Geofencing the Pews: What Israel’s Digital Ad Campaign Means for U.S. Churches

A foreign PR campaign funded by Israel is targeting American churches with digital ads. Here’s what’s happening, why it matters, and how Christians can respond.

A New Kind of Targeting

A recently disclosed marketing campaign funded by the Israeli government is using geofencing technology to target worshippers in U.S. churches with pro-Israel digital ads. Through a U.S.-based contractor, the campaign identifies smartphones that enter church buildings and later pushes tailored political messaging to those devices.

The effort, described in federal filings as the “largest Christian church geofencing campaign in U.S. history,” covers hundreds of major churches across California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado. None of the churches were informed or asked for consent.

While the operation poses no physical threat to churches, it raises sharp concerns about privacy, religious manipulation, and foreign influence in American faith communities.

I hope to see you in Texas. Click to register for this FREE class.

Who’s Behind It

The campaign is funded by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and carried out by a new U.S. firm called Show Faith by Works, LLC, led by California-based activist Chad Schnitger. According to public filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Israel has budgeted over $4 million for the effort.

FARA documents reveal a multi-layered strategy: use location data to target churchgoers with ads, organize pro-Israel events, and recruit Christian leaders to share government-crafted talking points. The plan is part of a broader global PR initiative by Israel’s Foreign Ministry to rebuild public support amid declining sympathy during the Gaza conflict.

Foreign Agents Registration Act form

19.2MB ∙ PDF file

Download

This is the FARA for GeoFencing churches. This is the basis for this article.

Download

How It Works

At its core, geofencing involves drawing a virtual boundary around physical locations. In this case, churches and Christian colleges. When a smartphone crosses that boundary, it’s tagged by commercial data systems. Later, that device receives tailored ads on social media, YouTube, and mobile apps.

These ads feature explicitly pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian messaging, emphasizing biblical ties to Israel, promoting Christian tourism, and portraying the nation as defending shared Judeo-Christian values. Some messaging depicts Palestinians broadly as supporters of terrorism, an approach critics say risks inflaming bias and division.

Everyone that carries should be qualifying. I designed this course specifically for churches. It is challenging, but you need your A game when you are working at church.

Beyond ads, the campaign includes:

• A traveling exhibit, called the October 7th Experience, featuring VR headsets and displays about the Hamas attacks.

• Pastoral outreach, where selected pastors may be paid stipends to share pre-written pro-Israel messages.

• Influencer recruitment, attempting to enlist Christian public figures and media personalities to echo the campaign’s themes.

No pastors or influencers have publicly confirmed participation, but the outreach efforts are ongoing.

Why Churches Are the Focus

For decades, Israel has enjoyed strong support among American evangelicals. That loyalty has become a key pillar of its diplomatic and political relationship with the United States.

But recent polling shows that younger evangelicals are less automatically pro-Israel than their parents. Many express sympathy for Palestinians or call for a balanced view of the conflict. In response, Israel’s government is turning directly to church audiences to rebuild emotional and theological solidarity, using the same advertising precision once reserved for political campaigns.

From Israel’s standpoint, it’s a strategic move: churches are influential, community-centered, and deeply engaged with moral and humanitarian questions. Winning their hearts means preserving a vital base of American support.

What It Means for Churches and Worshippers

While this campaign doesn’t pose a security risk, it introduces serious ethical and spiritual challenges.

1. Privacy:
   Worshippers’ phones are being tracked to build digital profiles for targeted messaging. Although no personal names are collected, data brokers can identify who attended church and use that information commercially or politically. It’s legal, but invasive.

2. Manipulation:
   The campaign treats Christians as an audience to be influenced, not engaged. Ads appear during and after worship, creating the sense that Christian spaces are being exploited for political purposes.

3. Foreign Influence:
   The idea of a foreign government paying pastors or producing content for churches blurs the line between ministry and propaganda. Even if intentions are friendly, it risks eroding trust between congregations and their leaders.

4. Division in the Church:
   Christians hold diverse views on Israel and Palestine. Introducing one-sided messaging during worship could fuel tension in congregations already struggling with polarization.

Not the First, But a New Frontier

Geofencing is a common marketing tactic in business and politics, but rarely around houses of worship. In one previous U.S. case, a firm geofenced abortion clinics to deliver pro-life ads, prompting state investigations and privacy lawsuits.

What makes the Israel campaign unique is its scale and foreign sponsorship. It represents a growing trend where governments use commercial ad systems to target specific belief groups—something privacy experts warn could easily be weaponized by hostile actors in the future.

Several states have started restricting the sale of precise location data from churches and other sensitive sites. The Federal Trade Commission has also fined brokers for selling worship-related data. But enforcement remains limited, and campaigns like this show how easily data can still be exploited.

How Christians Can Respond

Christians don’t need to panic. But we should be aware, wise, and proactive.

1. Guard Your Digital Privacy.

Turn off location tracking during church, disable app permissions you don’t need, and consider leaving your phone in your car if possible. Review which apps have access to your location and advertising data.

2. Be Discerners, Not Reactors.

If you start seeing pro-Israel or conflict-related ads after church, recognize them for what they are: targeted campaigns. Evaluate the message against Scripture, truth, and compassion before letting it shape your opinion.

3. Support Pastoral Transparency.

Encourage your church leaders to stay independent. If outside groups offer “resources” or sponsorships tied to political messages, handle them transparently and prayerfully.

4. Protect the Sanctity of Worship.

The church should remain a refuge from propaganda, no matter the source. Keep the focus on Christ and truth, not political narratives designed to pull believers one way or another.

5. Advocate for Privacy Protections.

Faith communities can call on lawmakers to ban the collection and sale of data from religious gatherings. Freedom to worship without surveillance should be a shared American value.

The Bottom Line

Israel’s digital outreach to churches isn’t a cyberattack or a physical threat. It’s an information operation. Its goal is persuasion, not infiltration. Still, it crosses ethical boundaries by inserting political influence into sacred spaces.

As Christians, we can respond with awareness and discernment rather than alarm. We can guard our privacy, support our pastors, and keep worship focused on God rather than geopolitics. The church doesn’t need to fear technology, but we do need to be wise about how it’s used around us.