Jack Hibbs (born January 15, 1958, in Chino Hills, California) is an American pastor, author, broadcaster, and speaker. He is the founder and senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Southern California, one of the larger Calvary Chapel congregations in the United States.
What began as a six-person Monday night home fellowship in 1990 now reaches over 10,000 people weekly on campus and millions more through his nationally syndicated “Real Life with Jack Hibbs” radio and television ministry.
He is one of the most widely heard Bible teachers in the Calvary Chapel movement, known for his verse-by-verse expositional preaching, his strong stance on biblical prophecy and Israel, and his willingness to address cultural and political issues from the pulpit.
He is also a public figure whose story is personal: he describes himself as an abortion survivor, a stutterer who found his voice, and a working man who came to Christ while employed at Caltrans, the California highway maintenance agency.
Jack Hibbs At a Glance
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jack Hibbs |
| Born | January 15, 1958, Chino Hills, California, USA |
| Age | 68 (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Lisa Hibbs (married 40+ years) |
| Children | Two daughters (both married) |
| Height | Approx. 5 ft 9 in (1.79 m) |
| Education | No formal seminary or Bible college; self-taught through personal study and mentorship |
| Ministry & Career | |
|---|---|
| Title | Founder and Senior Pastor |
| Church | Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, Chino Hills, California |
| Denomination | Calvary Chapel (non-denominational, evangelical, Charismatic-influenced) |
| Founded Church | August 1990 |
| Ordained | Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa |
| Books | Turn Around At Home (with Lisa Hibbs); Daze of Deception; others |
| Net Worth | Estimated $2 million – $5 million (unconfirmed) |
| Website | jackhibbs.com |
Early Life and Background
An Abortion Survivor’s Story
Jack Hibbs has shared publicly what most people never disclose about their own origins: he survived an attempted abortion. In the summer of 1957, his father traveled to Alaska for work, leaving his mother behind in California. His parents already had two children and did not want a third. His mother sought to end the pregnancy. The attempt failed. He was born on January 15, 1958.
He has told this story in sermons and in published articles, connecting it directly to his pro-life convictions. It is not an abstract theological position for him. It is the reason he is alive. He wrote in Calvary Chapel Magazine: “I am an abortion survivor.” That personal history shapes how he preaches on the sanctity of life more than any argument from natural law could.
Growing Up With a Stutter
Jack Hibbs grew up in a working-class household in Southern California. He has described his childhood as shaped by the desire for his father’s approval, which was difficult to earn. He also developed a stutter, which he says led to ridicule and social difficulty as a child.
The stutter matters in context. The man who would go on to preach to tens of thousands of people weekly and be nationally syndicated on radio and television started life unable to speak fluently in front of others. His own account of his story includes the phrase “being ridiculed for stuttering and grasping for the approval of his dad” as the pain that preceded his conversion.
Conversion at Caltrans
Jack Hibbs came to faith in his twenties, not through a church program but through a coworker at Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, where he worked as a highway maintenance worker. A Christian colleague on the job shared the gospel with him. He listened. He gave his life to Christ.
He did not have a seminary education before entering ministry. He pursued independent theological study through personal reading, mentorship, and practical ministry experience after his conversion. His theological training was informal and built over years of self-directed immersion in Scripture and Bible teaching, particularly within the Calvary Chapel tradition.
That background is unusual among major church founders, and he has acknowledged it. His detractors have used it against him. His supporters note that Chuck Smith, the founder of the entire Calvary Chapel movement, also built his ministry outside formal academic theological training.
Ministry Career
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and Ordination
After his conversion, Hibbs became connected to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the home church of the Calvary Chapel movement founded by Pastor Chuck Smith. He was ordained into ministry through Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, which gave him both theological formation and the official standing to plant a new church.
The Calvary Chapel movement is a network of non-denominational, evangelical, Charismatic-influenced churches that grew out of the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. Chuck Smith’s expositional, verse-by-verse approach to teaching Scripture became the defining method of the movement, and it is the approach Hibbs adopted and has maintained throughout his entire ministry. He is widely regarded as one of the better verse-by-verse teachers in the Calvary Chapel tradition.
Founding Calvary Chapel Chino Hills: Six People in a Living Room
In August 1990, Jack and Lisa Hibbs began a Monday night home fellowship in a private home in Chino Hills, California. The home belonged to a man named Andrew. The group started with six people. Every week, the furniture was moved out of the living room to make room for more chairs. As the group grew, video lines were run through the house so that people sitting in other rooms could watch the teaching happening in the living room.
The growth was slow but consistent. When the home could no longer hold the gathering, the church moved to a rented industrial complex in Chino. At that location, the congregation grew from around 100 adults to more than 2,000. In 2000, the church purchased the land on which Calvary Chapel Chino Hills now stands.
Today, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills ministers to over 10,000 people on campus each week. Millions more encounter Jack Hibbs’ teaching through radio, television, YouTube, podcast, and the Real Life Network.
Real Life with Jack Hibbs: Radio, TV, and YouTube
Jack Hibbs launched “Real Life with Jack Hibbs” as a nationally syndicated radio and television ministry in the 2000s. The broadcasts now reach audiences in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and throughout the Hawaiian Islands. His YouTube channel has surpassed one million subscribers and distributes full sermons, cultural commentary segments called “Happening Now,” and Bible teaching content with multilingual subtitles to expand international reach.
His teaching library on the Calvary Chapel Association (CCA) resource site lists 1,430 sermon entries, one of the largest single-pastor catalogs in the Calvary Chapel network. He covers books of the Bible verse by verse and returns to each book in regular teaching cycles.
Real Life Network
On Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023, Hibbs launched Real Life Network (RLN), a digital media platform he described as a counter-censorship initiative. The network streams biblical worldview content from multiple teachers, including archival teaching from Chuck Smith and Billy Graham, alongside commentary programs on culture, Israel, and current events from hosts including Amir Tsarfati. Hibbs has described the network as a response to increasing restrictions on conservative and Christian speech on major social media platforms.
Prayer Before Congress
On January 30, 2024, Jack Hibbs delivered the opening prayer for the United States House of Representatives, invited by Speaker Mike Johnson. His prayer called for “humility and repentance of national sins in a time of great need.” Following the prayer, 26 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Speaker Johnson calling Hibbs “an ill-qualified hate preacher” who was pushing a “Christian Nationalist agenda.”
Hibbs responded to the criticism in a podcast interview recorded at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, saying the negative reaction was evidence of how offensive genuine Christian prayer had become in certain political contexts. The episode drew national attention and was covered by multiple media outlets across the ideological spectrum.
Books and Publications
Jack and Lisa Hibbs co-authored Turn Around At Home: Giving a Stronger Spiritual Legacy Than You Received (2013), a practical guide for Christian families who want to build something different than what they inherited. The book reflects a theme that runs throughout both their lives: the belief that the patterns of a family can be changed within a single generation when faith is central.
He authored Daze of Deception: How to Discern Truth from Culture’s Lies, which addressed the proliferation of false information and spiritual confusion in contemporary American culture and provided a biblical framework for truth-testing the claims of the media, politics, and popular theology.
He has also published companion study materials and books connected to his sermon series, available through jackhibbs.com and affiliated ministry channels.
Personal Life
Marriage to Lisa Hibbs
Jack Hibbs has been married to Lisa Hibbs for more than 40 years. They met and built their life together before Calvary Chapel Chino Hills existed. Lisa has been a ministry partner from the beginning: she was present at the original six-person home fellowship, co-authored Turn Around At Home, and is consistently described in church materials as a co-leader of the family and community he has built.
Their marriage is a consistent reference point in his teaching on family life. He does not present it as perfect but as worked-on, which gives his “Turn Around At Home” framework credibility from the inside rather than just the outside.
Children and Family
Jack and Lisa Hibbs have two daughters, both adults and both married. Their names are not prominently featured in public ministry materials. The family lives in Southern California, and Jack has consistently cited his home life in Chino Hills as the anchor of his ministry identity.
What Religion Is Jack Hibbs?
Jack Hibbs is a Protestant Christian in the evangelical tradition. He is the pastor of a Calvary Chapel church, which is a non-denominational movement with roots in the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Calvary Chapel is broadly evangelical, holds to the full authority of Scripture, practices believer’s baptism, and has Charismatic influences (openness to the gifts of the Holy Spirit) without being fully Pentecostal. The movement is most associated with the ministry of its founder, the late Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
Hibbs is not Catholic, not mainline Protestant, not Reformed/Calvinist in the classical sense, and not affiliated with any formal denomination. He is best described as a non-denominational evangelical pastor with Calvary Chapel DNA.
What Church Is Jack Hibbs Affiliated With?
Jack Hibbs is affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association (CCA), the network of Calvary Chapel churches. His home church is Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino Hills, California, which he founded in August 1990. He was ordained through Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the original Calvary Chapel church founded by Chuck Smith.
What Denomination Is Calvary Chapel?
Calvary Chapel is technically non-denominational, but it functions as a loose fellowship of churches that share a common theological identity and association. The closest denominational comparison is to independent evangelical churches, with some Charismatic elements. Calvary Chapel is more conservative than most mainline denominations, more expositional in its teaching than most Pentecostal churches, and more Spirit-oriented than most Reformed congregations. It sits between the broader evangelical and Charismatic worlds without fully belonging to either.
Theology, Beliefs, and Ministry Philosophy
Verse-by-Verse Expositional Teaching
Jack Hibbs teaches the Bible verse by verse through entire books of Scripture. This method, inherited from Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapel tradition, is the defining characteristic of his preaching. He does not preach topical series that use Scripture to illustrate predetermined conclusions. He starts at the beginning of a book, teaches each verse in its context, and works through to the end.
He has taught through the entire Bible multiple times across his career. His sermon archive of over 1,400 entries on the CCA resource site reflects the depth and consistency of this approach over more than three decades.
Biblical Prophecy and Israel
Hibbs places strong emphasis on biblical prophecy, particularly as it relates to the nation of Israel and end-times events. He collaborates regularly with Israeli commentator Amir Tsarfati, hosting him on “Happening Now” episodes and at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills events. He argues that events in the Middle East, specifically the ongoing existence and situation of Israel, are directly connected to biblical prophetic fulfillment.
He has said publicly that Christians must support Israel not as a political position but as a biblical one, and he has spoken about Israel from his pulpit in ways that blur the line between pastoral teaching and political commentary.
Pro-Life Convictions
His personal testimony as an abortion survivor places him at the front lines of pro-life advocacy within his church and the broader Calvary Chapel network. He has hosted events specifically about the sanctity of unborn life, appeared in interviews with pro-life advocates including Seth Gruber, and preached directly on abortion as a biblical issue rather than a political one.
Cultural Engagement and Christian Citizenship
Hibbs is more willing than most evangelical pastors to address political and civic issues directly from the pulpit. He has spoken about immigration, elections, national policy, and cultural trends through a biblical worldview lens. He believes that Christian citizens have a responsibility to be engaged in the political process and that pastoral silence on cultural issues is a failure of biblical leadership.
Controversies
The Steve Garvey Endorsement and IRS Complaint
In February 2024, watchdog organizations including the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Right Wing Watch accused Jack Hibbs of violating IRS nonprofit regulations by endorsing U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey from the pulpit. Video circulated on social media showing Hibbs telling his congregation: “I want to publicly right now, today, encourage all of you to vote for Steve Garvey. You gotta vote for Steve Garvey.”
Under the Johnson Amendment (passed in 1954), tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, are prohibited from endorsing specific political candidates. A formal complaint was filed with the IRS. The IRS responded that federal law prevents it from confirming or denying whether an investigation is underway. Legal experts noted that the IRS rarely strips churches of their tax-exempt status over political speech, making enforcement unlikely in practice, though the legality of the endorsement as stated remains disputed.
Hibbs did not publicly retract or apologize for the endorsement. His legal counsel, Robert Tyler of Advocates for Faith and Freedom, argued that the Johnson Amendment has rarely been enforced in its 70-year history.
COVID-19 Church Reopening
On Pentecost Sunday in 2020, amid California’s COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on gatherings, Jack Hibbs reopened Calvary Chapel Chino Hills for in-person services, citing his religious conviction that the church could not remain closed indefinitely under government mandate. He described the decision as directed by the Holy Spirit and described the reopening as a statement about the priority of the church in civic life. The decision generated both support and criticism within the Christian community.
The Johnson Amendment Challenge
Hibbs has been a vocal opponent of the Johnson Amendment, arguing it represents unconstitutional government interference in religious speech. His endorsement of Steve Garvey from the pulpit in 2024 was by some observers interpreted as a deliberate challenge to the amendment’s enforceability, not just a political statement. Whether or not that interpretation is accurate, it fits a pattern of Hibbs using the pulpit to push against restrictions he considers violations of First Amendment rights.
Jack Hibbs and the Chuck Smith Jr. Question
Some search queries about Jack Hibbs also surface a question about Chuck Smith Jr., son of the Calvary Chapel founder. Chuck Smith Jr. was removed from the Calvary Chapel Association in 2008 following theological and methodological differences with the wider Calvary Chapel movement. The separation was public and represented a rift between the founder’s son and the movement his father had built. Jack Hibbs had no role in that removal. He is affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association that made that decision, but it was not his action. The two questions are linked in searches because both involve Calvary Chapel leadership, but they are separate matters about different people.
Influence and Legacy
Jack Hibbs represents a specific stream of American evangelical Christianity: verse-by-verse Bible teaching combined with unashamed cultural engagement. He sits at the intersection of traditional expositional preaching and modern media distribution in a way that few pastors of his generation have sustained across four decades.
His church’s origin story, six people in a living room growing into a congregation of 10,000 and a global broadcast ministry, is the kind of testimony that defines what the Calvary Chapel planting model was designed to produce. He is one of the clearer success cases of that model in the generation after Chuck Smith.
His influence on political engagement among evangelical Christians in Southern California has been significant and has drawn both admiration and criticism. He has given a prayer before Congress, challenged a Senate race from the pulpit, advocated for Israel’s biblical significance on national media, and launched his own digital network to distribute the content that major platforms have increasingly restricted.
Jack Hibbs Net Worth
Jack Hibbs’ net worth is estimated at between $2 million and $5 million as of 2025 and 2026, according to third-party biographical sources. His income comes from his pastoral role at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, book royalties, speaking engagements, and his Real Life ministry operations. Financial statements for the church’s associated foundations and organizations are not publicly available online, and he has not confirmed a specific personal figure.
Interesting Facts About Jack Hibbs
- He describes himself as an abortion survivor. His mother attempted to end the pregnancy in 1957. He was born on January 15, 1958.
- He came to faith as an adult while working a blue-collar job at Caltrans, the California highway maintenance agency. A coworker shared the gospel with him.
- He has no formal seminary or Bible college training. His theological education was entirely self-directed through personal study and mentorship within the Calvary Chapel tradition.
- Calvary Chapel Chino Hills began in August 1990 with exactly six people in a private home. The furniture was moved out every week to make room for chairs.
- He delivered the opening prayer for the U.S. House of Representatives on January 30, 2024, invited by Speaker Mike Johnson. Twenty-six Democratic members of Congress subsequently accused him of being “an ill-qualified hate preacher.”
- His sermon archive on the Calvary Chapel Association resource site contains over 1,400 entries, one of the largest catalogs in the Calvary Chapel network.
- He reopened Calvary Chapel Chino Hills for in-person services on Pentecost Sunday 2020, during California’s COVID-19 lockdown, citing religious conviction.
- He launched Real Life Network on Pentecost Sunday 2023 as a direct response to what he described as censorship of Christian and conservative speech on mainstream digital platforms.
- His YouTube channel has surpassed one million subscribers, with content available in multiple languages through subtitles added to reach international audiences.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Mother attempts to abort the pregnancy; attempt fails |
| January 15, 1958 | Born in Chino Hills, California |
| Adulthood, early career | Works at Caltrans in Southern California; coworker shares the gospel; converts to Christianity |
| Late 1980s | Becomes connected to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa; ordained into ministry under the Calvary Chapel network |
| August 1990 | Founds Calvary Chapel Chino Hills as a Monday night home fellowship with six people at a private home in Chino Hills |
| Early 1990s | Church moves from private home to rented industrial complex in Chino; grows from ~100 to over 2,000 adults |
| 2000 | Purchases the land on which Calvary Chapel Chino Hills now permanently stands |
| 2000s | Launches “Real Life with Jack Hibbs” nationally syndicated radio and television ministry |
| 2013 | Co-authors Turn Around At Home with Lisa Hibbs |
| Ongoing 2010s | YouTube channel builds toward 1 million subscribers; international broadcast reach expands to West Africa, Middle East, and South Pacific |
| May 2020 | Reopens Calvary Chapel Chino Hills for in-person services on Pentecost Sunday during California COVID-19 lockdown |
| May 28, 2023 | Launches Real Life Network (RLN) on Pentecost Sunday as a Christian digital media platform |
| January 30, 2024 | Delivers opening prayer for U.S. House of Representatives; invited by Speaker Mike Johnson; 26 Democratic members subsequently criticize the prayer |
| February 2024 | Accused by watchdog groups of violating IRS nonprofit rules by endorsing Senate candidate Steve Garvey from the pulpit; IRS does not confirm investigation |
| 2025 | Ministry reaches 10,000+ weekly on-campus attendees; YouTube surpasses 1 million subscribers; multilingual subtitles added to expand international reach |
Frequently Asked Questions
What religion is Jack Hibbs?
Jack Hibbs is a Protestant evangelical Christian. He is the pastor of a Calvary Chapel church, which is a non-denominational, biblically conservative movement with roots in the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s. His theology is evangelical, his teaching method is expositional (verse-by-verse), and his church has Charismatic-influenced elements without being fully Pentecostal. He is not Catholic and not affiliated with any mainline denomination.
What church is Jack Hibbs affiliated with?
Jack Hibbs is affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association (CCA). He is the founder and senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino Hills, California. He was ordained through Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the original church of the Calvary Chapel movement, founded by the late Chuck Smith.
What denomination is Calvary Chapel most like?
Calvary Chapel is non-denominational but functionally resembles an independent evangelical denomination. It is closest theologically to independent evangelical churches, with some Charismatic influences. It is more biblically conservative and expositional than most mainline Protestant denominations, more structured and less emotionally driven than typical Pentecostal churches, and less formally Calvinist than Reformed Presbyterian churches. The Jesus Movement origins give it a cultural accessibility and informality that distinguishes it from more traditional evangelical bodies like the Southern Baptist Convention.
How old is Jack Hibbs?
Jack Hibbs was born on January 15, 1958. He is 68 years old as of 2026.
Who is Jack Hibbs’ wife?
Jack Hibbs’ wife is Lisa Hibbs. They have been married for more than 40 years and co-authored the book Turn Around At Home: Giving a Stronger Spiritual Legacy Than You Received (2013). Lisa has been a ministry partner from the founding of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in 1990.
Where can I watch Jack Hibbs’ latest sermon today?
Jack Hibbs’ latest sermons are available at jackhibbs.com, on the “Real Life with Jack Hibbs” YouTube channel (search “Real Life with Jack Hibbs” on YouTube), and through the Real Life Network at the same website. He posts new content regularly, including full Sunday services and shorter teaching segments.
Why was Chuck Smith Jr. removed from the ministry?
Chuck Smith Jr., son of Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith, was separated from the Calvary Chapel Association in 2008 due to theological and methodological differences with the movement’s leadership. He had moved in a more contemplative, progressive theological direction that the CCA considered incompatible with the Calvary Chapel identity. This was a decision by Calvary Chapel leadership broadly, not specifically by Jack Hibbs. Hibbs is affiliated with the CCA but was not the principal actor in that separation.
What is Jack Hibbs’ net worth?
Jack Hibbs’ net worth is estimated at between $2 million and $5 million by third-party sources. This reflects income from his pastoral role, book royalties, speaking engagements, and broadcasting ministry. He has not publicly confirmed a specific figure, and church financial statements are not publicly available online.
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