Noel Stanton (25 December 1926 – 20 May 2009) was the founder of the Jesus Army in England. Its successor, the Jesus Fellowship Community Trust closed in 2020 following scandals, 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).

Life

Stanton was born in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

and educated at Bedford Modern School. His parents were farmers. When he was 18, he was conscripted into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The Navy sent him to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, where he was approached by evangelist Frank Jenner, who asked him, "If you should die tonight, where would you go? Would it be heaven or hell?" Stanton felt conflicted for several months afterwards and consequently converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

the next year. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ended, Stanton attended All Nations Bible College and worked for and then went into business. In 1957, he became the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church in Bugbrooke,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. Under Stanton's leadership, the church took on characteristics of the

Charismatic Movement The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity, with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spiritual gift ...

and then of the

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...

. In 1973, he began turning the church into an

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

modelled after

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

, and the resulting movement became the Jesus Army. He wrote the book ''Your Baptism Into Jesus Christ and His Church'', which was published in 1998. Stanton remained the Jesus Army's leader until 2009, when he named Mick Haines the new leader before dying on 20 May. After Stanton's death in 2009, the Jesus Army supplied allegations to

Northamptonshire Police Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom. The Northamptonshire police area i ...

of sexual offences against Stanton and others, and as of 2019 there were 43 complainants of historic sexual and physical abuse. The Jesus Fellowship Redress Scheme was available to those who suffered harm, abuse and/or adverse experiences within the Jesus Fellowship community. The scheme to compensate members identified 539 alleged perpetrators of alleged abuse and revealed about one in six children had been sexually abused; 601 individuals applied for damages, though the trust recognised the true number of victims was likely to be greater. The trust accepted ultimate responsibility for 264 alleged abusers, 61% of them former leaders. Some twelve former members of the Jesus Fellowship Church have been convicted for indecent assaults and other offences.

Life

References

Further reading