The Jesus Army, also known as the Jesus Fellowship Church and the Bugbrooke Community,[1] was a neocharismaticevangelicalChristian movement based in the United Kingdom, part of the British New Church Movement. The name Jesus Army was specifically used for the outreach and street-based evangelism for which they were known.[2]
The Jesus Fellowship was founded in 1969, when Noel Stanton (1926–2009), at that time the lay pastor of the Baptist chapel in the village of Bugbrooke near Northampton, East Midlands, was inspired by a charismatic experience which led him to successfully expand the congregation, largely by appealing to a younger generation of worshippers.[3][4] As the new church grew and became more charismatic in nature, many of the original congregation left to continue worshipping in more traditional churches.[5] The Jesus Fellowship grew considerably and by 2007 there were approximately 3,500 members in around 24 congregations in various cities and towns of the UK.[6]
The Jesus Fellowship frequently engaged in evangelism in public places, seeking through outreach to demonstrate the love of Jesus and the moving of the Holy Spirit.[7] The Fellowship used various slogans, in its early days adopting "Love, Power & Sacrifice" and later "Jesus People, Loving People", and the name "Jesus Army".
The church announced in May 2019 that it "will cease to exist and the current National Leadership Team will be stepping down from their roles once the winding up of the central Church has been completed".[8] Members had voted on 26 May 2019 to revoke the Church's constitution, after a decline in membership to less than 1,000 following claims against its founder and two other then members of the church of a history of sexual assault during the 1970s. It was planned that the Jesus Centres charity the church created would continue to operate[9] and that individual churches would become independent congregations.[10] Fewer than 200 people were still living in communal households of the Jesus Fellowship.
In October 2021, Companies House certified the change of name from Jesus Centres Trust (1165925) to JCT - Joining Communities Together Limited.[11]
Distinctive features
The Jesus Fellowship operated like the house church movements, or the more radical elements of the larger, more conventional churches.[12] It was affected by the charismatic movement of the late 1960s and early 70s, and influenced by the Jesus people movement in the US.[13][14] According to William Kay,[15] Stanton was highly influenced by Arthur Wallis's book In the Day of Thy Power,[16] and associated with a number of the early leaders within the British New Church movement.
The beliefs of the Jesus Fellowship are in line with historic Christian orthodoxy.[17] Nevertheless, there are various aspects of the Jesus Fellowship's way of practising Christianity that are distinctive when compared with more conventional churches.[18]
Jesus Army, evangelism and ministry to the marginalised
A Jesus Army minibus in 2009
The UK general public were most likely to be aware of the Jesus Army by its brightly coloured minibuses and coaches and highly visible multi-coloured camouflage jacket often worn by Jesus Army evangelists on the street.[19]
The Jesus Army was launched in 1987 as the campaigning identity of the Jesus Fellowship. Following the example of the early Salvation Army, and with a stated intention to "go where others will not go",[20] the Jesus Army engaged in what has been called "aggressive and effective street evangelism among the marginalized sections of society".[21] The Jesus Army's mission has been described as "essentially one to the poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalized" .[22]
Since 1987 The Jesus Army held an annual high-profile gospel event in London called London Jesus Day[23] with a three-hour public event on Trafalgar Square, then (until 2005) an evening event in a marquee on Roundwood Park.
The multi-coloured camouflage jacket (right) often worn as a Jesus Army "uniform" on the street
Jesus Army Charitable Trust and Jesus Centres
The Northampton Jesus Centre in a converted cinema
Growing from the Jesus Army's work among homeless street people, those involved in drug or alcohol abuse, and prisoners and ex-prisoners,[24] the Jesus Army/Jesus Fellowship founded a charitable trust "to develop and enhance its existing work with many disadvantaged groups and individuals",[25] largely through the founding and running of "Jesus Centres" in UK cities and towns.[9]
In 2002, the Jesus Fellowship opened the Coventry Jesus Centre including a Drop-In Centre known as "The Bridge", which provides services such as a subsidised breakfast, free clothing, showers and hot drinks, as well as social support, job training and medical help to vulnerable people. The Centre also assists in finding rented accommodation for the homeless, though a major emphasis of these activities is evangelistic, "bringing people to Jesus".[26][27] Other Jesus Centres were opened in Northampton (2004), Central London (2008) and Sheffield (2011), with more expected to follow.
Multiply Christian Network
The Jesus Fellowship was also linked to around 250 other churches and groups in the UK and elsewhere through the Multiply Christian Network, which it initiated in 1992.[28][29][30]
Youth ministry
From 2007 to 2017 the Jesus Army hosted a yearly event for young people aged between 15 and 35 called "RAW (Real and Wild)".[31] In contrast with many Christian churches which often have an aging population,[32] the Jesus Army had a comparatively high proportion of young members.[33]
New Creation Christian Community
In the early years of the Jesus Fellowship, a residential Christian community was founded for its growing membership. Initially a large Anglican rectory in Bugbrooke was purchased and renamed "New Creation Hall". Several members of the Jesus Fellowship moved in and it became the first centre of a community lifestyle. By 1979, several other large houses in the surrounding area were purchased and "New Creation Christian Community," as the entire community was named, was established, with some 350 residents.[34] At its height in the early 1990s there were c.850 residents in about 60 communal households, but their numbers later dropped to less than 200 persons.[citation needed]
Motivation for the Jesus Fellowship's venture into residential communal living and the sharing of possessions came primarily from their interpretation of Biblical descriptions of the early church.[18] The Jesus Fellowship's community had many features in common with other charismatic Christian intentional communities[35] and part of the initial stimulation towards starting the New Creation Christian Community came from the Church of the Redeemer, Houston, Texas, established by the Episcopalian priest Graham Pulkingham.[36] New Creation Christian Community was one of the largest intentional Christian communities in Europe, charismatic or otherwise.[37] According to sociologist Stephen J. Hunt, the Jesus Fellowship's community "has been a source of inspiration and frequently attracts visitors from Europe and beyond who wish to observe, and sometimes imitate, a vibrant and enduring model of charismatic community life."[37]
From six to 60 people lived in a community house.[18] The pattern of community life in the largest, down to the smallest residence, was modelled along the same principles and pattern. Those dwelling in a community house, along with the majority of members who lived outside but who are formally attached to it, made up the "church household".
The church household was the basic unit of the Jesus Fellowship, usually comprising both members who lived in community and a majority who did not. Several church households usually came together to form congregations for public worship along with members of the public who wished to attend.[38] Jesus Fellowship congregations typically met in a hired venue such as a school or community centre, although latterly the church purchased "Jesus Centres" in some cities and towns: the Jesus Fellowship in these places used these centres as their venue for public meetings.
The community founded a series of Christian businesses (House of Goodness group) employing once up to 250 people. Profits from the businesses helped fund the wider work of the Jesus Fellowship. Businesses and community houses were owned by a Trust Fund ultimately controlled by the members.[39]
In 2001, one of the houses was featured in a Channel 4 television documentary, Battlecentre.[40][41][42]
Membership
There were a variety of levels of commitment in the Jesus Fellowship with corresponding types of membership. Those in the loosest forms of membership may have merely attached to a Jesus Fellowship weeknight "cell group" or attended only on Sundays.[43] Others would be more involved.
The committed core membership of the Jesus Fellowship consisted of "covenant members", those who had made a "covenant", or pledge expressing an intention of lifelong loyalty to the Jesus Fellowship.[44] Even within covenant membership, there were four different "styles". "Style 1" was the non-resident membership, with a similar membership practice to that of most members of other churches. "Style 2" covenant members entered into closer financial and general accountability. "Style 3" covenant members were the residential members of the New Creation Christian Community: all their income, wealth and possessions were shared, though they may have reclaimed them should they subsequently decide to leave. While they were members, the value of their contribution was protected by the Trust Fund. Becoming a member of the Jesus Fellowship's community was a gradual process[45] and most of those who joined the community had already belonged to the Jesus Fellowship as part of its broader membership first. "Style 4" was for covenant members who lived at a distance and were unable to join regularly in the life of the church.[45]
Celibacy and marriage
The Jesus Fellowship was the only new church stream that advocated and practised celibacy,[46] claiming it leads to a full life for single people. Within the Jesus Fellowship there were both couples and male and female celibates. The Jesus Fellowship claimed both as high callings. The main justification used for advocating celibacy was that it freed a member for ministry, particularly in the unsocial hours that Jesus Army campaigning required.[47] Some critics have maintained that the Jesus Fellowship taught celibacy as a better or higher way, and that single members felt pressured into making the vow.[48] Others deny this and insist that both marriage and family life, and celibacy are held in high regard in the Jesus Fellowship.[49] Celibacy was, however, described by the Jesus Fellowship as "a precious gem".[50]
At most some 200 Fellowship members were committed to celibacy, plus a further 100 or so probationers.[50] There were instances where committed celibates subsequently entered into married life within the Jesus Fellowship, but this was not taken lightly. Such a step could involve sanctions such as having one's leadership responsibilities reduced.[50]Noel Stanton, the Jesus Fellowship's original leader, was himself a celibate, and the senior leadership of the church was made up of roughly 50 per cent celibates and 50 per cent who were married.[51]
Despite this high view of celibacy, studies indicate that marriage and the family were afforded a high priority by the Jesus Fellowship. According to sociologist Stephen J. Hunt, marriage in the Jesus Fellowship was seen as "a ministering relationship in which human warmth and Christian fellowship can be offered to others, providing spiritual parenting for those who are emotionally damaged".[52] Hunt found that "where problems in child-rearing occur, support and advice for the parents is on hand from fellow members. Even those children brought up in the New Creation Christian Community are not totally separated from the outside world." The Jesus Fellowship's children attended state schools.[53]
The Jesus Fellowship upheld the historic creeds of the Christian faith. The creeds are a set of common beliefs shared with many other Christian churches, and consist of the Apostles' Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the Nicene Creed. It believed in baptism in water and the Holy Spirit, in the Bible as the Word of God, and in acceptance of charismatic gifts.[54][55]
The Jesus Fellowship defined their Christian beliefs in the following statement:
The Jesus Fellowship Church, which is also known as the Jesus Army and includes the New Creation Christian Community, upholds the historic Christian faith, being reformed, evangelical and charismatic. It practises believer's baptism and the New Testament reality of Christ's Church; believing in Almighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; in the full divinity, atoning death and bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the Bible as God's word, fully inspired by the Holy Spirit.
This Church desires to witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over and in His Church; and, by holy character, righteous society and evangelical testimony to declare that Jesus Christ, Son of God, the only Saviour, is the way, the truth and the life, and through Him alone can we find and enter the kingdom of God.
This church proclaims free grace, justification by faith in Christ and the sealing and sanctifying baptism in the Holy Spirit.[56]
Theology and economics
Underwriting much of the Jesus Fellowship's beliefs and practices was a theology of the new creation. Regeneration brings the individual into a spiritual family that incorporates and transcends the biological family.[57] Critics have claimed that this can tend to break up the natural family, but the Jesus Fellowship maintained that many relationships with parents have been strengthened and that the Fellowship encouraged (and the community paid for) community members to visit relatives, including visits overseas if family members were abroad.[57]
In line with this basic theology, all members were deemed as equal in an economic sense. There was little by way of private property for those who live in community. Jesus Fellowship community members aimed to "eschew worldly belongings and seek what is perceived as a simple and more ethical form of economic life".[58] It is not surprising, therefore, that the "prosperity doctrine" espoused by many ministries originating in the United States was singled out for particular scorn. Wealth was not regarded as a blessing, particularly for the individual. An official Jesus Fellowship publication states that "the love of money brings selfishness in human hearts". As far as the Fellowship was concerned, "wealth for Jesus" means to the benefit of the whole church and the deprived individuals it serves.[59] As mentioned above, the wealth deposited in the common purse included members' incomes and salaries. Approximately half of this wealth was used for the needs of the community itself and to fund evangelising endeavour. The other half was re-invested in the fellowship's businesses or in paying off bank loans for new business ventures. In many respects the economic structure of the Jesus Fellowship might be said to have been "socialist" in orientation and is most readily seen in the property-less community and the philosophy of "each according to their need".[58]
One writer has described the Jesus Fellowship as "careful with both members and money".[60] New community members had to live in a community for a probationary period for two years and must be over 21, before being allowed to commit themselves to full community membership. Although New Creation Christian Community members donated all their money to the Community Trust fund, if they later decided to leave the community, their capital was paid back, sometimes with interest. New Creation Christian Community kept its running expenses and its capital completely separate, and has its accounts audited by an international firm of accountants.[60]
Sexual, physical, emotional and financial abuse
Some leaders and members of the Jesus Fellowship committed abuse of children and vulnerable adults. Noel Stanton and other leaders of the group were accused.
Several former members were found guilty of sexual abuse of children. Karl Skinner was given a suspended prison sentence for inappropriate behaviour with a young boy, and Alan Carter was sentenced to three years in prison for sex acts on a boy aged between 14 and 16 in the 1990s.[61]
After Noel Stanton's death in 2009, the church supplied allegations to Northamptonshire Police of sexual offences against Stanton and others, and as of 2019 there were 43 complainants of historic sexual and physical abuse.[62] Ten people from the church were convicted of sex offences, and a report concluded that abuse of women and children was covered up by senior members. A Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association[63] represents about 800 alleged victims.[64]
The Jesus Fellowship Community Trust closed in December 2020 following the scandal, and issued a Closure Statement including an unreserved apology for the abuse that occurred in the Jesus Fellowship Church (JFC) and the residential New Creation Christian Community (NCCC).[8]
Baptist Union and Evangelical Alliance membership
From its inception, the Jesus Army aroused controversy. The original Bugbrooke Jesus Fellowship had long been a part of the Baptist Union. However, the sudden expansion in members made the new church a nationwide movement. This took it out of the ambit of the Baptist Union, which places authority within a specific congregation. The JA was also accused of "isolationism", epitomised by the JA practice of sometimes rebaptising new members who had already been baptised by other Baptist churches, implying that Christian baptism elsewhere may have been invalid. Consequently, in 1986 the Jesus Army was expelled from the Baptist Union, leaving it on the margins of the Baptist denomination.[65][66][67]
In 1982, the Jesus Fellowship had joined the Evangelical Alliance, one of whose membership requirements was that the church remain in close fellowship with other local evangelical churches. Earlier in 1986, the Evangelical Alliance had launched an inquiry into the beliefs and practices of the Jesus Fellowship Church and found that it no longer qualified for membership, citing much the same problems as did the Baptist Union later that year but at least as relevant in both cases was the fact that the rise of the JA came at a time when an international welter of anti-cult activity was under way. Allegations that the JA had too authoritarian a style of leadership and that members were under pressure to commit to lifelong celibacy, together with the corporal punishment of children ('rodding') was practised, and that community members were required to hand over their material possessions, left them vulnerable to accusations of cultic practices. Their intense style and requirement of totalitarian commitment led to some allegations of abuse from disillusioned former members, and some hostility from more conventional churchgoers.[68] A number of churches within the Evangelical Alliance threatened to leave if the Jesus Fellowship Church was allowed to remain a member.[69]
During the late 1980s and the 90s, the Jesus Fellowship improved its relationships with other churches, and broadened its membership so that community residents became a minority of the church.[70] At the same time it re-examined its practices and loosened its style,[71] with the result that when it reapplied for membership of the Evangelical Alliance in 1999 it received endorsements from both local and national church leaders[72] and was accepted into membership later in the year.[73] It has never re-applied for membership of the Baptist Union, though a number of key Baptist ministers have spoken at Jesus Fellowship events.[74]
Despite the entry of the Jesus Army into the charismatic mainstream,[75] the church still attracted a range of views[76] and anti-cult groups like the Cult Information Centre,[77]FAIR[78] and Reachout Trust[79] still included the Jesus Army on their lists.
Writing in 1998, Stephen Hunt summed up the outlook of the wider charismatic Christian fraternity on the Jesus Fellowship at that time as follows: "To some in the broader movement, the Jesus Fellowship will always be something of an enigma, tending towards exclusiveness and displaying a sectarianism incongruent with contemporary Pentecostalism. To others, the Jesus Fellowship will continue to epitomize the fullest expression of Christian and Pentecostal life."[76]
Footnotes
^Nigel Wright in Charismatic Christianity: Sociological Perspectives, p.66
^C. Peter Collinson, All Churches Great and Small, p.78: "Originally this was a Baptist church in the village of Bugbrooke, just west of Northampton. Noel Stanton became the pastor there in 1957, and is still the overall leader. After a charismatic experience in 1969, he led the church into experiencing the supernatural gifts of the spirit, and they grew in numbers quite dramatically."
^George D Chryssides, Exploring New Religions (Cassell, 1999), p.149-150
^ abMartin Desborough, Chair of Trustees (November 2021). Closure Statement(PDF) (Report). Jesus Fellowship Community Trust. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^Stephen J. Hunt, Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003), p. 113: In many respects, however, the movement was not that different from other New Churches that sprung up at the time, though it did differ in its emphasis on communal life and a membership that was not predominantly middle-class in composition.
^Keith Newell in Charismatic Christianity: Sociological Perspectives, ed. Hunt et al., (St. Martin's Press Inc, 1997), p.122: Under the leadership of the pastor, Noel Stanton (who still holds this position), a number of Chrismatics gathered at Bugbrooke Baptist Chapel, near Northampton, in 1969. At this point there were some similarities with the Jesus Movement in California (Palms, 1971). For the first three years the group that met at the chapel to participate in Charismatic life included bikers, drug-users, hippies and others who lived through the counter-culture. Very diverse people joined in the years that followed, including a number of evangelicals from Oxford, and to a lesser extent, Cambridge University.
^Nigel Wright in Charismatic Christianity: Sociological Perspectives, p.66: A full description of Restorationism ought to include a reference to the Bugbrooke Community or Jesus Fellowship in Northamptonshire. In the 1970s an ordinary village Baptist church passed under the leadership of its lay pastor, Noel Stanton, into Charismatic renewal and then into practising the community of goods in the style of the Anabaptist Hutterites.
^Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power (London: CLC, 1956)
^Chryssides, p.149: ...the group is thoroughly orthodox, professing allegiance to Christianity's historic creeds; it neither seeks to add to scripture nor claims new present-day prophets, although, in common with many mainstream Christians, it believes in continuing revelation through the Holy Spirit's inspiration.
^ abcWilliam Kay in C. Partridge (ed), Encyclopedia of New Religions, a Guide (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2004).
^David V. Barrett, The New Believers (London, Cassell & Co., 2001), p.228
^Nigel Wright, in Charismatic Christianity , p.66: ...the Jesus Army has engaged in aggressive and effective street evangelism among the marginalized sections of society.
^Idea [magazine of the Evangelical Alliance], May 1999: "Multiply Christian Network ... links more than 30 churches in England and Wales with others abroad. Multiply was initiated in 1992 by the Jesus Fellowship Church."
^William Kay in C. Partridge (ed), Encyclopedia of New Religions (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2004: "The Army is noted for ... its linkage with more than 40 other independent Christian churches in the Multiply Network."
^Multiply website (retrieved 14 October 8): "There are around 250 churches and groups in the Multiply Christian Network."
^Times Online (retrieved 26 March 9): The Jesus Army, for example, a Baptist-inspired Christian youth movement, regularly offers chances to create legal graffiti on walls, boards or panels as part of its annual RAW youth outreach, which attracts several hundred young people each summer in Northampton.
^Hunt in Pneuma, p.22: Pulkingham's model of community living epitomized the conviction that collective life would provide a deeper expression of the Christian faith and the charismatic experience, his ministry to the poor inspired a number of Christians in Britain committed to ministering to the needy, the Jesus Fellowship among them.
^Jesus Army:Vault-Library-Hot Topics 12 (retrieved 11 December 7): In the Jesus Fellowship many have entered into a membership covenant, joining together as a committed brotherhood-church. This covenant, like those made between people in the Bible, is made before God and is viewed as being unbreakable. We agree to be bonded with one another and to work out the implications of such a pledge of brotherly love. [...] We promise never to let one another down. We help one another through difficulties. We forgive and encourage one another. We fight together to save sinners with the gospel, sharing in sufferings and disappointments. We build strong brotherhood relationships and 'find' ourselves. This vow of covenant brotherhood is part of the strength of our church.
^Newell in Charismatic Christianity, p.130 JF is the only new church stream that advocates and practices celibacy for those called to it, claiming it leads to a full life for single people. There are couples and celibates, male and female, and JF claims both as high callings. A main justification for celibacy, following St Paul, is that it frees a member for ministry, particularly in the unsocial hours that Jesus Army campaigning can require.
^Newell in Charismatic Christianity, p.130 Critics have maintained that JF teaches celibacy as a better or higher way and that single brothers and sisters are pressurized into the vow, though I have not myself seen any evidence of this.
^Nigel Scotland, Charismatics and the New Millennium, (Eagle, 2000), p.113 "The Jesus Fellowship themselves attach value to both marriage and celibacy. Both are seen as callings from God. Families are needed to 'provide the essential base of homeliness and security'. Celibates on the other hand, are free to engage in pioneering and evangelistic work"
^Hunt in Pneuma, p.34 "All children go to state school since there are not the resources to run an independent school, although this type of schooling would remain an ideal."
^Northampton Mercury and Herald, 22/11/86. 'We shall not be moved – Jesus People to carry on regardless.' The latest blow to the sect, which owns and runs numerous businesses including several Northampton shops, came from 129 of the 137 council members of the Baptist Union. The Jesus Fellowship was expelled from the organisation because of a lack of involvement in denominational life and a unilateral programme of recruitment. A statement from the union also said the Fellowship was becoming a national rather than local organisation, and spoke of 'embarrassment' over bad publicity.
^Hunt in Pneuma , p. 40: "The decision in the late 1980s to become more open and link with other New Churches has been of particular importance. So has the decision, over the last decade, to broaden the membership so that now community residences [residents] form only one-third of the church."
^Kay in Encyclopedia of New Religions, p.89 "After criticism of what were seen as cultic aspects of the Jesus Fellowship in the mid-1980s, deliberate attempts were made to widen and loosen the organization."
^Idea [magazine of the Evangelical Alliance], May 1999: "...the Jesus Fellowship Church, which withdrew its own membership from the Alliance in 1986 due to relational issues. Since then, positive efforts have been made by the leadership to improve their contact and working relationships with the wider Christian constituency at both local and national levels...Having received a number of endorsements from both local and national church leaders, the Evangelical Alliance expects to approve the Jesus Fellowship Church's application for membership later in 1999."
^Christian Herald, 29 July 2000. "Another high-profile movement who joined the EA family last autumn is the Jesus Fellowship Church, also known as the Jesus Army. The fellowship left the EA in the late 1980s in relation to issues with other evangelicals. John Smith [General Secretary of the EA] explained: 'They again have moved considerably since then. It is an organisation that has had a lot of allegations made against it, most of which are based on past reputation rather than present practice.'"
^Hunt in Pneuma, p. 27: "Prominent leaders of practically all the strands of the British charismatic and Pentecostal scene have spoken at the large public meetings of the Jesus fellowship, and are frequent contributors to its major publications Jesus Life-style and the Jesus Revolution Street Paper."
^Sunday Mercury, 4 March 2007 (Birmingham, UK) The UK Cult Information Centre says that the mJA is on a list of religious groups it has concerns about. Spokesman Ian Howarth said: "We're very concerned about the Jesus Army. Over the years we have had many concerns expressed about it. There have been no major changes that merit removing it from our list." Reported in Religion News Blog (retrieved August 2009)
^Chryssides, p.161: FAIR carefully and consistently monitored the Jesus Fellowship Church's development, even from its early Bugbrooke days, giving it adverse publicity in its quarterly magazine FAIR News. Not only did FAIR give prominence to the fact that many members handed over all their possessions to the Church, and to its disputes with the Baptist Union and Evangelical Alliance, unjustly portraying Stanton as an authoritarian leader who claimed an exclusive 'hotline to God', ...
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