Documents Show Israel-Backed Effort To Influence Christians At U.S. Churches
By Daily Caller News Foundation (/journals/dcnf)
An Israeli-guided media company that documents show paid a former Trump campaign aide’s firm millions to influence public opinion is supporting an effort to propagandize American Christians at their places of worship, federal records reveal.
Havas Media, a Germany-based media company with ties to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pays Show Faith By Works LLC to conduct a pro-Israel outreach campaign in the U.S., a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing from Sept. 27, 2025, shows. Show Faith By Works’ initial proposal includes farming cellphone data from churches, influencing celebrities and clergy members and hosting mobile events at churches and colleges throughout the West Coast, according to the filing.
Show Faith By Works, a “Christian-based marketing and communications firm,” spent over $3 million in funding provided by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs while conducting the mobile event aspect of the pro-Israel campaign, a May 1 FARA filing shows, with receipts for work spanning from October 2025 to March 2026.
A payment of $325,896 is visible in a Show Faith By Works LLC invoice billable to Havas Media Germany GmbH, according to the September FARA filing.
Havas Media did not respond to a request for comment.
Havas Media has also been involved in other pro-Israel media campaigns, such as its campaign with Clock Tower X, which is run by former Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale.
Parscale’s firm entered into a $6 million “services agreement” with Havas Media Network in August 2025, according to a May 18 FARA filing. Parscale inadvertently registered his firm, Clock Tower X, as working on behalf of the state of Israel directly in the September filing, ultimately correcting the record to show Havas as his client, according to a FARA filing on Oct. 20, 2025.
One of the goals of Show Faith By Works’ proposal was to influence American Christians’ opinions of the State of Israel through the “Largest Geofencing and targeted Christian Digital Campaign ever,” the Sept. 27 FARA filing shows.
A geofence is a “software-defined perimeter on a map” that lets organizations or businesses track when GPS-enabled devices move in or out of a predefined area, “enabling automated alerts,” according to geolocation-focused company Radar.
“We will target and distribute pro-Israel information online and through targeted geofencing and digital online tools,” the Sept. 27 FARA filing says. It notes that the “proposed” tools are “undecided.”
“We are not doing geofencing, although it is a valuable tool that Christian churches should use to advertise to their communities,” Chad Schnitger, a representative of Show Faith By Works, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Original reporting about our geofencing has been intentionally sensationalized for clicks and outrage.”
“My experience with the media about this project has been disappointing,” Schnitger told the DCNF. “Nearly no outlet who has reached out to us has printed anything other than their own sensationalized headlines, so I no longer respond in great detail because I have no confidence my replies will be accurately reported in the media.”
The “Show Faith By Works” campaign was recently popularized by Nathan Apffel, the founder of The Religion Business, an organization that aims to expose corruption in churches, during his appearance on “The Tucker Carlson Show” on June 19.
Apffel said that whether or not the geofencing actually occurred, that was the goal, and that is what matters.
“It is a deck, it’s a presentation deck on strategy, right […] Whether they geofenced or not, I do not know,” Apffel told the DCNF. “But as a businessman, when I put something on paper, my goal is to accomplish it.”
Schnitger said that many of the tools mentioned in the FARA filings were never utilized.
“The original FARA disclosure included things that could have been considered a ‘pitch deck’ our actual activities are much less controversial,” Schnitger told the DCNF. “We’re traveling the southwestern U.S. with a 3,000 square foot mobile museum that we set up at churches and Christian events. The purpose is education and travel opportunities for churches, the experience is incredible.”
Earlier reporting on the “Show Faith By Works” campaign was published by Responsible Statecraft on Oct. 15, 2025.
“All of our exhibits are written by Christian pastors and Christians like myself who love Israel and the people and place where the Bible happened,” Schnitger told the DCNF. “All of our materials have been viewed and critiqued by teams of Christian pastors and professors. All of the churches who have hosted us know that we are funded by Israel for education and travel purposes.”
One pro-Israel organization unaffiliated with Show Faith By Works told the DCNF that the mobile museum is a good way to spread support for Israel among American Christians.
“This mobile museum sounds like an effective way to engage Christian audiences and a brilliant PR move,” Kimberly Troup, the Director of the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities U.S. office, told the DCNF. “American Christians navigating their relationship with Israel today will benefit from engaging directly with Israel. Fostering dialogue grounded in historical understanding and Biblical truth can ensure that engagement with this complex issue remains informed and supportive.”
U.S. Public Opinion Falls Off A Cliff
The messaging aims to “Combat low American Evangelical Christian approval of the Nation of Israel” through “a combination of personal and professional outreach to the Christian Community, combined with digital targeting and social media outreach,” the “Show Faith By Works” September filing says.
Americans’ opinion of Israel is declining, according to recent polling.
At least 60% of U.S. adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel, up seven percentage points from 53% last year, according to a Pew Research Center poll that surveyed over 3,500 U.S. adults conducted March 23 to March 29.
“Maybe we should question, like, why is there a low approval rating?” Apffel said during his appearance on “The Tucker Carlson Show.” “Are you committing genocide? Like, that might be a reason.”
“If you know the Bible and you look at the tenets of both the Old Testament and Christ, and then you look at what the nation-state of Israel is doing and how it’s, I’ll use the word ‘weaponizing’ the scripture for its own political agenda,” Apffel told the DCNF. “I think many Christians are getting frustrated with the weaponization of scripture for political motives.”
Schnitger argued that these polls may be evidence of an uninformed population.
“Your question about why this is necessary goes back to PEW polls showing that younger Americans and a larger percentage of the Christian church have stopped supporting Israel,” Schnitger told the DCNF. “This polling shows a low level of knowledge about the history of the Middle East, and a low level of knowledge about terrorism (especially for a generation born after 9/11).”
Schnitger said that readings from the Old Testament, such as Genesis, are evidence of why Christians should support Israel.
“Christians don’t need to be educated, in large part they need to be reminded that the promises God made to Abraham in Genesis continue through the Bible as God reveals himself to the world through his Chosen people,” Schnitger told the DCNF. “God then chooses Israel again to be the setting and background when he gave us Jesus who came to create a path for the reconciliation of all people with the creation of the New Covenant. Gods promises to Israel are eternal, and it is nothing less than divine providence that the same people who came to the land of Canaan 3,000+ years ago, reside there today, and speak the same language of their ancestors.”
“That goes to Mike Huckabee as well, it goes to everything,” Apffel told the DCNF. “It’s like you guys just keep claiming scripture to justify genocide and wiping out massive amounts of urban cities and killing.”
The decline in U.S. public opinion has occurred alongside the war in Gaza, the invasion of Lebanon and Tel Aviv’s push for continued conflict with Iran.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio openly admitted to reporters on March 2 that an Israeli action was going to “precipitate” an Iranian attack on the U.S. military during the opening phase of the Iran War, according to C-SPAN.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” Rubio said. “If we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties. This had to happen, no matter what.”
Going even further back than the Iran War, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that he did not consult the U.S. before Israel launched its strikes during the 12-Day War. The 12-Day War was the first round of strikes on Iran.
“I did not ask for permission. I simply informed him of our plan,” The Times of Israel reported, a speech from Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on June 24. “I was pleased that he ultimately joined in toward the end of this very important action.”
The casualty counts in the war between Hezbollah and Israel are massively lopsided, if sources are to be believed, which could also be affecting the opinion of Israel among U.S. adults.
Lebanon has sustained over 4,000 deaths since March 2, Reuters reported, citing Lebanon’s Health Ministry, and over 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced, according to The Associated Press. Israel has lost 32 soldiers and four civilians since the conflict began, Reuters reported, citing Israeli authorities.
“I think it [the Israeli military action in Lebanon] is a land grab. I think they’re trying to expand their territory under this greater Israel concept,” Apffel told the DCNF. “Huckabee said the quiet part out loud when he, you know, was sitting with Tucker. He basically said, take it all, you know […] Their passion for greater Israel is greater than the safety of Christians.”
Israel unleashed a wave of military strikes on southern Lebanon shortly after President Donald Trump finalized a memorandum of understanding with Iran, jeopardizing the U.S. goals for peace in the Middle East.
‘Hear From Us’
“Informational materials” detailed in a June 15 “Show Faith By Works” FARA filing tie in another organization called Hear From Us. “We are not lobbyists and this is not propaganda,” the group claims in its materials.
“Hear From Us helps the Christian church reconnect the Bible it loves to the Jewish people and the land where that story is still unfolding today,” according to the group’s website.
“This material is distributed by Show Faith By Works on behalf of Israel – Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the footer of Hear From Us’ website states.
One of Hear From Us’ projects is a “guided VR [virtual reality] experience that helps you see the reality of October 7 through survivor testimony, place, and memory,” according to the June FARA filing.
Hear From Us did not respond to a request for comment.
Schnitger said that the messaging is intended to explain the history of Jewish people to Christians, justifying support for Israel.
“Our polling shows that most American Christians have nearly no knowledge of what happened to the Jewish people from the destruction of the 2nd temple in 70AD by the Romans (as prophesied by Jesus during his ministry), to about 1933 with the beginning of the Holocaust,” Schnitger told the DCNF. “So, we try to include 1900 years of history in our exhibit, both detailing the lives of the Jewish people and the history of the Christian Church in the region as well.”
However, the proposed messaging goes beyond merely supporting the State of Israel, with it taking aim at Palestinians.
“There was never a state of Palestine at anytime in History,” a slideshow summarizing the proposed Show Faith By Works talking points states, according to the Sept. 27 FARA filing. “Hamas is a Palestinian Terrorist Organization […] Palestinians elect Hamas’s leadership […] Palestinian and Iranian goals are not land-focused, but genocidal.”
One of the messages in the “pro-Israel” section of the campaign is to “question the longstanding policy of a 2-state solution,” according to the Sept. 27 FARA filing.
“When I look at what Israel, the nation state of Israel, is doing, when I look at what the US government is doing, they are taking scriptures and applying it to their bias and their personal motive,” Apffel told the DCNF. “That has devastating effects both on the leadership applying the bias and both on the individuals downstream of that applied bias.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].