Jesus Army

Distinctive features

The Jesus Fellowship operates much like the house church movements, or the more radical elements of the larger, more conventional churches. It was affected by the Charismatic Movement of the late 1960s and early 70s, and influenced by the Jesus People movement in the USA. According to William Kay, Stanton was highly influenced by Arthur Wallis's book In the Day of Thy Power, 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. Nevertheless, there are various aspects of the Jesus Fellowship’s way of practising Christianity that are distinctive when compared with more conventional churches.

Jesus Army, evangelism and ministry to the marginalised

The UK general public are 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.

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", the Jesus Army engages in what has been called "aggressive and effective street evangelism among the marginalized sections of society". The Jesus Army’s mission has been described as "essentially one to the poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalized" .

Since 1987 The Jesus Army have held an annual high-profile gospel event in London called London Jesus Day with a three-hour public event on Trafalgar Square, then (until 2005) an evening event in a marquee on Roundwood Park.

Jesus Army Charitable Trust and Jesus Centres

Growing from the Jesus Army’s work among homeless street people, those involved in drug or alcohol abuse, and prisoners and ex-prisoners, the Jesus Army/Jesus Fellowship has founded a charitable trust "to develop and enhance its existing work with many disadvantaged groups and individuals", largely through the founding and running of "Jesus Centres" in UK cities and towns.

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". Other Jesus Centres have been opened in Northampton (2004), Central London (2008) and Sheffield (2011), with more expected to follow.

Multiply Christian Network

The Jesus Fellowship is also linked to around 250 other churches and groups in the UK and elsewhere through the Multiply Christian Network, which it initiated in 1992.

Youth ministry

The Jesus Army hosts a yearly event for young people aged between 15 and 35 called "RAW (Real and Wild)". In contrast with many Christian churches which often have an ageing population, the Jesus Army has a comparatively high proportion of young members.

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. Today there are around 60 New Creation Christian Community houses in the UK with about 700 people – about 25 per cent of the total membership of the Jesus Fellowship – living in them.

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. The Jesus Fellowship’s community has many features in common with other charismatic Christian intentional communities 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. New Creation Christian Community is one of the largest intentional Christian communities in Europe, charismatic or otherwise. According to sociologist Stephen 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."

From six to 35 people live in a community house, though a few larger properties have up to 60 residents. The pattern of community life in the largest, down to the smallest residence, is modelled along the same principles and pattern. Those dwelling in a community house, along with the majority of members who live outside but who are formally attached to it, make up the "church household".

The church household is the basic unit of the Jesus Fellowship, usually comprising both members who live in community and a majority who do not. Several church households will usually come together to form congregations for public worship along with members of the public who wish to attend. Jesus Fellowship congregations will typically meet in a hired venue such as a school or community centre, although latterly the church has purchased "Jesus Centres" in some cities and towns (see above): the Jesus Fellowship in these places use these centres as their venue for public meetings.

The community has founded a series of Christian businesses (House of Goodness group) employing some 250 people. Profits from the businesses help fund the wider work of the Jesus Fellowship. Businesses and community houses are owned by a Trust Fund ultimately controlled by the members.

In 2001, one of the houses was featured in a Channel 4 television documentary, Battlecentre. (Production summary, Guardian Unlimited Reader Reviews, BBC interview with producer).

Membership

There are a variety of levels of commitment in the Jesus Fellowship with corresponding types of membership. Those in the loosest forms of membership may merely attach to a Jesus Fellowship weeknight "cell group" or attend only on Sundays. Others will be more involved.

The committed core membership of the Jesus Fellowship consists of "covenant members," those who have made a "covenant," or pledge expressing an intention of lifelong loyalty to the Jesus Fellowship. Even within covenant membership, there are four different "styles". "Style 1" is the non-resident, with a similar membership practice to that of most members of other churches. "Style 2" covenant members enter into closer financial and general accountability. "Style 3" covenant members are the residential members of the New Creation Christian Community: all their income, wealth and possessions are shared though they may reclaim them should they subsequently decide to leave. While they are members, the value of their contribution is protected by the Trust Fund. Becoming a member of the Jesus Fellowship’s community is a gradual process and most of those who join the community have already belonged to the Jesus Fellowship as part of its broader membership first. "Style 4" is for covenant members who live at a distance and are unable to join regularly in the life of the church.

Celibacy and marriage

The Jesus Fellowship is the only new church stream that advocates and practices celibacy, claiming it leads to a full life for single people. Within the Jesus Fellowship there are couples and there are male and female celibates. The Jesus Fellowship claims both as high callings. The main justification used for advocating celibacy is that it frees a member for ministry, particularly in the unsocial hours that Jesus Army campaigning requires. Some critics have maintained that the Jesus Fellowship teaches celibacy as a better or higher way, and that single members have felt pressured into making the vow. Others deny this and insist that both marriage and family life, and celibacy are held in high regard in the Jesus Fellowship. Celibacy is, however, described by the Jesus Fellowship as "a precious gem".

Some 200 Fellowship members are committed to celibacy, plus a further 100 or so probationers. There have been instances where committed celibates have subsequently entered into married life within the Jesus Fellowship, but this is not taken lightly. Such a step can involve sanctions such as having one’s leadership responsibilities reduced. Noel Stanton, the Jesus Fellowship’s original leader, was himself a celibate, and the senior leadership of the church is made up of roughly 50 per cent celibates and 50 per cent who are married.

Despite this high view of celibacy, studies indicate that marriage and the family are afforded a high priority by the Jesus Fellowship. According to sociologist Stephen J. Hunt, marriage in the Jesus Fellowship is 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". 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 go to state school.

Beliefs

The Jesus Fellowship upholds 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 believes in baptism in water and the Holy Spirit, in the Bible as the Word of God, and in acceptance of charismatic gifts.

The Jesus Fellowship define 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.

Theology and economics

Underwriting much of the Jesus Fellowship’s beliefs and practices is a theology of the new creation. Regeneration brings the individual into a spiritual family that incorporates and transcends the biological family. Critics have claimed that this can tend to break up the natural family, but the Jesus Fellowship maintains that many relationships with parents have been strengthened and that the Fellowship encourages (and the community pays for) community members to visit relatives: including visits overseas if family members are abroad.

In line with this basic theology, all members are deemed as equal in an economic sense. There is little by way of private property for those who live in community. Jesus Fellowship community members aim to "eschew worldly belongings and seek what is perceived as a simple and more ethical form of economic life". It is not surprising, therefore, that the "prosperity doctrine" espoused by many ministries originating in the United States is singled out for particular scorn. Wealth is 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 is concerned "wealth for Jesus" means to the benefit of the whole church and the deprived individuals it serves. As mentioned above, the wealth deposited in the common purse includes members’ incomes and salaries. Approximately half of this wealth is used for the needs of the community itself and to fund evangelizing endeavor. The other half is 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 be "socialist" in orientation and is most readily seen in the property-less community and the philosophy of "each according to their need."

One writer has described the Jesus Fellowship as "careful with both members and money". New community members have 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 donate all their money to the Community Trust fund, if they later decide to leave the community, their capital is paid back, sometimes with interest. New Creation Christian Community keeps its running expenses and its capital completely separate, and has its accounts audited by an international firm of accountants.

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 had 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.

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 fact that 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 all-engulfing requirement of commitment led to some allegations of abuse from disillusioned former members, and some hostility from more conventional churchgoers. A number of churches within the Evangelical Alliance threatened to leave if the Jesus Fellowship Church was allowed to remain a member.

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. At the same time it re-examined its practices and loosened its style, 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 and was accepted into membership later in the year. It has never re-applied for membership of the Baptist Union, though a number of key Baptist ministers have spoken at Jesus Fellowship events.

Despite the entry of the Jesus Army into the charismatic mainstream, the church still attracted a range of views and anti-cult groups like the Cult Information Centre, FAIR and Reachout Trust 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."