Bishop Robert Stearns, founder of the evangelical organization Eagles’ Wings, said this week he has brought tens of thousands of Christians to Israel over three decades and is now focused on countering what he called a global “propaganda war” against the Jewish state.
Stearns, who first visited Israel in 1992, told the Ynet studio he stopped counting his trips after 100. Since then, he said, he has led some 35,000 visitors. On Thursday, he was preparing to greet 300 evangelical Christians arriving from seven countries for what he described as a solidarity mission.
Bishop Robert Stearns | founder of Eagles' Wings
(Video: Assaf Chen)
“This is our 12th solidarity mission since October 7,” Stearns said, referring to Hamas’ attack on Israel. “I was here on October 7. We lived through the first 10 days of that horrible nightmare alongside the Jewish people... Israel is fighting a war on many fronts, but the primary, and I would offer the most important front is the front of world opinion, the propaganda war, and there is no more powerful response and solution to the propaganda war than to bring young Christian leaders from around the world and let them see and experience the land of the people firsthand."
Stearns said the latest group includes 80 social media influencers with a combined following of about 300 million people across platforms. “I think the impact has already begun. As I was driving here today, they were posting on social media,” he said. “They're on this El Al flight and they're coming in and they're meeting Israelis and they're talking and they're humanizing what is happening here and that goes out over social media. So that message has already happened even though they haven't landed in Israel yet."
He warned that Israel faces eroding support in U.S. public opinion, especially among younger generations, including evangelicals. “I believe that this is an existential problem,” he said. “We live in a moment where people are less concerned about facts and more concerned about emotions. We have to reset that table. We have to bring people here and let them know Israel wants peace in the region.
"Israel wants nothing more than to have peace with its Arab neighbors, but peace must come not at the price of Israeli lives that we've seen not only since October 7. I've been here since the failed attempts of Oslo, where Israel has time after time after time reached out its hand with hope for a two-state solution, with hope for normalization, and what did they get? They got the first Intifada, the second Intifada. They got war after war after war."
Stearns urged the Israeli government and Jewish organizations to expand their outreach. “I think sometimes it's very natural to take our friends for granted... but the truth is we are losing the next generation,” he said. “We must cooperate together because while this battle is about Israel, it's also about the future of Western civilization. It's about the values that were found at the Mosaic law. It's about basic Judeo-Christian values, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom for women, all of these things that the West holds dear. This is the big battle that we're fighting."
He credited the Foreign Ministry for beginning to address the issue but said more is needed.
Eagles’ Wings runs programs often described as a “Christian Birthright,” modeled after the Jewish initiative that brings young Diaspora Jews to Israel. The program began with university students and now focuses on pastors and influencers.
Stearns cited one participant who, two years ago, described himself as anti-Zionist. “Now in two years, he's led seven groups to Israel,” Stearns said. “His two children are coming with him. Bring people here, educate them, connect them, build the bridge and change the narrative.”