In 1968, the stern yet respected Southern California pastor Chuck Smith realizes his church, Calvary Chapel, is slowly dying and he is unable to connect with the younger, live-free hippie generation of teens and young adults.

His daughter, Janette, gives a ride to a colorful hippie hitchhiker named Lonnie Frisbee, who says he is traveling around and telling people about the ministry of Jesus.

Meanwhile, high-school student Greg Laurie runs away from his Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps class and joins a girl named Cathe and her friends, who "turn him on" to drugs at a Janis Joplin concert.

Christian conversions and group baptisms in the Pacific Ocean follow as membership at Calvary Chapel grows to such proportions that services have to be held outside under a large tent.

At the end of the film, the credits reveal that Smith and Frisbee reconciled and both are remembered as founders of and leaders in the widespread Jesus movement that started at Calvary Chapel.

[18] In the United States and Canada, Jesus Revolution was released alongside Cocaine Bear, and was initially projected to gross $6–7 million from 2,475 theaters in its opening weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "Jesus Revolution fumbles an opportunity to bring fascinating real-life history vibrantly to life, but deserves credit for avoiding the preachiness common to faith-based films.

"[31] Rahul Malhotra and Simbiat Ayoola of Collider noted that Christian media is an "underserved audience", that "the production company did its due diligence to create buzz", and "despite mixed critical reviews, Jesus Revolution has proven to be rather popular with its target demographic.

Noting that Jonathan Roumie is best known for his portrayal of Jesus in The Chosen, Foust added, "it doesn't take long to put that in the back of your mind and imagine him as Frisbee.

"[34] In another review, James Berardinelli said that "Jesus Revolution takes a fascinating period of American history – the hippie movement and its associated fallout within the Christian community – and transforms it into a bland, TV movie-of-the-week experience.