John Calvin Hinerman, a Navy veteran who describes himself as a “front-lines revivalist” and member of Philip Renner Ministries, claims he and his Christian group were kicked out of the temporary Burning Man community in Nevada after sharing about Jesus with hundreds. Organizers say the evangelists broke privacy rules.
“Burning Man takes participants’ right to privacy seriously. Seeking permission and consent before filming or engaging other participants in Black Rock City is a requirement and responsibility for anyone at the event,” Burning Man officials said in a Sept. 3 statement to the Reno Gazette Journal. “This camp received multiple warnings and opportunities to correct their behavior yet continued to violate our policies and were therefore evicted.”
The 40-year-old Burning Man Project, which convenes annually in the temporary Black Rock City in Nevada, describes itself as “a community and global cultural movement” guided by 10 Principles, including radical inclusion, radical self-reliance and communal effort.
In a series of posts on Instagram on Wednesday, Hinerman contends that he and his team of evangelists were discriminated against.
“Burning Man is discriminating us and breaking their own rules of being ‘radically inclusive’ and KICKING us out for being Christians?!” he wrote while claiming that some 800 people had given their lives to Jesus as a result of his ministry being at the event.
He further stated that Burning Man officials gave his team just three hours to take down their tents and other equipment set up for the event.
“Many other BURNERS are coming and JOINING us, helping us clean up everything up because even THEY are against the Burning Man for kicking us out for sharing our Faith,” Hinerman wrote. “Burning Man is WRONG for kicking us out, and the devil is MAD over 800 people gave their lives to Jesus and became a LIVING temple of the Holy Spirit.”
In their response to Hinerman’s claims of discrimination, Burning Man officials said his camp was repeatedly warned to change their behavior, but they chose not to respect the privacy of other community members.
Witnesses told the Reno Gazette Journal that the Christian camp initially attracted people by offering coffee and matcha and then tried to get people to accept Jesus as their savior. Some attendees saw the push as evangelizing, but others felt their efforts were aggressive. Section 15 of Burning Man’s ticket policy prohibits brand promotion or marketing.
In a GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $7,000, Hinerman said he decided to become a missionary in 2025 after a radical encounter with Jesus while serving in the Navy.
“My plan was to become a United States Navy Seal [sic] and to be on the front lines of a physical war … and God asked me to surrender my ways and my plans to Him. So I did, and He redirected me to the mission field,” he wrote.
After leaving the Navy in March 2025, he said he racked up $10,000 in debt trying to “figure out what I was going to do and how to adapt back to civilian lifestyle as I stepped into giving Jesus my full yes and stepping into the mission field.”
Hinerman said that as of August 2026, God had helped him to reduce his credit card debt to $7,000, and he wants supporters to help him pay off the rest of it “so I can continue ministry at a more full-time capacity, which ultimately means winning more souls to Jesus, reaching more people through online ministry, and equipping more churches in evangelism globally.”
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