Brian Gibbs, a friend of Congressman Greg Steube, has been rallying his small congregation against America’s ‘enemies.’
By Alice Herman/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: July 18, 2025
Host: Sarasota pastor Brian Gibbs is friends with Congressman Greg Steube. In his sermons, Gibbs uses harsh anti-queer language, describes his political opponents as demonic, and portrays the country as on the precipice of war. Alice Herman with Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report.
Brian Gibbs: Father, tonight I bless—with the people of God, I bless our great nation. I pray your divine protection over America, from the Carolinas to California, Hawaii, Alaska to Florida. I pray divine protection, Father. I pray, Lord, that you would reveal to us exactly where enemies are, enemies that came in, weapons that have come in that could potentially be used against us for terror and for death. Father, I pray for the revelation of those things to come forth.
Alice Herman: This is Sarasota Pastor Brian Gibbs.
It’s standard talk for Gibbs, the lead pastor of Victory: A Church of His Presence in Sarasota and a political activist who casts the American church as a crusading light against shadowy forces of evil.
Brian Gibbs with Greg Steube and Neil Rainford. Photo via Brian Gibbs on Facebook
Although his congregation is modest—a service last month drew roughly 100 people—Gibbs has quietly expanded his reach. He currently holds services in the sanctuary of another church but has raised more than $670,000 to build a 500-seat sanctuary of his own in the Sarasota suburbs.
In the last decade, Gibbs has worked to advance his political vision in Sarasota and beyond. He speaks at school board meetings against LGBTQ+ inclusion. He traveled the country to challenge the 2020 election results. And he maintains a friendship with Republican U.S. Representative Greg Steube, whose congressional district includes Sarasota and extends down toward Fort Myers.
His relationship with Steube has afforded Gibbs visible proximity to political power.
During his sermons and on his podcast and public social media profiles, Gibbs uses harsh anti-LGBTQ+ language and decries his political opponents as demonic. Ahead of the 2024 election, he repeatedly suggested the country could be on the precipice of war and counseled his congregants to stock up on medical supplies and even ammo.
Suncoast Searchlight has found no evidence of Gibbs promoting physical violence.
But religious scholars and local clergy nonetheless said this kind of speech is more than provocative—it’s dangerous. In interviews with Suncoast Searchlight, they warned that his style of “spiritual warfare” rhetoric risks violence, especially in a hyper-polarized climate.
Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood: I find it really, really concerning. I don’t see how you couldn’t find it concerning. Again, these religious leaders aren’t operating in a vacuum—they understand the political polarization we see all around us, and the fact that they would like to add fuel to that fire instead of trying to be a voice of peace and unity is frustrating and concerning.
AH: That’s Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood, a sociologist at Tulane University who studies religious and political violence. She has warned about the rise of militant rhetoric among far-right figures on the Christian right.
Gibbs declined to be interviewed except to say that he doesn’t support violence.
Gibbs preaching. Photo via Brian Gibbs on Facebook
Gibbs targets contemporary conservative foes in his speeches—like changing gender norms, abortion rights and high-profile Democrats. But his political theology traces back to a movement born in the 1990s known as the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR.
Early leaders in the NAR promoted a radical idea: The globe, they believed, was entering into an awakening, replete with modern-day prophets and apostles. They sought to build God’s kingdom on earth by fighting demonic entities for control of social and political institutions.
Religious scholars say NAR leaders’ early embrace of Trump—who conservative Christians initially resisted during the 2016 GOP primary—helped cement Trump’s lasting power.
They also point to NAR leaders as a key source of Christian support for the January 6 riot.
Like other leaders in the movement, Gibbs traveled the country after the 2020 election, praying for the results to be overturned and enlisting other spiritual warriors in that movement.
He said he was not in DC during the Capitol riots.
Gibbs’ vision—once on the fringes of American religious life—has increasingly found space in public institutions, amplified by allies in office and echoed from the pulpits to policymaking circles. During Trump’s inaugural festivities in January, Gibbs traveled to D.C. to celebrate at the Christian Inaugural Gala.
Promotional image for Steube’s appearance on Gibbs’ podcast. Photo via Brian Gibbs on Facebook
The same month, on an episode of Gibbs’ podcast, the pastor sat down with Steube over glasses of orange juice at Florida House in Washington D.C. The conversation turned to faith and power and how one shapes the other.
Greg Steube: For me, that guides my decisions, especially when I’m voting on things. It’s the word of God first.
AH: That’s Congressman Steube, speaking on a podcast with Gibbs.
Reporting for Suncoast Searchlight, this has been Alice Herman.
To read the full report, go to suncoastsearchlight.org/brian-gibbs-sarasota-pastor-spiritual-war.
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