How Lonnie Frisbee Became the Catalyst for the Jesus Movement

There has been a resurgence of interest in evangelist Lonnie Frisbee. With the release of Greg Laurie’s powerful movie, Jesus Revolution, more people are asking about Lonnie.

It was apparent that Lonnie was a main catalyst to the Jesus Movement. Although the movie captured a small portion of Lonnie’s story, what was seen on-screen was a small paraphrase into the life of a man I have studied over the years.

After reading two of Lonnie’s books compiled by Roger Sachs who transcribed the evangelist’s words onto the printed page, my oldest son and I had the pleasure of meeting Roger at The Send Orlando in 2019. I’d asked him a few questions and he prayed, laying hands and prophesying over us. I then anxiously awaited the release of the third book in the series and when I received it I honestly wept before the Lord. I highly recommend that you read them in their entirety to get more insight into the Jesus Movement and what God did afterwards until Lonnie’s untimely death.

Kevin Dedmon has sat down with me a couple times on my podcast “Adventures in the Spirit” briefly mentioning Lonnie Frisbee the first time. But I invited him back to elaborate more on the ‘hippie preacher.’ I’d shared how I read everything I could about the hippie evangelist, but I could see that a couple of the movements Lonnie was pivotal in had tried to delete him out of their history. We should never delete or cancel history, but learn from it.

Kevin said he was saved at a Calvary Chapel service in Costa Mesa at the height of the Jesus Movement. Lonnie was preaching, but the draw was signs, wonders and miracles with the relevant biblical message given through the music and word. Kevin said, “As Lonnie was praying, I was shaking under the power of the Holy Spirit. I came forward knowing that there was something special on my life. I needed something to know that God was specifically calling me. From that time on I knew I was called to help change the world with the message of Jesus.”

Kevin shared on Lonnie’s life saying, “Lonnie was a hippie, an artist and a musician. When he had an encounter with Jesus he was called to bring in a harvest. He wanted to get as many people as possible saved. Lonnie would prophesy over people and receive words of knowledge. My wife’s aunt was healed of an inoperable tumor and Lonnie prayed for her and she was completely healed. He walked in signs and wonders all the time.”

Dedmon continued saying, “In 1991 my wife and I became friends with Lonnie. My wife and I prayed with him two weeks before he died. He was so right with God. A lot of people have studied him since. And I know there is a certain group that would like to propagate his name for their own agenda. But Lonnie was absolutely in love with Jesus and had such a sensitive heart with the Lord. He was a beautiful, beautiful person. He had his weaknesses for sure. But at the end of his life he was so in love and right with the Lord.”

Listen to this conversation and learn more about Lonnie Frisbee and the impartation of the Holy Spirit that Kevin Dedmon shares about. {eoa}

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Jared and Rochelle Laskey co-founded Fireborn Ministries together to teach believers how to live a daily Spirit-empowered life. You can find their resources and learn more about their ministry at firebornministries.com. They also have e-courses such as “Entry Level Prophecy,” “The Last Days,” “The Baptism with the Holy Spirit” and more on charismacourses.com, and the popular podcast Adventures in the Spirit, available on the Charisma Podcast Network or anywhere you listen to podcasts.