The Closure of the Jesus Fellowship Church

On Sunday 26th May [2019], the members of the Jesus Fellowship Church (JFC) voted to revoke the Church’s constitution. This means that the national Church, formerly known as the Jesus Army, 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.

Congregations that were part of the JFC will become fully independent. They will not be affiliated to a national church organisation and will be led by people who are appointed by their own members. Some have already appointed interim leadership teams, comprising women and men who are part of the congregation. These local congregations will be responsible for every aspect of their function including finance, staffing, and safeguarding.

Background

In 2013 the JFC invited people to make disclosures about their experiences of the Church and many came forward with disclosures related to pastoral abuse and bullying as well as financial, physical and sexual abuse.

This information was passed to the Police, who launched Operation Lifeboat, examining non-recent abuse in the JFC. As a result, a number of criminal cases were successfully prosecuted through the courts.

The reputation of the Church has been badly damaged and the confidence of members of the Church was profoundly shaken. Alongside this, a declining membership and consequent slowdown in giving means that the national Church no longer has the resources to continue as it was.

Following the disclosures process, the current National Leadership Team decided that they did not have the capacity or the desire to continue leading the JFC. Taking into account the scope of the problems they were facing, they did not believe anyone else could, or should, try and lead the organisation. The National Leadership Team therefore recommended to the members that the national JFC be dissolved – and that has now been approved by the members.

Apology for the past

The NLT and the members of the JFC recognise that, over a sustained period of time, there have been faults and failures in the Church that have had a profound impact on many people’s lives.

We are deeply sorry for, and appalled by the abuse that has taken place within Jesus Fellowship Church and the New Creation Christian Community (NCCC) and offer our heartfelt sympathy and unreserved apology to all those affected. Children and vulnerable people were entitled to expect full protection from harm. We acknowledge the pain many of those people continue to feel. As things have become clearer to us, we are grieved and deeply troubled.

Redress scheme

We have initiated the development of a listening and redress scheme which will continue to be taken forwards by the Jesus Fellowship Community Trust.

While the Trustees have a legal obligation to provide for the welfare of current members of the Community Trust, they want to provide help and compensation for those who suffered abuse or poor treatment in the past. They are seeking to provide resources to help former and current members towards closure from the mistakes and painful experiences of the past.

A working party – including victims and their representatives – is leading the development of this redress scheme. While we cannot undo the harm done, we hope that this can be of some help to those who feel they can engage with the scheme.

We are committed to working with the Police and Social Services to ensure that all allegations of abuse that come to our attention are dealt with appropriately and encourage anyone with concerns to report them.

Published: 28th May 2019

From the National Leadership Team of the Jesus Fellowship Church