "The House of Miracles" with John Higgins and his wife Jackie, within a week it had 35 new converts. Bunk beds were built in the garage to house all the new converts. Frisbee led the Wednesday night Bible study which soon became the central night for the church attracting thousands. Frisbee's attachment to the charismatic Pentecostal style caused some disagreement within the church since he seemed focused more on gaining converts and experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit than on teaching newer converts Biblical doctrine. Chuck Smith, however, took up that job and welcomed Frisbee into his church. Frisbee's appearance helped appeal to hippies and those interested in youth culture, and Frisbee believed that the youth culture would play a prominent role in the Christian movement in the United States. He cited Joel the prophet and remained upbeat despite what the young couple saw as unbalanced treatment as Frisbee was never paid for his work yet another person was hired full-time as Smith's assistant.

The country was being swept with a youth movement with California being one of the epicenters. The counterculture of hippies and surfers hung around the beaches and music and the resulting dancing was the main form of communication. Frisbee would walk the beaches during the day and convert the young people and bring them back to the church for the nightly services.

The House of Miracles grew into a series of nineteen communal houses that later migrated to Oregon to form Shiloh Youth Revival Centers, the largest and one of the longest lasting of the Jesus People communal groups which had 100,000 members and 175 communal houses spread across North America. This may have been the largest Christian communal group in US history.

From 1968 - 1971 Frisbee was a leader in the Jesus movement bringing in thousands of new converts and his influence over Calvary Chapel leaders including Mike MacIntosh and Greg Laurie, whom he mentored.