Church of the poor - Jesus Army

esusLife 

#77 

one/2008 

FREE 

LONDON JESUS 

CENTRE OPENING 

LOVE IS ALWAYS 

RELEVANT 

BROTHERS 

UNITED 

Church of the poor 

www.jesus.org.uk 

A UK JESUS PEO PLE MAGAZINE from the Multiply Network and Je sus Fel low ship/modern JESUS army (mJa) 

Jesus Life Three/2007 Page 1

content 

n ts 

9MY SPIRITUAL SEARCH 

Secrets & Lies - One woman’s story 

22-23 

REVIVAL FIRES 

Fire and ice in 

the arctic circle 

THE JESUS FEL LOW SHIP CHURCH, which is also known 

as the Jesus Army and in cludes the New Cre a tion Chris tian 

Com mu ni ty, up holds the his tor ic Chris tian faith, be ing 

re formed, evan gel i cal and char is mat ic. 

It practises believer’s bap tism a nd the New Tes ta ment 

reality of Christ’s Church; be liev ing in Al mighty God: Father, 

Son and Holy Spirit; in the full divinity, aton i ng death and 

bodily res ur rec tion of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the Bible as 

God’s word, fully in spired by the Holy Spirit. 

This Church desires to wit ness to the Lord ship of Je sus Christ 

over and in His Church; and, by holy char ac ter, righteous society 

and evan gel i cal tes ti mo ny to de clare that Je sus 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 king dom of God. 

This church proclaims free grace, jus ti fi ca tion by faith in Christ 

and the sealing and sanc ti fy ing baptism in the Holy Spir it. 

© 2008 Jesus Fellowship Church, Nether Heyford, Northampton 

NN7 3LB, UK. Editor James Stacey. Reproduction in any form 

requires written permission. The Jesus Fellowship does not 

necessarily agree with all the views expressed in articles and 

interviews printed in this magazine. Unless otherwise indicated, 

all scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW 

INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 

International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & 

Stoughton Ltd, a member of the Hodder headline Plc Group. All 

rights reserved. Photographs in this magazine are copyright Jesus 

Fellowship Church unless otherwise noted. The Jesus Fellowship is 

part of Multiply Christian Network. Both the Jesus Fellowship and 

Multiply Christian Network are members of the Evangelical Alliance 

UK. Jesus Fellowship Life Trust Registered Charity number 1107952. 

con ten t s 

JESUS CENTRES 

BROTHERS UNITED 

Two brothers tell their faith story 

3-4 Church Alive: Comment 

5-7 The Prophetic Word 

- Kelly Bartholomew explains Church 

of the Poor 

8 Electronic Postbag 

14-16 Shane Claiborne 

- An interview by Lucinda van der 

Hart of Faithworks magazine 

17-21 Multiply Christian Network 

24 Pearl of great price 

25 Prisons 

26 Love’s relevance 

30 Radical Bites 

- A challenge to biblical living 

31 Rant and rave 

- Grassroots mJa voice 

Jesus Life One/2007 Page 2 

www.jesus.org.uk

ALIVE 

ALIVE 

church ALIVE 

Comments from Noel Stanton and 

members of the Apostolic Team, 

Jesus Fellowship UK/mJa 

Noel Stanton 


Church 

of the 

Poor 

UK SOCIETY is riddled with injustice, poverty 

and heartbreak. Marginalised, deprived 

and criminalised people are everywhere. 

Old people have to survive on a pittance 

of a state pension. Some are treated badly 

in hospitals. Others are abused in old 

people’s homes. 

It is reported that some 130,000 children 

were “homeless” at Christmas. There are 

many broken families with rejected children. 

The incapacitated can be badly cared for. 

Single parents and their children suffer from 

too low an income, sometimes with insufficient 

food, clothing and heating. 

Runaways, ex-prisoners, immigrants face 

rejection and deprivation. Those addicted to 

drugs, alcohol or gambling are often in great 

need. 

Depression is commonplace. Deaths 

through overdoses are frequent. 

Some people are born into poverty and 

As a voluntary act a group of young people from 

the Jesus Fellowship in Northampton painted 

murals on a subway in a deprived community. 

One was comic strip style, showing a character 

reforming from a life of crime to a family man with 

a sense of responsibility (see cover picture). The 

other was a memorial to three young people from 

the area who had died recently. 

never escape. Others, through bad decisions 

or because they are seduced by offers 

of credit cards, get into big debt. Those with 

addictive hang-ups find themselves trapped 

and needing to beg and steal to keep up their 

habit. 

To all of these and many others Jesus says 

“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom 

of God”. He tells His followers to invite 

the poor to their feast, rather than the rich 

who can pay them back. And He says that the 

rich and proud will find it almost impossible 

to obtain salvation. 

It’s not just “church for the poor” but 

“church of the poor”. All of us must be 

ready to share and bring the justice of God’s 

kingdom into the church. The modern Jesus 

army is committed to reaching the poor of 

every kind, showing love to rejected peoplegroups, 

inviting everyone into the blessings 

God has provided for us through Jesus Christ. 

Jesus 

Centres 

Vision 

JESUS FELLOWSHIP has a vision 

for Jesus Centres in cities 

and large towns throughout 

the UK. These are for Christian 

worship, evangelism and care. 

We see them as “Jesus revolution” 

Centres. They open daily 

to cater for the needy and bring 

them to Jesus. Such Centres 

are a venue for local Jesus Fellowship 

worship and in some 

cases provide accommodation 

for members of New Creation 

Christian Community. 

Coventry and Northampton 

are open and functioning well. 

London (West End) is due to 

open shortly. The very central location 

is well placed to meet the 

needs of people in our capital. 

Sheffield and Birmingham 

are next in line and we 

are looking for people and 

funds to open Jesus Centres 

elsewhere. Join us in faith to 

achieve this vision. 

Continued overleaf 

 

 

Jesus Life One/2008 Page 3

Continued from overleaf 

Love that has 

grown cold 

JESUS WARNED 

that there would 

come a time when 

“the love of most 

will grow cold” 

(Matthew 24:12). 

From the context, 

He was clearly 

talking about love 

for one another 

within the church 

rather than those 

who do not believe. 

It is often in the 

small, everyday 

things of life that 

love grows cold. 

We are upset by 

another and fail to 

find forgiveness or 

reconciliation. We 

rejoice in another’s 

sin as it feeds 

our superiority. 

Someone else is 

preferred to us 

so we sulk. These 

daily failures to find 

God’s transforming 

grace and to be 

penitent and broken 

all lead to a dying 

away of that fire of 

love within us. 

Subtly, “first 

love” become “selflove” 

as we serve 

ourselves, protect 

ourselves and 

promote ourselves. 

It is not a waning 

of emotional 

Huw Lewis 

feeling that causes 

churches to die, 

but a failure of 

the choice to 

live moment by 

moment in the 

humble love of 

Jesus expressed 

towards our 

brothers and sisters 

in Christ. 

We need again 

to “put on” love 

(Colossians 3:14), 

each day expressing 

the heart of love to 

those around us in 

order to keep our 

hearts from falling 

away from the 

living God. 

ALIV 

LILIV 

VEE 

ALALALAL LIL ALIVE 

IVVVVVE VEEEE 

FINAL MIX 

IN SEPTEMBER, the Annual Praise-Day at 

Sheffield was alive with the Holy Spirit’s 

presence. November, “Men Alive for God” 

saw up to 600 men learning, worshipping, 

receiving. October/November New Friends 

Courses nationwide had a good crowd 

of new friends attending with up to 30 

immediate baptisms and more to follow. 

Church Growth Conference Saturday 26 

January 2008, UK Birmingham Celebration 

Saturday 23 February 2008, Alive Festival 

Weekend at Easter 21-24 March 2008 

(see page 30). You’re so welcome to join 

us for these and for our regular week by 

week activities in your area (see page 21). 

Everyone welcome, totally free and without 

prejudice. 

With warm appreciation of your love, 

your prayers and your faith. 

HAVE YOUR SAY: 

Respond to any of the 

articles at 

www.jesus.org.uk/forum 

JL 

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We learnt from the poor 

The Jesus Fellowship is a 

church of the poor. Jesus 

Fellowship apostolic leader, 

Kelly Bartholomew, describes 

how principles of justice, 

equality and simplicity have 

been woven into the church. 

MY OWN personal moment of truth about poverty came 

when I took my mum and dad to my old church. They 

found it so difficult that the leaders drove off in their big 

cars while their congregation was left queuing in the rain 

waiting for a bus. I couldn’t argue with what they said and 

soon after I found this church and moved to be part of it. 

The Jesus Fellowship is a church for the poor. If we 

weren’t, we’d soon lose our rootedness in Jesus and His 

affinity with everyday people. Our doors must stay open to 

all, otherwise we’d quickly become those who live in ivory 

towers. Sadly, today, most people’s view of “church” is 

that it’s made up of rich people gathering to observe some 

sort of ritual – so they dismiss it as irrelevant. 

Our ministry to the poor began as soon as the Holy 

Spirit birthed our church in 1969. The first requirement 

of anything apostolic – whether it’s a person or a church 

– is to “hold the truth as taught.” Whether you first hear 

it from a man, or in your own heart or direct from God, 

through the prophetic word you see the kingdom and then 

you have to live it out – with determination. 

The prophetic word about poverty found an echo within 

us in those early days. Generosity and sharing started as 

soon as the Holy Spirit came to us. 

The first step that the Holy Spirit showed us was that we 

ourselves needed to become “poor”. In those early days 

we were a small Baptist congregation in a village chapel in 


 

 



We learnt from t 

 

 


Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire. We heard the Holy Spirit 

telling us clearly: “Before you go out to seek souls you need 

to ‘build the Body’”. For the first few years the prophetic 

call was all about getting rid of our individualistic selfrighteousness 

so that we could do that. 

The Holy Spirit taught us that the uniqueness of being 

God’s people is that it eclipses all the natural culture of 

ambition, status, race or class divisions. Among the early 

characters who joined us were some – mainly hippies 

and drug-users – who made us realise that they were 

more “scriptural” than we were! The 60s hippie movement 

caught something of rebellion against materialism. 

We, as a church, wanted true love and justice – so their 

simple, sharing lifestyle echoed with us. They exposed the 

self-righteousness and self-sufficiency within the rest of 

us mainly middleclass churchgoers. We learnt from the 

poor the dangers of the conveyor-belt of status and wealth 

which is so false. Even though when they first arrived they 

were into Krishna or whatever they showed a level of sharing 

among themselves that challenged us. When we saw 

their genuineness as they found Jesus we were convicted. 

They were completely out front about their new faith. 

We were people who loved each other and loved the 

church so we started to get to grips with becoming of one 

heart. One of the first things was to face up to the class 

distinctions among us. We all went away together for a 

church retreat and it got very practical. Those who wore 

kaftans swapped them with people who wore suits and 

vice versa. That brought home to us how much we live 

in an “image”. The Holy Spirit also began showing us the 

power that belongings held over us; how in society everyone 

wanted a better car, a better home – and lived for that. 

We saw the folly of it all – it’s all so meaningless. 

So, as a church, bit by bit, as God showed us how to do 

it, we became “the poor”. 

Professional people sold all and put the proceeds into 

the collection. One architect with a practice and a big 

house – he sold the lot. It wasn’t just given “to the church” 

in some abstract sort of way: it was given to each other. It 

was a very levelling experience. We couldn’t wait to get rid 

of stuff because possessions created such barriers between 

us. I was self-employed, had a nice house, a car and three 

building plots which I sold off. I never found it difficult. 

I think we’ve done what the Holy Spirit told us to do. 

The insistence on justice was essential for our core values. 

I believe if we’d fudged that issue God wouldn’t have 

blessed us as He has. Acts 2 is inclusive: “All were together 

and had everything in common”. We knew that to be in, 

we all needed to be in – no half measures. I think we’ve 

maintained that integrity. New Creation Christian Community 

is central to that. 

And today? Well, in Jesus’ day the family would have 

been the main source of security so I guess when He talked 

about “the poor” He’d have been talking about those who 

lived outside a secure family – like widows and orphans, 

lepers, beggars. 

In the 21st century, my definition of “poverty”, based 

on my experience, is that it means those who have no 

opportunity to escape the inevitable degradation of 

powerlessness. You can’t just say, today, “the poor” are 

people who haven’t had a nuclear family. That’s too 

sweeping. It’s more likely to be, for instance, people 

who’ve been brought up in that environment where 

everyone around them has been on the dole. If you’re 

talking about issues that have led to people being “the 

poor” in the UK in the 21st century then you’d have to 

say that the “Nanny State” has a lot to answer for. The 

values of the “old poor” who looked out for each other 

are becoming harder to find because, today, “someone 

else” – the State – will do it. 

So people expect to take and not to pay any price. Part 

of our ministry to the poor is to turn this mindset around. 

We’ve got gangs around us who’ve never seen the need 

to work, but when they’ve come among us and worked 


www.jesus.org.uk

he poor 

We learnt 

from the 

poor the 

dangers 

of the 

conveyorbelt 

of 

status and 

wealth 

which is so 

false 

with us they’ve found they’ve enjoyed work as something 

that’s very different from how they’ve seen “work” before. 

Gradually we’ve seen the “taking, consuming” attitude 

becomes a “contributing” attitude. 

To put it another way: one of the most rewarding aspects 

about the gospel is that with it we carry God’s power so that 

“the losers” become winners. “Takers” become “givers”. 

The early Salvation Army would bring some of the poorest 

and most afflicted people into such powerful conversion 

that two years later they were church leaders! We’re 

dealing with a different culture – the drug culture and the 

lack of industry culture and the resultant lack of self-respect 

– but we find the same transformation taking place. 

Because, as God’s people, we disentangled ourselves 

from the values of the material world and all its falseness 

it’s meant that the poor find a place with us. Because our 

poverty is voluntary and intentional it carries credibility 

among the poor. I guess we’re easy to relate to because 

of our simplicity which means our basic standards don’t 

present an ostentatious barrier. They find genuineness 

among us. It’s come from a prophetic sight of the 

falseness, the transience, of wealth, status and fashion. I 

often think we’re more basic than them in a sense – some 

“poor” kids we know can’t cope with our simple, wholesome 

meals: they’ll stop at the shop and get Pot Noodles 

before coming to lunch with us! 

Our first generation paid a big price. That’s brought 

us so far – nearly 40 years. And it’s my joy to see the next 

generation is just as generally convinced of the need for 

social justice as we were. We’ll continue to be a church of 

the poor. 

JL 

• The first Jesus Fellowship 

common purse was a teapot, 

into which all its members 

put whatever money they 

had. It was set up by a small 

group of people at a house in 

Bugbrooke, Northants, not far 

from the small Baptist chapel 

where the 1969 move of the 

Holy Spirit began. 

• In 2008 there are 45 large 

and 40 small community 

houses, lived in by 515 

adults and 130 children. 

A total of 41 common 

purses, each administered 

by a common purse deacon, 

receive the income of its 

members and pay all the 

bills for that individual 

household. While each 

common purse has its own 

bank-account, the common 

purses are all audited by a 

central accounts office and 

audited each year by outside 

auditors. Have a look online 

at www.newcreation.org.uk 



ELECTRONICPOSTBAG 

info@jesus.org.uk 

ORPHAN 

CARE 

THANK YOU very much for the 

Multiply newsletter you sent. 

It was such a blessing to read. 

God enlightened me in a special 

way through your newsletter. 

I am a pastor and I have 

a ministry in Malawi and 

Mozambique. My ministry 

emphasises preaching in 

villages where the Gospel does 

not very much reach. I minister 

to the poor in the villages. I also 

have orphanage care centres in 

the villages, taking care for the 

children who are orphans. We 

need your prayers in all these 

areas of our ministry. It will be a 

blessing if you publish about my 

orphan care centres. 

Edwin M Nyamizinga 

MALAWI, CENTRAL AFRICA 

The Multiply newsletter is sent 

by email to interested church 

leaders. To subscribe to the email: 

info@multiply.org.uk. For more on 

Multiply see pages 18-21. 

KINGDOM 

WOW 

JUST READ Kingdom Seekers. 

Wow. Are there like-minded 

people in the USA? 

Charles Watwood 

MISSOURI, USA 

Kingdom Seekers is a free e-book 

“manifesto” which was “written 

when a group of young Christians 

challenged themselves to get hold of 

the reality of their faith and calling 

in God”. Download it, together with 

other Christian e-books at 

www.jesus.org.uk/vault/library 

ACTS 2 

INTEREST 

HI THERE, my name is Oliver 

Cleary. I am 32 and single with 

no kids. I am a firm believer 

in Jesus. At the moment, I am 

praying continually for direction 

in my life for service to people. 

I came across the Jesus Army 

and I was very touched by the 

love that you guys seem to 

advocate. More so, I was very 

interested in the similarities 

to Acts chapter 2 and the 

communal living that the Jesus 

Army has to offer. I would be 

very interested to have such 

an experience with you guys. 

Please get in touch with me 

on how to go forward with the 

Jesus Army and how I could 

offer myself in service to others. 

Oliver Cleary 

LONGING FOR 

PROXIMITY 

I AM REALLY interested in 

the idea of Christians living 

in community. I have spent 

some time on your site and 

having read all that is there. I 

was hoping to find out a little 

information on how community 

works. I live in the US and 

strongly feel that living in 

proximity is a significant part of 

what Christianity should be. 

I would like to talk to 

someone who can explain who 

you are to me better if it’s 

possible. Thanks. 

Kurt Smock 

PENNSYLVANIA, USA 

FRUSTRATION 

AT COMPROMISE 

FRUSTRATED and alone and passionate about sharing the gospel 

on the streets of our local town, but church won’t hit the streets 

with me! 

I don’t want anything of the world, but it seems most of the 

congregation is satisfied with what the world has to offer. I want 

to live my life for Jesus. I want to bring up my boys focusing and 

leaning on Him, but I also need to be part of a fellowship that 

walks in the Spirit, that’s all out for Jesus, no compromise! But as 

I walk the streets and look around, there’s no-one there! 

Please pray, please help, please encourage. I need your help 

and guidance. 

Name and address supplied 

SCOTLAND 

I don’t want anything 

of the world... I want to 

live my life for Jesus. 

NEW DAWN 

HEY THERE, thanks for sending 

me New Dawn as it has helped 

me a lot. There are a lot of 

things going on in my life at 

the moment and having the 

fellowship around me has been 

a great encouragement to me. I 

have found myself trusting the 

Lord more. 

Keep up the good work and 

may our Lord Jesus Christ 

keeping shining in our lives. 

God bless you. 

Shelley Doncaster 

UK Name changed 

New Dawn is a weekly email with 

“news of radical Christianity with the 

mJa around the UK”. To subscribe 

visit www.jesus.org.uk/weekly 

BARBADIAN 

BLESSING 

I HAVE been receiving Jesus 

Life magazine and Streetpaper 

for over a year. I live in 

Barbados. I first checked out 

your website because I was 

looking for info on nontraditional 

“open church” 

movements –we need it! You 

are such a blessing. I thank God 

for the Jesus Army movement. 

It has encouraged me so much 

to know you are there and what 

God is doing! 

Chazayah Pitt 

BARBADOS 

IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEND YOUR PRAYER REQUESTS, OR LET US KNOW WHAT GOD HAS BEEN DOING 

IN YOUR LIFE OR YOU’D LIKE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIM EMAIL: INFO@JESUS.ORG.UK 

WRITE: JESUS FELLOWSHIP, NETHER HEYFORD, NORTHAMPTON NN7 3LB 


www.jesus.org.uk

Secrets 

and Lies 

The pagan coven that 

Jacqui Harris was 

in for several years 

wrapped her in a 

tissue of lies and abuse 

– until Jesus led her to 

freedom. She tells 

Jesus Life editor, 

James Stacey, 

her story. 

 

 



Secrets 

and Lies 

JACQUI DOESN’T look like a witch, or 

even an ex-witch. Not a trace of green 

skin, no cat, no broomstick... Joking 

apart, one might expect a woman who spent 

many years meeting other pagans in tree 

circles by night to have something – eccentric? 

– about her. In fact, Jacqui’s a very normal, 

very nice, cheerful mum of three (with 

a talent for cooking choc-chip biscuits). 

Yet, as we sit munching some of the said 

(delicious) choc biscuits, she unfolds a story 

that is not very “normal” – and certainly not 

nice. 

Jacqui grew up in what she describes as “a 

very rural, very pagan part of England” in a 

childhood of farms and fishing in the river 

(“you could get brown trout”), of sunsets, 

hedgerows and hay bales. 

“I remember a mate going to sleep in the 

hayfield and we built a ‘hayhouse’ around 

them so when they woke up they were in 

the dark” remembers Jacqui with a chuckle. 

But her childhood wasn’t all idyllic. Jacqui 

pauses, then quietly tells me about the 

sexual abuse she suffered from a close family 

member between the ages of four and 

fourteen. 

“He was a sailor in the Merchant Navy. 

When he was on leave, he would shower me 

with a lot of gifts; buying my silence.” Much 

later, he was arrested for another sexual offence 

and Jacqui went to the police with her 

story – after years of painful silence. 

“I think my parents knew,” reflects Jacqui, 

“to a degree. I think they covered it up. Back 

then sexual abuse was a taboo subject.” 

Partly because of this troubled home 

life, Jacqui would spend a lot of time with 

her grandmother, a big influence on her. It 

was her grandmother who first introduced 

Jacqui to witchcraft. 

“She would teach me things you would 

say were very –” Jacqui searches for a word 

and settles on “unchristian. Wax effigies. 

Charms. And she would take me to meetings 

of her friends.” 

I lean forward. (This must be where the 

broomsticks come in.) “A coven?” I whisper. 

But Jacqui is nonchalant. “It was just a 

meeting of friends. ‘Coven’ wasn’t a word 

that was used – though it boiled down to 

that.” 

Jacqui’s exploration of the occult deepened 

in her teenage years along with many 

of her friends. But she is careful to point out 

that she didn’t see it as “becoming a witch”. 

“Teenagers today probably would term 

it as that – the whole Americanised ‘Wicca 

industry’. Twenty-plus years ago you 

wouldn’t. It was more to do with worshipping 

nature and the elements. Vibes. Channelling 

positive energies.” 

Not exactly Wicked Witch of the West, 

I think to myself. At 20, Jacqui hitched to 

the Midlands, got a job, and decided to 

stay there. It was around this time she first 

bumped into some people from the Jesus 

Fellowship. 

OXFORD ENGLISH “WITCHIONARY” 

Coven. Noun: a group or meeting of 

witches; often derogatory; a secret or 

close-knit group of associates. 

Occult. Noun: mystical or magical 

powers, practices, or phenomena; 

communicated only to the initiated. 

Origin: late 15th cent. (as a verb) 

from Latin occultare/occulere, ‘secret’/ 

‘conceal’, based on celare ‘to hide’/‘to 

cover up’. 

Pagan. Noun: a person holding religious 

beliefs other than those of the main 

world religions. Origin: late Middle 

English from Latin paganus , ‘villager, 

rustic’, from pagus, ‘country district’. 

“I used to let them come round to my 

place in bedsit land and we’d talk and pray. 

I was quite open to God and began to take 

steps away from paganism. They brought 

their flapjack and flasks – and these odd 

glass mugs. After they’d all gone, I realised 

that there was a mug left under the bed. I 

washed it up, thinking ‘I’ll give it back next 

time I see them’. It never actually happened. 

I mention it because that mug stayed with 

me for years and has a part in the story.” 

Jacqui’s involvement with the Jesus Fellowship 

at that time was short-lived, mainly 

because around the same time as meeting 

them, she also met Jimmy – who she moved 

in with and later married. They moved back 

South-West and had three children. 

Yet the marriage ran into difficulties: 

Jacqui began to suspect that Jimmy was seeing 

someone else. 

“I became more and more convinced,” 

Jacqui sighs. “Jimmy went off and did his 

own thing a lot. He’d joined the police and 

had so-called ‘training weekends’ and ‘duties’ 

. But things didn’t add up: receipts in 

pockets from the wrong places and so on.” 

Later Jacqui was to find that he had 

indeed been having an affair. In fact he 

had another family. At the time, they just 

grew further and further apart. With Jimmy 

increasingly absent, Jacqui picked up some 

old friendships in the pagan scene. 

During her years away it had all got 

heavier. 

“There was a guy called Dan who was 

kind of running things. He was doing things 

which I called ‘negative energy’. He would 

summon spirits up – which was scary. 

“He was ‘high priest’. You have certain 

degrees that you go through when you are a 

coven – ranks, basically. Dan said he wanted 

me to be his ‘high priestess’, through a 

ceremony called the Grand Rites. There are 

two ways you can do this: symbolically or 


www.jesus.org.uk

“...there are 

lots of ancient 

tree circles, 

used by the 

Druids. We 

were driving 

past one. He 

stopped the car 

and the next 

thing I knew 

he’d dragged 

me out, into 

the trees.” 


– physically.” 

As Jacqui talks, the room seems to darken. 

She tells me how, over the months, Dan 

used the ritual as a pretext to try and push 

Jacqui to have sex with him. As Jacqui 

resisted (“I was married and just saw it as 

wrong”) things “started to get nasty”. Dan 

became threatening, cornering Jacqui when 

he knew she was on her own. Jacqui decided 

she “wanted out” of the coven. 

“It was about this time, just when things 

were getting really heavy, that I found the 

Jesus Fellowship’s glass mug,” recalls 

Jacqui, smiling faintly. “It reminded me; like 

a message, almost. I got in touch again, after 

many years, via the Jesus Army forum on 

the web.” 

Meanwhile, things got heavier and 

heavier with Dan. 

“It was early February. I remember it had 

been snowing. Dan had given me an ultimatum 

to do what he wanted by a particular 

pagan festival called Imbolc. I’d dropped 

the kids off to school and Dan turned up in 

the car and I got in; a great mistake.” 

Jacqui takes a deep breath. “Round where 

we lived there are lots of ancient tree circles, 

used by the Druids. We were driving past 

one. He stopped the car and the next thing I 

knew he’d dragged me out, into the trees.” 

Her description of the rape that followed 

is muffled by tears; Jacqui’s horror of the 

memory is palpable. 

“I couldn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t report 

it to the police. It’s difficult to explain, the 

whole coven secrecy thing. I’d taken various 

oaths...” Jacqui’s voice is very quiet. She 

adds: “And, for me, it was like the pact of 

silence I’d experienced as a child about the 

abuse. I guess I’d been there before.” 

Trapped in silence, Jacqui was sure about 

one thing: she wanted to get right out of the 

coven. But who to turn to? Jacqui’s recently 

renewed friendship with people in the Jesus 

Fellowship, via the web forum, became a 

lifeline. 

“Eventually, I went to stay at a Jesus 

Fellowship house for a few days. I didn’t 

say much about what I was going through, 

but the friendship really helped – and I was 

finding my way to real faith in Jesus” Jacqui 

says. “It was at that time that I found out 

about Jimmy’s affair as well – so I certainly 

needed support!” 

Her friends in the Jesus Fellowship, 

together with a determination to stay 

strong “for my kids” gave Jacqui fight. After 

a number of other threatening incidents 

involving Dan, she decided to take action: 

she told Dan she was going to the police. 

Not long after that Jacqui heard he was 

moving away. The nightmare was coming 

to an end. 

“I still had threatening and abusive messages 

online for a while after Dan moved,” 

remembers Jacqui, “but from then on I 

became much more involved with the Jesus 

Army. I was getting stronger in myself.” 

Slowly Jacqui found herself getting restored 

and healed – and deepening in faith 

towards Jesus. “I don’t trust quick, sudden 

dramatic changes” she says. “They can be 

quickly, suddenly reversed! 

“But I found that Jesus is a friend; a friend 

who is for you even if you mess up.” In early 

2006, Jacqui was baptised as a Christian. 

“It felt like I’d come through the wilderness 

and out the other side.” Jacqui smiles. “Now 

I had a new chance to get life the right way 

round!” 

I ask her what her message is to those 

who might be trapped in similar occult or 

abusive situations. “Get out of the secrecy” 

she replies, “whatever has happened. And 

whatever you’ve done, there’s always room 

for you with God.” 

What a lovely woman I think, as I reach 

for yet another choc biscuit. 

JL 

Names have been changed 


New Jesus Centre 

to open in LONDON 

Jesus 

THE BIG news is that 

the third Jesus Centre 

will be opening in 

Central London on 

1 April 2008. Jesus 

Life celebrates Jesus 

Centres through 

photographs. 

Send us your 

pictures: 

You may have pictures of mJa action or 

similar. Send your mobile phone images 

to Jesus Life mms number 0774 0774 

200, email them to yourpics@jesus.org. 

uk/gallery or submit them at www.flickr. 

com/groups/jesusarmy 


www.jesuscentre.org.uk

Centres 

How can I 

help? 

We always need money, old 

clothes, food and lots more! 

Check out the website for details: 

www.jesuscentre.org.uk 

WHAT ARE 

JESUS CENTRES? 

Places where the love of 

Jesus is expressed daily 

in worship, care and 

friendship for every type of 

person. 

WHAT DO 

THEY OFFER? 

All sorts, including 

showers, friendship, a 

listening ear, IT classes and 

food. They also act as a 

‘gateway’ to other services 

and agencies. 

WHO RUNS THEM? 

The Jesus Army Charitable 

Trust (JACT). Staff and 

volunteers come from Jesus 

Fellowship Church. 

WHERE ARE THEY? 

Coventry, Northampton 

and, from mid 2007, 

central London. Eventually 

Jesus Centres will be found 

in other places around the 

UK. 

HOW CAN I HELP? 

We always need money, old 

clothes, food and lots more! 

Check out the website for 

details. 

MORE INFO: 




For the past ten years Shane Claiborne has lived out a daily revolution against the American dream. 

Along with six others, he lives in a community home known as The Simple Way, in one of the poorest 

areas of Philadelphia, America. The community aim to be the best neighbours they can – distributing 

food from their kitchen, helping local children with their homework and renovating disused homes for 

the homeless to inhabit. In June this year The Simple Way saw disaster strike their community. A fire, 

thought to have been started by an arson attack on a local disused warehouse, destroyed their home 

and community centre. More than 100 houses were evacuated as the blaze spread to surrounding 

streets. Lucinda van der Hart, editor of Faithworks magazine, talked to Shane about his way of life and 

found out how members of The Simple Way are coping after the fire. 


www.jesus.org.uk


We have ended up the wealthiest, 

most medicated and depressed 

” 

countries in the world 

“What’s the most challenging 

aspect of living in a shared 

community home? 

Oh boy, there’s lots of challenges! 

In some way, community 

is just a choice to live deeper 

than the dream of independence, 

which so often leads to 

loneliness. It’s a chance to laugh 

harder, but it also means you 

also cry harder because you feel 

what hurts each other deeper. 

But the hurt is triumphed by the 

sense of love and companionship 

that you have. 

What would you envisage happening 

if every Christian lived 

in community as you do? 

We would see the kingdom 

of God coming, the end of poverty, 

the end of aggression and 

violence in our neighbourhoods 

and across the world. Dorothy 

Day (the Catholic journalist 

and social activist) said if every 

neighbourhood had a hospitality 

house and every household 

a room for the stranger then we 

would end poverty. What’s exciting 

about what we see at The 

Simple Way is that people are 

not just serving in social service 

agencies that manage poverty, 

but they are connecting with the 

poor in a way that ends poverty. 

They are bringing folks into 

their home, figuring out how 

people can go to school and find 

waged jobs. 

At the beginning of your book 

you talk about how your first 

experiences of church were 

dominated by preachers calling 

you to ‘lay down your life’, 

but you were never told what 

to pick up instead. Is your 

reaction to this still central to 

your current spirituality? 

Without a doubt. I saw too 

many people bored with Christianity 

and they associated that 

with Jesus. That’s one of the 

great tragedies with the sort of 

Christianity we have become 

accustomed to – people have 

narrowed it down to a doctrine 

and a belief system. That’s not 

very invigorating or compelling, 

even if it is true. So I have 

surrounded myself with people 

who have challenged me to see 

how much there is to pick up. 

Tony Campolo always says 

that being a Christian is about 

choosing Jesus and doing 

something daring with your 

life. I like that because that’s 

what so many have done 

throughout history – taken up 

beautiful vocations not just 

for the sake of adventure but 

because the Gospel is a call to 

live in beautiful ways. When 

you surround yourself with 

other people that are risking 

their lives and loving deeply, it 

rubs off on you. 

Could people in developing 

nations use your model of community 

living? 

In some ways it is even more 

natural in poor countries – the 

people there often already have 

a deep sense of community and 

interdependence – in the sense 

of being a village, of each person 

using their gifts, of not compartmentalising 

your life in a nine-tofive 

routine that sucks the life out 

of you. A lot of these things are so 

counter-cultural in the West. 

It seems like you have quite a 

pessimistic view of contemporary 

Western culture. To what 

extent should we celebrate the 

hand that we’ve been dealt? 

I am very sceptical about the 

Western life and this package 

that we have been sold as the 

American dream. The people I 

know who have bought into it 

have only found it to be isolating 

and it does not satisfy our 

deepest spiritual hungers. We 

(the UK and US) have ended 

up the wealthiest, most medicated 

and depressed countries 

in the world – which should be 

indicative for us. 

But there is always something 

to celebrate about God’s 

gifts to us and to the world. 

One of the best ways to celebrate 

the best things in life is 

to give them away and to share 

them – there is something 

more fulfilling about sharing 

God’s blessings than keeping 

them. As we give our lives on 

behalf of others it brings us to 

life as well. It’s not just about 

how much the poor need us, 

but how much we really need 

each other. Isaiah 58 says when 

we spend ourselves on behalf 

of the poor, our healing comes 

– I love that. We don’t heal from 

spiritual poverty in a vacuum 

– we heal through living our 

lives for something bigger than 

ourselves. 

Was there a particular moment 

when you came to that 

realisation? 

Over and over I talk to people 

whose dreams have died – the 

routine of life has compromised 

what they feel God’s original 

dreams for them were. It’s such 

a hard thing to see that. We 

squeeze out of life the very place 

that Jesus lived – which was in 

interruptions and surprises and 

people tugging on His shirt and 

telling Him that they messed up. 

We have lives where we go to 

work, come home, watch TV, go 

work out… and there’s no space 

for the Spirit to move. What we 

do here is free ourselves of the 

clutter – by getting rid of the TV, 

by biking and by answering the 

door when neighbours come. 

Your community obviously has 

a strong affinity with traditional 

monastic living. 

Early on we were a little 

pretentious. We thought we 

were doing all this for the first 

time – and then we looked 

around and we saw that this is 

something that the Spirit has 

done over and over throughout 

history. Every few hundred years 

there is an identity crisis in the 

Church…and so there are groups 

of people who are cultural refugees 

– who pull out and try to 

re-think their lives as followers of 

Christ. For us St Francis has been 

someone we really resonate with 

– we started in an abandoned 

cathedral and mystically we have 

felt that call to repair the Church 

that is in ruins. 

Some people might level at 


 

 



you the criticism that you have 

an affinity with a communist 

political ethic. To what extent 

would you refute that claim? 

I say in my book (The Irresistible 

Revolution) that if we really 

discovered Christ’s call to love 

our neighbours as ourselves then 

capitalism as we have it now 

would be impossible and communism 

would not be necessary. 

We are not creating a system but 

we are creating a relationship 

with people in poverty. 

Redistribution is only meaningful 

as much as it is rooted in 

love and relationships. It is not 

a prescription for community 

but a just description of what 

happens when we live our lives 

alongside people who are hurting. 

If we really have genuine 

friendships with the poor then 

redistribution is inevitable – we 

see that in the early Church. 

They ended poverty in the early 

Church and we believe that we 

can do that again. 

Tell me about the fire – how 

have your local community 

dealt with the trauma? 

It was awful in many ways. 

There was a real feeling in the 

neighbourhood that this didn’t 

have to happen – it wouldn’t 

have happened in other neighbourhoods. 

But there is also the 

real, beautiful hope of people 

pulling together. The Red Cross 

said that they didn’t have many 

people staying in the local 

shelter on the night of the fire 

because so many people in the 

neighbourhood had opened up 

“ 

their homes to each other. 

What does your practical 

response to the situation look 

like now? 

We have a coalition of neighbours 

affected by the fire and we 

have raised tens of thousands 

of dollars from around the 

world in order to rebuild homes 

– we’ve just begun work on two 

houses. We are excited to see 

homes restored and people 

moving back in. 

This 

Do you see the fire as persecution 

for what you’re doing for 

Jesus? 

The fire started in the warehouse 

– it wasn’t like our building 

was set on fire. But there is a 

sense that when you live among 

the poor and marginalised you 

enter into suffering – or at least 

solidarity – with them. You 

become vulnerable to things 

like this, things that you would 

never need to worry about in 

other neighbourhoods. 

What has been amazing about 

this situation is that it puts us 

on very equal ground with our 

neighbours. In our meetings 

we’re no longer the heads of a 

non-profit organisation – our 

neighbours are bringing us 

clothes and telling us they want 

to help us rebuild. There is a real 

sense of bearing each others’ 

burdens. It’s what incarnational 

love should look like. 

we are creating a 

relationship with 

people in poverty 

In your book you quote Bonhoeffer: 

‘The person who loves 

their dream of community will 

destroy community but the 

person who loves those around 

them will create community.’ 

Is this the simple recipe for 

success that churches should 

follow? 

For sure. We can see it in 

congregations that have a seven 

point, five-year programme for 

church growth – but then people 

in the congregation just rip 

each other apart. The same can 

be true in social justice circles 

– people can have a great vision 

for changing the world but be 

pretty hard to live with. In one 

community I went to, they had 

T-shirts that said ‘Everybody 

wants a revolution but nobody 

wants to do the dishes’. That’s 

the challenge – to live out the 

revolution every day in not just 

the great things but in doing the 

small things that we do with a 

lot of love. 

My friend Brooke says that 

the most radical thing that we 

do is love each other again and 

again, and choose to do that 

every day. 

JL 

” 

article first appeared in the 

Autumn 2007 issue of Faithworks 

magazine, copyright CCP Ltd 2007, 

reproduced with permission. 

www.faithworksmagazine.info 

For more on Shane’s community, 

visit www.thesimpleway.org 

The Simple Way are launching 

a new website designed as a 

connecting point for people 

interested in or already living 

in intentional communities like 

The Simple Way, around the 

globe. Visit www.communityofcommunities.us 

for more 

information. 

The Irresistible Revolution is 

published by Zondervan £7.99 

/ ISBN-10: 0-310-26630-0 


www.jesus.org.uk

multiply 

WHAT IS 

MULTIPLY? 

Multiply Christian Network is 

a worldwide apostolic stream 

of churches, initiated by Jesus 

Fellowship Church. It is a 

member of the Evangelical 

Alliance UK. Multiply now 

has 18 UK groups and 105 

worldwide. 

WHO’S IT FOR? 

Any fellowship, of any size, 

from any culture or race, 

as long as it is basically 

evangelical. The latest partner 

to join was Living Water 

Church, a Congolese Frenchspeaking 

church based in 

Gloucester, UK. 

WHAT DOES IT 

OFFER? 

Relationships between leaders 

are central and are fostered 

through regular conferences, 

celebration gatherings and 

fellowship. Leadership and 

evangelism training plus a 

variety of resources, including 

free literature, are also 

available. 

MORE 

INFORMATION: 

Contact Multiply Director 

Huw Lewis 

Tel: +44 1327 344533 

Email: huw.lewis@jesus.org.uk 

or write to: Jesus Fellowship/ 

Multiply Central Offices, 

Nether Heyford, 

Northampton, UK NN7 3LB 

A CALL TO ACTION 

Delegates from across the UK 

attended the Multiply UK Leaders 

Conference last November. 

Emma Merry reports. 

LIFT UP, stand up, get up – the 

call was to action at the latest 

Multiply UK Leaders Conference, 

held at Cornhill Manor in 

Northamptonshire. 

In the midst of a very bleak 

picture for church in the UK, the 

radical church is becoming more 

and more distinct, as Huw Lewis, 

Multiply Director, pointed out. 

“There’s a job to do.” 

“Commissioned into chaos” 

is how Kelly Bartholomew described 

it! “To build, you need to 

learn many things,” he said (and 

he knows what he’s talking about 

– as well as being a member of 

the Jesus Fellowship’s apostolic 

team, he is also a builder 

by trade.) “But you also need to 

have a covenant, a mutual commitment 

that says ‘I’ll be with 

you all my life’. If you create a 

perfect situation for yourself, all 

neat and comfortable, you’ll die. 

Life comes from letting people 

‘poke’ us.” 

Kelly also exhorted the group 

to take risks with people – as 

God had with them – in order to 

build. “You’re not building your 

own kingdom. Your responsibility 

is to enable the PEOPLE God 

gives you to grow into who they 

are in God. Your outlook should 

be: ‘I’ve got to commission you 

to leave me.’” 

Laurence, one of those very 

next-generation leaders, could 

vouch for the success of this approach 

and smashed ageism in 

the church: “We’ve all received 

the same Spirit that attracted 

Jesus’ disciples, whatever our 

background – or age.” 

“Glory Hallelujah, He Reigns”, 

we sang. “But does He?” asked 

Steve Calam, Apostolic Team 

Member. “In Chronicles, they 

had to make King David king. 

Yes, he was anointed. But if they 

hadn’t made him king in practice, 

he’d have had no power and no 

Prayer at the Multiply UK Leaders Conference 

real kingdom. So, who’s going to 

‘make’ Jesus reign today? We are! 

“And if we are to do this, we 

need to strengthen one another. 

In Multiply, as for Jesus Fellowship, 

relationships will always 

be number one. A listening ear, 

regional meetings, regular communication 

and much more are 

all available to members.” 

 

 

www.multiply.org.uk 


multiply 

LEADERSHIP EXPLORED 

Seven days’ travel was not too much for delegates 

to the first Pan-African Multiply Conference 

“CHURCH IS a living organism, 

not a building,” heard the 131 

delegates at the first Pan-African 

Conference, held in Lagos, 

Nigeria from 8 to 10 November 

2007. 

Delegates came from the 

west, east and southern states 

of Nigeria like Ibadan, Ogun 

and Osho, and from other West 

African countries like Ghana 

and Cameroon for three days of 

intensive and comprehensive 

teaching on “the church”. Three 

of the Sierra Leonean brethren 

had to take a seven-day journey 

by road to reach the conference, 

while the luggage of Victor Shefford 

and Clive Strudwick, representing 

Multiply UK, was left 

behind so they were three days 

without a change of clothes and 

wash or shaving gear! But nothing 

hindered the enthusiasm 

among the leaders to give and to 

receive during the conference. 

“The message was timely, 

inspirational and met the needs 

of the people,” said Matthew 

Oluwalesin, chief organiser, senior 

pastor of Glad Tidings, Lagos, 

and Multiply apostolic leader 

for Nigeria. “Individualism 

was denounced and unity for a 

common purpose was acknowledged.” 

After a 10-point introduction 

to God’s church from Victor, 

Matthew expounded on the ministerial 

gifts: “Teachers are like 

the little finger in a man’s hand, 

called to dip into God’s word and 

teach His body. Pastors are like 

“The world 

is filled with 

supervisors 

and managers 

but few 

leaders. 

Leadership is 

like beauty: 

it is hard to 

define but you 

know it when 

you see it.” 

the ring finger and so married to 

the church. They must be compassionate 

over the flock of God 

like a mother and must be ready 

to feed the flock at all times.” 

In a time when many Christian 

leaders are falling around the 

world, integrity is of critical importance. 

“Leadership has very 

little to do with what you can do 

and is fundamentally a matter 

of becoming who you are,” said 

Desmond Thomas, apostolic 

leader for Sierra Leone. “The 

world is filled with supervisors 

and managers but few leaders. 

Leadership is like beauty: it is 

hard to define but you know it 

when you see it.” 

Interspersed with the teaching 

were Holy Spirit-filled worship 

times and fellowship. “The 

worship was motivating. People 

were not tired and did not feel 

like going home,” said Matthew. 

“I want to thank the Jesus 

Fellowship who, with the love of 

God in them, want Christians to 

come together as brothers and 

sisters,” Matthew concluded. “I 

want to thank Multiply leaders 

Lagos, Nigeria: scene of the first Pan-African Multiply 

all around the world for their 

vision all over the world. The 

network is expanding every day 

and we are seeing the fruit in the 

nations in Pan-African countries 

of Nigeria and Sierra Leone. 

Ghanaian Multiply has been inaugurated 

and we believe other 

countries, such as Cameroon, 

Togo and Benin Republic, will 

follow suit.” 

Multiply is on the move! 

JOIN US 

in June 2008 

in UK for 

our next 

biennial 

Multiply 

International 

Conference 


www.multiply.org.uk

multiply 

CHURCH OF 

NEW LIFE 

Jesus Fellowship leader, 

Andrzej Kurpiel, tells 

Jesus Life of the creation 

of “Kostol Noveho 

Zivota” (Church of New 

Life) in a settlement of 

marginalised people in 

Slovakia. 


God has been moving among Slovakian Romanies 

“Her bones had been cracked 

as her hand was trapped 

in a car door. She was 

instantaneously healed” 

SURROUNDED by members of 

his family, the visitors prayed 

for the man with a weak arm. He 

was glad to receive prayer – but 

the visitors weren’t local priests, 

just a local couple. 

What was remarkable was that 

the praying couple themselves 

were brand new converts. Martin, 

20, a burly chap who spoke 

with a soft but authoritative 

voice, and his 18 year-old wife, 

Libusa, had come to true faith in 

Jesus just two nights previously. 

They had only been baptised 

in the nearby river the previous 

day! 

This was the beginning of a 

new church among a rootless 

people. The young couple shared 

their testimonies and gave away 

clothes to the extended family 

that lived in the tidy but sparsely 

furnished, living-room-sized 

shack. Accommodation was 

quite typical of the leaking, 

uncarpeted, wooden huts that 

surrounded them on a muddy 

hillside. 

The man, as it happened, was 

not healed – but the next day 

Libusa was. Her bones had been 

cracked as her hand was trapped 

in a car door. She was instantaneously 

healed as Martin prayed. 

His faith was growing quickly. 

It certainly needed to, as, in little 

over a year, this young man 

would be leading the church 

and baptising dozens of new 

converts in the same river he was 

baptised in. 

This remarkable story started 

two years previously, in the UK 

in November 2004 when my wife 

Sharron and I, members of the 

Jesus Fellowship in Sheffield, 

were introduced to a Slovakian 

family. My knowledge of Polish 

helped form a friendship and 

many similar families started to 

gather. 

Some weeks later, the families 

“confessed” to being Romany, 

a people who have experienced 

deep rejection. 120,000 members 

of the Romany community in 

Slovakia live in slums, lacking 

basics such as water and electricity. 

In 2007 Slovakia was heavily 

criticised by the Geneva-based 

Centre on Housing Rights and 

Evictions for the persistent discrimination 

faced by Romanies. 

 

 

In Sheffield, the awesome tearfilled 

reconciliation that followed 

this family’s “confession” was 

the start of a deep bonding with 

many newly arrived Romany- 

Slovakian migrants in Sheffield. 

Here were a people finding 

themselves loved and chosen 

by God. Where once they had 

no land to call their own they 

now counted themselves worthy 

members of the kingdom of God. 

The church in Sheffield quickly 

swelled. 

Among the scores that were 

baptised over the following 

18 months, was relatively 

well-educated Cyril (read his 

testimony here: http://www. 

jesus.org.uk/cyrildunka.html) 

and working class Janu (the first 

to be baptised). They were from 

neighbouring Slovakian Romany 


 

 



m 

settlements, historically divided 

by suspicion and prejudice. 

In June 2006, Cyril and Janu, 

with myself and others, visited 

one of the Romany villages in 

Slovakia, Bystrany, where some 

85 per cent of the new members 

had come from. 

The team was very warmly 

welcomed indeed. Church was 

growing here, too: where once, 

there was gambling, drinking 

and violence men were pleading 

for forgiveness from their communities 

as they got baptised. 

The greatest surprise was on 

the last day of the trip, when Cyril 

took them to his “rival” town, 

Zehra, a settlement of 1,600 

Romanies some five miles away. 

We’ll never forget that day. We 

moved from one council-built 

home to another. The rooms 

were quickly packed out, as 

people gathered spontaneously. 

Nothing happens in private 

there. These people heard the 

good news gladly and many 

received new faith in Jesus. 

Slovakian Romanies: an open door for the gospel 


www.multiply.org.uk

multiply 

Many were healed. Among 

them was a young lad who was 

healed of deafness. One woman 

asked for prayer to give birth the 

next day, two weeks before the 

due date. And so it happened 

– according to her simple faith. 

We rejoiced also that we had 

birthed a movement among the 

Romany and the beginnings of a 

new church. 

But the church couldn’t be fully 

established. Men constantly had 

to leave the community in search 

of work, there was no stability. 

Bonds of brotherhood deepened 

during several trips that 

followed. There were powerful 

gospel meetings with many 

conversions, some healings and 

unforgettable baptisms in the 

summers of 2006 and 2007. 

Martin and Libusa were baptised 

along with the many others 

in 2006. They experienced much 

persecution after their baptism 

but began to show the strength 

of leadership. 

Then, last summer, a mob 

Scenes from a baptism in Slovakia 


tried (in vain) to destroy the Jesus 

Army minibus and the police 

took me away for questioning 

while the mission team and local 

believers prayed powerfully. 

The attempt to prevent the 

baptisms failed and a small 

church of about a dozen was 

commissioned. Martin and other 

leaders went on to baptise a further 

34 people in the six weeks 

after the UK team had left. 

Most of the new Christians 

are from the poor shacks on the 

hillside. They lack money for 

food but continue to be hungry 

for Jesus. Many have been freed 

from drinking, gambling, violence, 

stealing, cursing, jealousy 

and suspicion. Barriers between 

the two Romany communities 

are also being broken down as 

the Christian presence and witness 

continues to grow in both 

villages. 

“Kostol Noveho Zivota” 

(Church of New Life) is growing. 

God clearly blesses the 

poor in spirit. 

JL 

MULTIPLY CHURCHES AND GROUPS MEET ALL OVER THE UK 

RING UP AND FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR AREA! 

BELFAST Jesus Fellowship Church __________________ 0845 123 5552 

BIRMINGHAM Jesus Fellowship Church ______________0845 166 8153 

BLACKBURN Hyndburn Christian Fellowship __________01706 222 401 

BLACKBURN Rishton Christian Fellowship____________ 01254 887790 

BOLTON Jesus Fellowship Church ____________________0845 833 9145 

BOURNEMOUTH Jesus Fellowship Church ___________ 0845 123 5558 

BRIDGEND The Bridge Community Church ____________ 01656 655635 

BRIGHTON & HOVE Jesus Fellowship Church__________0845 166 8151 

BRISTOL Jesus Fellowship Church __________________ 0845 123 5339 

CHATHAM House Of Prayer For All Nations ___________ 01634 669933 

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Fire 


www.jesus.org.uk

and Ice 

A remarkable move of God has been taking 

place among the Inuit of the Arctic Circle. 

Article by Trevor Saxby. 

IN APRIL 1999, the Canadian government formally 

created Nunavut territory, to the north of Hudson Bay. 

After centuries of displacement, the Inuit or Eskimos 

finally had a homeland of their own. This land mass, the 

size of western Europe, is home to less than 30,000 people 

– not least because it is ice-bound for much of the year and 

travel is difficult. 

Of the 19 people elected to govern Nunavut, many are 

Spirit-filled Christians. They regularly meet to pray and 

to seek God’s wisdom for national decisions. Churches in 

Nunavut are full and keenly evangelistic. Given that Inuit 

culture has for centuries been controlled by shamans (medicine-men 

with occult powers), how has this move of God 

happened? 

Since the 1950s, white missionaries have reached out to 

the Inuit. They have had to overcome great obstacles to do 

so. Several were killed in plane crashes on the ice. There was 

deep resentment to overcome, too. The Eskimos had seen 

their land invaded by white men greedy for oil and gold, 

who had brought their consumerist culture with them. 

Yet there were important factors which favoured evangelism. 

The Inuit are intensely social; selfish individualism is 

alien to their culture. If they make a decision, they make it 

corporately and everyone holds to it. Also, the Inuit are 

spiritually aware. They know all about ‘anagkok’, shaman 

power, which makes people sick and causes 

evil spirits to appear in visible form. So the 

missionaries found a ready response when 

they spoke of the kingdom of God, 

of spiritual warfare, 

and of the church as the all-embracing Body 

of Christ. In some meetings the power of the 

Holy Spirit caused people to laugh, weep or 

shake. 

Despite the problems with travel, the 

Inuit arrive in large numbers for Christian 

conventions. At one in 1994, 1,700 people 

(six per cent of the entire population) were 

converted. This included 32 Cree Indians 

who had driven over 2,000 miles to attend; 

they have since planted a new church back 

home. 

The pioneering work was largely done by 

courageous women like Kayy Gordon and Lynn 

Patterson, but they have trained up a new generation 

of Inuit men of God. James Arreak and Billy 

Arnaquq tour the many Inuit churches and claim 

that, in some areas, half the population are committed 

Christians. Arreak preaches that radical New 

Testament values sit easily with traditional Inuit ways. 

He has led several shamans to Christ. 

Other Inuit live on the Arctic circle in Russia. Until 1994 

they were wholly unreached by the gospel. A Canadian 

evangelist, Bill Prankard, took some Inuit converts to witness 

to their fellow Eskimos. They travelled by helicopter 

from village to village, leading many to Christ. They prayed 

for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, gave them bibles, 

and left. Nine months later the team returned, anxious over 

what they would find. 

They found on-fire Christians! In one village, only 100 out of 

1,200 were unsaved. The Russian Inuit had no Christian history, 

so they took the New Testament literally and relied on the Holy 

Spirit to guide them. They hadn’t heard of the ‘Toronto Blessing’ 

(they hadn’t even heard of Canada!), but they had clearly received 

the same repertoire of manifestations. Shaking, laughing, shouting, 

weeping and falling down were a normal part of church for them! 

“They aren’t copying,” says Prankard. “This is a fresh move of 

God. They have challenged me in their level of commitment.” As in 

the book of Acts, these Inuit believers meet daily, baptise converts 

and receive the Spirit’s power by faith. They regularly experience 

the miraculous in healings and miracles. And, as Jesus foretold, they 

are knowing persecution. They have refused the authorities’ order 

to stop evangelising; they still go from village to village with the good 

news of Jesus. Many have been arrested and beaten. But as one Inuit 

Christian told Prankard, “They can threaten us, they can beat us, they 

can even kill us, but we will never stop loving Jesus”. 

JL 

To watch a video of an extraordinary visitation of God in the 

Arctic Circle visit www.jesus.org.uk/gallery/videos/inuit 



pearl of great price 

They found the 

pearl of great price 

I 

often 

Four members 

of the Jesus 

Fellowship 

from different 

countries share 

why they left 

their homeland 

to join the 

vision of a 

radical church 

– and how they 

are keeping it 

fresh in their 

hearts. 


“ “ 

I 

FOUND brotherhood, the 

‘highest command of love’. 

At first I felt unclean: this 

love was showing me my sin, 

but was also winning my heart. 

My friends and family in Holland 

tried to persuade me not 

to join the church. But I knew I 

heard the Shepherd’s voice and 

had to obey. 

Living and working in the 

church, I often feel my need 

for longsuffering – to keep on 

loving, even when it is difficult. 

I wouldn’t want to live any 

other way; I found life outside of 

God's kingdom so empty. 

Durk from Holland 

“ 

When I first became 

a Christian, I had a 

revelation about coming 

into the family of God. I felt 

once or twice a week was not 

what God intended. 

Community living opened my 

eyes to the family of God being 

a daily living experience. Here 

was a chance to give more, to 

pour my life into serving my 

brothers and sisters. It’s a place 

where we lay down our lives for 

one another. 

I knew I had to let go of life in 

South Africa, but I saw something 

better. This was ‘God to 

the max’, the Body of Christ 

united; moving together, rejoicing 

together, crying together, in 

love with Jesus: I wanted it. 

Daryl from South Africa 

wondered what it 

meant to ‘seek first the kingdom 

of God’. When I met 

the Jesus Fellowship I saw the 

beauty of sacrifice, the power of 

lives laid down for Jesus' sake. I 

saw people’s genuine commitment 

to each other in brotherhood 

community. 

For the first time, I felt safe to 

share my heart. I belonged to a 

new family where the poor and 

the rich were welcomed. I left 

all that was dear to me to grab 

hold of the kingdom. The vision 

keeps strong in my heart as I 

serve the brotherhood and see 

the church grow through me. 

Prisca from Switzerland 

“ 

I 

felt touched by the love 

people had for one another. 

I saw a people living out 

church 24/7, not just on Sundays. 

The oneness of brotherhood 

told me this is a place 

where God dwells with His 

people. 

And we do exciting stuff; we 

don't just sit around watching 

telly! We’re active every day 

building a ‘new creation’ society. 

I love sharing my life with 

people of all ages and backgrounds. 

I felt God calling me to give 

up everything I’d known before 

in Norway. It wasn’t easy, but 

it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. 

It’s not always the big things 

that cost the most, but the daily 

small sacrifices that we make 

for Jesus and His church. That’s 

how I keep it alive in my heart 

– living radically for Jesus with 

my friends. 

Hannah from Norway 

JL 

“The 

kingdom 

of heaven 

is like a 

merchant 

looking for 

fine pearls. 

When he 

found one 

of great 

value, he 

went away 

and sold 

everything 

he had and 

bought it.” 

Matthew 

13:45-46 

www.jesus.org.uk

ON THE INSIDE 

OUTSIDE 

prisoner freed 

For 20 years, Ann Brown was caught up 

in a life of drug use drew her deeper into 

crime, addiction, despair – and prison. 

She tells Jesus Life how she was set free. 

For information on the Jesus 

Fellowship’s Prison Release 

Programme, write to: Phil Ferris, 

Jesus Fellowship Central Offices, 

Nether Heyford, Northants 

NN7 3LB tel: 01327 344533 

or e-mail: info@jesus.org.uk 

IN THE SEVENTIES Ann led 

a double life. Neighbours 

knew her as “a bit of a hippy 

who walked miles with her 

dogs”. 

But by night she became a different 

person. 

Gradually the parties she 

went to got wilder and more 

violent. Ann had a brown belt in 

judo and karate and in her forties 

took up kick-boxing. 

Life became like a paperback 

thriller blurb. Homegrown pot. 

Arrested for possession. Holloway 

Prison. Arrested for violence. 

Banned from the county. 

Eight years on the run. Ann says: 

“If I’d known what I was letting 

myself in for, I would never 

have let things go as far as they 

did, but by the time I realised 

how far into the world of drugs 

and violence I was, it was too 

late to get out. I was powerless 

to change. 

“Over the years I drifted in 

and out of addiction, using 

every drug imaginable. Things 

were spiralling out of control 

so fast that I didn’t have time to 

think about the consequences. 

Time had started to run out for 

me and I did time in Holloway 

Prison for possession of drugs. 

“A few years later I was banished 

from the county on two 

occasions due to criminal activity. 

I lost my home, my wealth 

and my family, everything was 

snatched from me. I felt that I 

could never forgive myself. 


“I had reached the point of 

despair and went into selfdestruct 

mode, getting stoned 

from morning to night and fell 

once again back into heroin 

addiction. I had so many AKA’s 

(aliases) that I didn’t know 

which one was the real me. I 

was beyond caring; all that mattered 

was another bag of smack 

to numb the pain. Close friends 

had died from drug abuse. I was 

lost and didn’t know who I was 

or where life was going. 

“The turn around came after I 

did cold-turkey to get off heroin. 

I knew I was in danger of either 

a long time in prison or death. It 

was time for a reality check. And 

a few weeks later I was beaten 

up so badly I ended up in intensive 

care. That was the turning 

point. 

“An old friend of mine who 

had become a Christian invited 

me to a Jesus Army meeting, 

and I went along. 

“That day I asked Jesus to 

forgive me and free me from 

the chains which were holding 

me. Things started to change 

immediately: it was a dramatic 

transformation. I was high, but 

not the same high that drugs 

had given me. I felt so alive and 

like a weight had been lifted off 

me. 

“At my baptism in water it 

was as though a bright light 

cut through my whole body; I 

felt clean and forgiven. I was 

amazed that this could be happening 

to someone like me. 

“I now volunteer at the Northampton 

Jesus Centre. I am often 

surrounded by the oppressed, 

addicted and those who have 

been in prison, like I have. My 

heart is with these people; I can 

look into their eyes and see the 

pain, hold their hand and feel 

their suffering. 

“Now I often write to and 

visit those in prison. On one 

occasion, visiting a prison, we 

prayed together and God’s presence 

was so powerful that the 

inmate started shaking, crying 

and laughing right there in the 

visiting room! 

“I believe God has called me 

to reach out to people and bring 

them out of darkness into His 

kingdom.” 

JL 

God’s presence was so powerful that 

the inmate started shaking, crying and 

laughing right there in the visiting room! 


Photo is not Ann

LOVE 

IS ALWAYS RELEVANT 

IF YOU want to sell a house in 

St Ann’s or are looking for a 

job you give the neighbouring, 

more up market district, Mapperley, 

as your postal address. 

The public’s perception of St 

Ann’s is, in fact, based on quite 

distorted impressions. Despite 

its reputation I love living in St 

Ann’s and working there as an 

adult literacy teacher. 

For a year Winston spent an 

hour with me each week so I 

could help him with his spelling 

and reading. We had such 

fun together as we laughed our 

way through the sessions and 

his warm-hearted humour and 

toothy grin cheered me in a 

dark time of my life. Every now 

and again after he left I would 

bump into him on my way to 

work and experience again his 

cheerful grin and hearty greeting 

as he gripped my hand and 

exclaimed, “Hello, my teacher!” 

Earlier this year I turned on 

Radio Nottingham to hear the 

morning news. I couldn’t believe 

it when I heard Winston’s 

name. He had been charged 

with shooting and wounding a 

man in a night club after a petty 

row and had been sent down 

for 30 years. I rushed out to buy 

a local paper. Was it was true? 

Sadly it was. A large picture was 

displayed of the most forlorn 


St Ann’s is the most deprived ward in Nottingham. 

It has an unenviable reputation for drug dealing and 

gun crime. Julia Faire tells some of its less wellknown 

stories – of love in the midst of adversity. 

pelled” or “constrained” by it 

(2 Corinthians 5:14.) This is the 

key: love. 

Love, God’s love poured 

through His people, is always 

relevant to people’s lives. 

Instinctively people know when 

they are loved. 

I am a white middle-aged 

woman from a middle class 

background – a teacher at that! 

Yet, I love to talk to some of the 

young black hoodied youths 

that hang out around St Ann’s. 

At first some of them have 

Winston I could have imagined, 

with his young, sad, black face 

and tortured eyes. 

Grief came over me. I kept 

looking at the picture (I still 

have it up on my wall.) Winston, 

why did you do it? 

I wrote to Winston. I didn’t 

condone him; it was a terrible 

thing he had done. I did 

encourage him to carry on with 

his spelling in prison. I told him 

I was praying for him. Winston 

wrote to me. He told me he had 

done a foolish thing. He was 

so grateful to hear from “his 

teacher”. He was doing “education” 

in prison. I wrote back. 

I told him that God is always, 

always the God of new starts 

(and encouraged him that I 

could see his spelling was really 

improving!) 

I can’t forget Winston. One 

day, one day, I pray he will come 

to know Jesus and experience 

God’s new start for himself. 

The message of Jesus must 

reach people like many who 

live in St Ann’s who have found 

themselves on the underside of 

life (the message which Jesus 

said was especially for the poor 

and the underprivileged.) Yet, 

words alone rarely communicate 

the gospel effectively. Paul 

spoke of the love of God that so 

filled him that he was “compocket 

to spare. Now he was 

a helpless addict himself, not 

only to drugs but drink as well, 

and had known spells of prison, 

street begging, homelessness 

and living in squats in St Ann’s. 

Tony kept coming and some 

friends of mine, Alan and Carol, 

took him into their home. He 

got baptised and on the advice 

of his key worker went away for 

10 months to a drug rehab. He 

wasn’t allowed to contact us. I 

had my doubts. Would we ever 

see Tony again? 

love crosses every 

human barrier 

looked at me a bit strange but 

after a while I have got a friendly 

greeting from them and a smile. 

Love, the love that comes 

from God through us, crosses 

every human barrier of race, 

age, gender and social difference. 

Love is always “relevant”. 

It is not just the young who will 

reach the young; it is not just 

the old who will reach the old or 

the white the white or the black 

the black. 

Tony first turned up at one 

of our church’s meetings with a 

friend. His friend was drunk and 

kept interrupting the speaker 

– making the meeting very 

“lively and interactive”! Tony sat 

attentive and after the meeting I 

went over to talk to him. 

He was living in a homeless hostel 

in the centre of town. Once 

he had known “better times,” 

being a drug runner to one of 

the biggest dealers in the town. 

Then he had had money in his 

After 10 months Tony returned 

to Nottingham. Gone 

was the impetuous restlessness 

of a young man with no 

roots. He steered away from 

his old haunts and abandoned 

his life of crime and addiction. 

He found himself a steady 

girlfriend, Tracey, who in time 

joined us too and was baptised. 

Tony had returned as a disciple. 

Love won Tony. But now his 

love wins others. At Firstfruits, 

our Christian community house 

in Nottingham, I am often 

greeted by this young man with 

a warm hug. 

The gospel has to be lived out 

in love, and lived out in such a 

way that people can see it. Like 

Jesus, it has to be lived out on 

the street, in the park, on the 

precinct, in the shop, at work, 

outside, inside one’s neighbour’s 

house. 

Love, just like Jesus, is always 

relevant. 

JL 

Some names have been changed 

www.jesus.org.uk

others 

Gideon and Jake 

unitedBrothers 

 

 

Clark have a vision to see 

young people in Norwich and 

East Anglia find the same 

life-changing encounter with 

Jesus that they both have. 



“I FOUND myself at the front on the last 

night of RAW. My friend prayed for me and I 

started crying – really crying and crying and 

crying. And he hugged me and I started crying 

again and he was crying too.” 

For 20-year-old Gideon Clark it was his 

breakthrough moment. RAW (Real and 

Wild) is a three-day Christian youth event 

first run by the Jesus Fellowship in Northampton 

in August. Gideon was just one of 

hundreds of young people who experienced 

God’s power there. Some had barely known 

anything about “God” or “church” before. 

Others had grown up in Christian families, 

but needed their own encounter with the 

reality of Jesus. 

Gideon – and his 18-year-old brother Jake 

– are definitely in the latter category. Their 

parents met in the early days of pioneering 

the Jesus Fellowship. In the ‘70s they had 

both been part of the then recently-started 

New Creation Farm in Northamptonshire. 

In the ‘80s, when the Jesus Fellowship 

spread to other areas, they moved to East 

Anglia to start a church there. They also 

started a family. The church grew – as did 

the family: Gideon and Jake are now the 

second and third of six children. 

Their childhood may be regarded by 

some as somewhat extraordinary: living in 

a large shared Christian community house 

with many different kinds of people. But as 

Gideon and Jake reminisce, their memories 

are not dissimilar to many other brothers. 

Gideon is the more reflective and careful 

of the two. He weighs his words as he 

speaks and describes himself as “a planner”. 

(His plan is to move to a Jesus Fellowship 

community in the Midlands after having 

completed his degree at the local university.) 

Jake is all eagerness and talks nineteen 

to the dozen about his enthusiasms most of 

which revolve around some of his friends 

who are finding God. 

Nevertheless, Gideon is clearly moved 

when he speaks about his experience at 

RAW: 

“It was deep and – unlike me. Tears and 

snotty nose just aren’t me! I wasn’t expecting 

to cry. I’d seen people have ‘shakyshaky, 

laughy-laughy, bouncy-bouncy’ 

experiences. That isn’t very ‘me’ either, but I 

guess I was open to something like that. But 

this was different. It was uncontrollable. 

“I thought about it a lot later. If God’s 

Spirit is inside you – His amazingly clean 

Spirit – if He touches you even the slightest 

bit, because human nature is so impure, 

you can’t help it – the slightest touch of God 

If God’s Spirit 

is inside you 

– His amazingly 

clean Spirit 

– if He touches 

you even 

the slightest 

bit, because 

human nature 

is so impure, 

you can’t 

help it – the 

slightest touch 

of God is just 

overpowering. 

is just overpowering.” 

Unlike Gideon who had always been 

“quietly interested” in faith (“quietly” until 

RAW that is), Jake has, characteristically, 

had a somewhat more colourful, zigzagging 

journey into belief. He describes – rather 

cautiously for Jake – a stage of “rebellion” 

he went through in his early teens before 

Gideon blurts out – rather incautiously for 

Gideon – “You were drinking at 12!” 

Around the age of 15, however, Jake was 

very affected when he saw, at close range, 

someone being powerfully freed by prayer 

from the oppression of an evil spirit. 

“It was the first time I’d really taken it in 

and saw it. Over the years I’d heard screaming 

and stuff in meetings sometimes, but I 

saw it and – wow. Something started to click 

and I started to feel like maybe I’ve got to 

start doing something about my own faith.” 

“Doing something” didn’t take long for 

Jake. Days later, in a Religious Studies lesson 

at school, he found himself telling his 

school friend, Perry, about what he’d seen. 

He also started to enjoy worshipping, learning 

the guitar in a matter of weeks so that he 

could sing Jesus songs. 

Most exciting of all for Jake, his friend 

Perry started coming to church with him 

and finding faith for himself. He shared 

Jake’s passion for music. 

“He really likes the ‘One way Jesus’ song, 

absolutely loves it,” bubbles Jake, adding 

“The first time I ever prayed for someone 

was when I prayed for Perry. It was really 

weird for me. I was laughing as I was 

praying; I kept my hand on his head and 

someone was with me saying ‘Yeah, that’s 

alright’”. Jake was learning how to be a 

Christian, an evangelist and a leader – all at 

once. 

Then at another large Jesus event, Jake, 

Perry and some other friends had a powerful 

experience of God when they were 

prayed for: 

“We went down like a ton of bricks. It was 

really powerful; there were about four of us 

there and we were shaking and there were 


www.jesus.org.uk

volts going through our hands” (presumably 

what Gideon described as a ‘shakyshaky, 

laughy-laughy, bouncy-bouncy’ 

experience). 

Now Gideon and Jake, together with 

Perry and others, are gathering quite a 

group of young people around them in 

Norwich. They call it “JA Youth”, modelled 

on a similar group in the JA “heartlands” of 

Northamptonshire. 

“It started off with about five or six of us 

a few years ago” says Gideon. “But now 

– Jacob’s a wild inspired boy, so it’s starting 

to fizz a bit more” he adds (with true modesty). 

“We have about 13 or 14 now” says Jake. 

“We’re going to do an event every month 

– we wanna get people from Yarmouth 

and Ipswich to come down. It’s gonna be 

a lot more.” Jake’s infectious enthusiasm 

bubbles over as he talks about his many 

dreams: a Jesus multi-media “play”, many 

young people getting on board, the vision 

of Christian community spreading (“Community 

houses – bang bang bang bang”). 

Gideon’s dreams are expressed more quietly 

but run just as deep: “I don’t want to 

complicate things. It’s just all about 

the church isn’t it?” 

He smiles. “It’s basically whatever 

God wants...” 

JL 

Gideon and Jake: 

their friends are 

always on their 

minds - and 

their wall 

modern Jesus army 

presents 

raw real and wild 

date: 

7-9 August 2008 

Venue: 

Jesus Centre, 

abington square 

northampton uk 


age limit: 15-35 

parental consent required 

for those under 18 

WINNING. 

THE WAR, THE LOST, 

WHATEVER THE COST. 

IT’S SERIOUS. IT’S TIME TO TURN THE TIDE; TO HEED THE 

CALL TO THE REALITY OF FOLLOWING JESUS IN THE UK 

TODAY. RAW 2008 WILL CALL YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE ALL OUT 

FOR JESUS IN THEIR GENERATION – WHATEVER THE COST. 

AT RAW 2007, HUNDREDS MET WITH THE “REAL JESUS” 

AND DISCOVERED “WILD CHURCH”. IN RAW 2008 WE’RE 

GOING ON – GOING WHERE ONLY JESUS CAN LEAD US: 

ONWARD AND UPWARD. NO HOLDING BACK. 

IT’S TIME TO TAKE UP THE CROSS. TO RIDE THE TIDE OF 

HOLY SPIRIT MOVEMENT. DON’T MISS IT. GET ALL YOUR 

MATES AND GET THERE. 

FOR INFO CHECK OUT 

WWW.JESUS.ORG.UK/RAW 

OR EMAIL: RAW@JESUS.ORG.UK 


RADICAL 

BITES #06 

Money talk 

Jesus taught that if you wanted His kingdom you’d have to get rid of 

everything else first (Matthew 13:44, Luke 14:33). 

PAUL WARNS us that the love of 

money is the root of all kinds of 

evil (1 Timothy 6:10). 

Scandalously, Paul’s words 

are often quoted by Christians 

for the wrong reasons. They 

use Paul to defend themselves 

against Jesus. “We mustn’t love 

money,” they say, “but we’ll 

still have plenty. Phew! That got 

Jesus out of the way”. 

Jesus, hammer-like, put it like 

this: “You’ll either love God and 

hate money, or the other way 

around. You choose” (a paraphrase 

of Matthew 6:24). Jesus 

says that if you love God you will 

hate money! This is less often 

quoted by Christians. 

Joe Average wouldn’t deny 

that he loves money. At least 

he’s honest. Most Christians 

guiltily deny that they love 

their cash and make up pretty 

excuses: “It’s all right to possess 

money, just don’t let it possess 

you”. Rather weak, this, 

compared with Jesus’ line on 

money which amounted to: 

“Get rid of it”. 

Money keeps two thirds of the 

world in poverty for a fat minority. 

Money causes murder, 

divorce, slander, selfishness. 

Money drives people to an early 

grave, promising happiness it 

never gives. Money brings out 

the ugly in people. Money kills. 

(And you love it, don’t you?) 

Stop ignoring Jesus. Why sing 

songs which decorate Him with 

titles while desecrating large 

sections of what he taught? 

The church in Acts, with its 

sharing of money, shows us the 

teachings of Jesus in practice 

(Acts 4:32-35). Money is 

“laid at the apostles’ feet” and 

channelled into the justice of 

providing for the needy in the 

community. It is surrendered 

“for the sake of the gospel” 

(Mark 10:29). 

There was an old nun who was 

asked to explain her vow of poverty, 

chastity and obedience. She 

replied, with a twinkle in her eye: 

“Got no money, got no man, do 

as I’m told!” I imagine she could 

look Jesus in the eye. 

JL 

HAVE YOUR SAY: email: info@jesus.org.uk 

Read the ebook at http://www.jesus.org.uk/ja/jgen_kingdommanifesto.pdf 

ALL FREE / ALL WELCOME / NO PREJUDICE 

008 

SATURDAY 23 FEB 

mJanationalEVENTS 

Info: Jesus Fellowship, FREEPOST, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3BR t: 0845 123 5550 e: info@jesus.org.uk www.jesus.org.uk/dates 

FRI 21 - MON 24 MAR 

SATURDAY 26 APR 

FRI 23 - MON 26 MAY 

UK JESUS 

CELEBRATION 

2.00pm & 6.00pm Cocks Moors 

Woods Leisure Centre, Alcester 

Road South, Kings Heath, 

BIRMINGHAM B14 6ER 

ALIVE 

FESTIVAL 

WEEKEND 

Giant Marquee, 

Cornhill Manor, Pattishall, 

NORTHAMPTON NN12 8LQ 

MEN ALIVE 

FOR GOD 

From 11.00am 

Jesus Centre, Abington Square, 

NORTHAMPTON NN1 4AE 

POWER 

FESTIVAL 

WEEKEND 

Giant Marquee, 

Cornhill Manor, Pattishall, 

NORTHAMPTON NN12 8LQ 

visit the mJa shop at: VIDEOS 

www.jesuspeople.biz 

MUSIC 

DVDS 

CROSSES 

BOOKS 

CLOTHING 


www.jesus.org.uk

ant & 

rave 

THERE 

rant 

evangelism 

rant 

Iysha Sutherland 

Under the shadow of our 

steeple, are all the lost and 

lonely people, 

Searching for the hope 

that’s tucked away in you 

and me... 

I HEARD these song lyrics 

the other day – they gave 

me feeling a sense of 

urgency to reach out to 

people through evangelism. 

I want to see churches 

in this country become 

more visible to the eye 

of the public: not church 

buildings, but church! The 

Boiling with rage and 

bubbling with excitement 

- Jesus Life hears 

from mJa members, 

Iysha Sutherland and 

Tschaka Roussel. 

people! A people who care. 

There are many people 

that are afraid to come to 

church, with the fear of 

being judged, being made 

not welcome or unable 

to fit in. We should reach 

out and meet them where 

they’re at. There’s a place 

for them in God’s people. 

Too many cosy Christians 

sit in central heated homes 

or churches, talking the 

talk, but missing the need 

on the other side of the 

front door. 

There’s no end of 

excuses: “I’m tired, had a 

busy week at work”; “I’ve 

got a cold”; “Don’t feel 

very Christian right now”... 

Every time my church 

gets out on the streets to 

share Jesus I have excuses 

in my mind. I often have 

to challenge myself (if no 

one else will). I ask myself, 

“Can God use me even 

though I’m tired? Even in 

the cold, or with a cold? 

Am I disciple of Jesus? 

Yes!” 

So get out there! Do it! 

No excuses. 

covenant 

IS something 

wonderfully beautiful about 

a people who are willing 

to put friendship above 

everything else. 

In our church, some 

of us choose to make 

a deliberate promise of 

friendship and commitment 

to each other and to God. 

We call it covenant. 

Making a covenant like 

this, with each other, is 

amazingly potent stuff 

because it means people 

will really choose to put 

others before themselves. 

Friendship is secured, fears 

are stilled, emotions are 

healed, paranoia stifled. 

When commitment 

like this takes place in a 

church, people are free to 

be themselves and discover 

who they were meant to 

be. No-one’s going to be 

dumped – we’re in it for the 

long haul. Love has its way. 

People commit to look out 

for each other –for good. 

Covenant commitment of 

this kind doesn’t start with 

us – it starts with God. 

This is perhaps best seen 

when Jesus sat round a 

table with His friends and 

told them “the meal we’re 

eating now, the bread and 

the wine, symbolises the 

life I’m going to share with 

you for ever. Even as this 

bread gets broken and the 

wine poured out so I’m 

going to pour out My life 

for you.” 

It’s a meal Christians 

have been sharing for 

thousands of years since 

He made that promise. It’s 

powerful. Just as Jesus laid 

JL 

down His life for us; we lay 

down our lives for Him and 

for each other. This means 

the death of selfishness, 

but, as Jesus said at that 

first famous meal: 

“My command is this: 

Love each other as I have 

loved you. Greater love has 

no one than this, that he lay 

down his life for his friends. 

You are my friends if you do 

what I command.” (John 

15:12-14) 

HAVE YOUR OWN 

RANT OR RAVE: 

www.jesus.org.uk/forum 



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