The Jesus Army is the identity that the Jesus Fellowship Church uses in its outreach and street-based work. It is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian movement based in the United Kingdom, that is part of the British New Church Movement.
The Jesus Fellowship was founded in 1969, when Noel Stanton (1926-2009), at that time the lay pastor of the Bugbrooke village Baptist chapel 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 As the new church grew and became more charismatic in nature, many of the original congregation left to continue worshipping in the more traditional churches. The Jesus Fellowship has grown considerably since its inception in 1969. There are now approximately 3,500 members in around 24 congregations in various cities and towns of the UK.
The Jesus Army frequently engages in evangelistic activities in public places, seeking through outreach to demonstrate the love of Jesus and the moving of the Holy Spirit. The slogan of the Jesus Army is ‘Love, Power & Sacrifice’.
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” .
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) and Central London (2008), 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, comprise 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 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 for those called to it, 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. 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 requires. Some critics have maintained that the Jesus Fellowship teaches celibacy as a better or higher way, and t
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