Pastor Jack Hibbs, the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Southern California and president of Real Life Ministry, is a prominent evangelical leader known for his support of Israel.
Though raised in a patriotic, non-religious home by a U.S. Marine Corps father, Hibbs came to faith at the age of 19 after stumbling into a Christian concert. “I realized that that was the decision I needed to make,” he says. Remarkably, within a month of reading the Bible, he says he “fell in love with Israel” and made it a life goal to visit.
That love has since grown into a deep bond reflected in 23 tours he’s led to Israel, where he has engaged with military and political leaders, and brought thousands from his church to see Israel firsthand.
Hibbs sees the connection between his faith and Israel as beyond sentiment—he considers the desire to connect to and even protect Israel as an obligation—a biblical mandate that defines Christian responsibility. He worries, however, that this perspective is disappearing among younger generations. “We need to shut down probably 50 to 70% of the churches that are in America right now that do not read the Old Testament,” he says bluntly.
He’s hopeful, though, pointing to California as an unlikely leader in spiritual reawakening. “People laugh at California ... but the church has woken up.” He credits California voters with helping Kevin McCarthy become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, highlighting the church’s power when engaged.
A challenge, according to Hibbs, is that many seminaries produce pastors with no understanding of God's covenant with Israel. “They deny Israel's right to the land ... they have no prophetic view.”
To Hibbs, a true evangelical must recognize the Bible’s promises to Israel. “If God doesn’t keep His promises to Israel and to the Jewish people, I have no hope as a Gentile to be saved,” he says.
This belief shapes his ministry. Entering his church, visitors are met with a 2,000-pound uncut Jerusalem stone and a replica of the menorah that stands outside the Knesset. “Jews, rabbis ... come from L.A. just to take a picture with it,” he says proudly.
But symbolism is just the beginning. His sermons constantly weave together the Old and New Testaments. “You have no idea if the New Testament is true unless you read the Old Testament,” he says. Without this continuity, he believes Christians lose the ability to defend their faith and their support for Israel.
Hibbs also challenges the common rhetoric around a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. To him, the idea is misguided and biblically dangerous. “Every time I hear somebody say that, I cringe,” he says.
Quoting the book of Joel and Zechariah, he warns that God will “enter into judgment with the nations of the world because they have divided up my land.” Hibbs doesn’t mince words: “God’s got a better plan,” he says.
He sees modern political developments—particularly the pro-Israel stance of the Trump administration—as divinely orchestrated. “We’ve got the most pro-Israel cabinet in American history ever,” he says.
He also recalls a private conversation with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who faced pressure to pass a bloated aid bill just to secure support for Israel. He says the Speaker told him his career might end, but ‘he will have gotten Israel their armaments.’ In Hibbs’ view, “this is the hand of God.”
Asked what God is doing, Hibbs is clear: “God is saying, ‘This is what I can give you if you can keep it.’” Quoting Chronicles, he emphasizes the conditional nature of God’s blessings: “If my people, who are called by my name ...” It’s a call to righteousness, to obedience, and to bold faith. “If we obey God and do righteousness, God is going to take care of the stuff that’s impossible for us,” he says.
Hibbs also speaks about the spiritual revival in Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks. “There’s been such a return to God ... even secular soldiers are asking to wear a kippah,” he says. He links this to a verse in Proverbs that’s been central to his ministry: “What is his name, and what is the name of his son, if you know it?” (Proverbs 30:4). To Hibbs, this verse speaks powerfully to the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and to a shared divine destiny.
When asked about claims that Christians only support Israel to hasten the return of Jesus, Hibbs rejects the idea as simplistic and impersonal. “Our love for Israel is not just for the land. I love the Jews because God loves the Jews,” he says. “I would die for Israel.” He recalls Dennis Prager once telling him, “I believe that you are a man who would hide me,” to which Hibbs responded, “I am.”
For Pastor Jack Hibbs, politics is deeply personal. “Jesus says you’ll be judged ... by how you treated my brethren,” he says, referring to Matthew 25. “He’s talking about the Jewish people. It’s crystal clear.”
