Editing Jesus Christians (section)

== History and controversy ==
They were founded in Australia in 1981 by Dave and Cherry McKay, and have a three-decade-long history of controversy documented extensively by the media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jesus Christians - Official Website - MEDIA|url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-page|website=jesuschristians.com|access-date=2020-05-12}}</ref> Their core beliefs are based on the teachings of Jesus<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Mission|url=https://jesuschristians.com/teachings-page/archived-articles/jesus-and-money/502-our-mission|website=jesuschristians.com|date=August 1982 |access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref> with special emphasis on his decree from the [[Sermon on the Mount]], that his followers "cannot serve both God and money".<ref>{{Citation|title=Jesus or Money| date=4 March 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjM0yTwY0-A |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/mjM0yTwY0-A |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-11}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=You Cannot Serve Three Masters|url=https://jesuschristians.com/teachings-page/recent-articles/recent-jesus-and-money/814-you-cannot-serve-two-masters|website=jesuschristians.com|date=12 September 2011 |access-date=2020-05-12}}</ref>

While they are often involved in [[volunteering]] and political [[activism]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sydney Morning Herald. |title=Big Fines The Last Straw for Rappville Christians in Sydney |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/early-days/free-work/769-big-fines-the-last-straw-for-rappville-christians-in-sydney |access-date=2020-05-11 |website=jesuschristians.com|date=22 May 1984 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dave McKay's The Worst of Woomera - part 1 |url=https://www.safecom.org.au/wow1.htm |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=www.safecom.org.au}}</ref> their principal activity is [[evangelism]], which they accomplish through the distribution of self-produced comics,<ref>[https://jesuschristians.com/comics comics]</ref> books,<ref>[https://jesuschristians.com/jc-books books]</ref> pamphlets, and DVDs, and via videos published on [[YouTube]] and other [[social media]]. The majority of their publications are written by their co-founder, Dave McKay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Books by Dave Mckay |url=https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/EndTimeMckay |access-date=2020-05-11 |website=Smashwords}}</ref><ref>Smith, Geraldine. ''The Jesus Christians -'' [https://wrldrels.org/2019/05/19/jesus-christians/ World Religions and Spirituality Project - Rituals and Practices]. 2019-05-25</ref> The videos on their YouTube channel, A Voice in the Desert, were originally narrated by Dave McKay, but have since been narrated by other members of the community.

In 2010, the group announced that they had "disbanded". There was an organizational restructuring that led to the formation of independent communities, operating under different names, which maintained an affiliation with each other and with mutual collaboration on some projects.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Geraldine|title=Voices In The Wilderness: An Ethnography of The Endtime Survivors - Chapter 2: Money burning, The Kidney Cult and YouTube charisma.|url=https://www.jesuschristians.com/images/PDF/Voices_in_the_Wilderness_An_Ethnography.pdf#page=43}}</ref> It was during this time period that some of the new communities began making YouTube videos as a way of disseminating their message.<ref name="smithvideos">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Geraldine |title=Voices in the Wilderness: An Ethnography of Endtime Survivors - The Third period - Making YouTube Videos |url=https://www.jesuschristians.com/images/PDF/Voices_in_the_Wilderness_An_Ethnography.pdf#page=45}}</ref>

In 2011, the community in South America launched a website, called Cómo Vivir Por Fe (How To Live By Faith) featuring Spanish translations of Jesus Christian material.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Como Vivir Por Fe |url=https://www.comovivirporfe.com/ |access-date= |website=Como Vivir Por Fe}}</ref> In 2015, they started producing evangelistic videos for a Spanish-language Youtube channel of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cómo Vivir Por Fe|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfLdrO9Oq7w-qy3sLZT9p5w|website=YouTube|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref> As of May 2023 the Cómo Vivir Por Fe YouTube channel has over 150,000 subscribers and over 11 million accumulated views on their videos.

In February 2016, some "disbanded" Jesus Christians collaborated to produce videos for the YouTube channel, End Time Survivors.<ref>{{Citation|title=End Time Survivors - Start Preparing for the Apocalypse!!| date=23 May 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7_6Rd48UBE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/h7_6Rd48UBE |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Videos on the End Time Survivors YouTube channel featured anonymous presenters who faces were digitally altered<ref>{{Citation|title=Interested in Alternative Living? Live Like the Early Church!| date=25 December 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPHZnoGWw0I |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/cPHZnoGWw0I |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=September 23 2017 and the YouTube False Prophets!!| date=8 September 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_7V95WCkys |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/m_7V95WCkys |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref> or concealed with a mask.<ref>{{Citation|title=Cockroaches for Christ - Learn to Survive the End Times!| date=15 September 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGYpvydrF_I |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/yGYpvydrF_I |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The only named presenter was "Brother Dave"<ref>{{Citation|title=Bro Dave Ch. #1 - When Will Jesus Return? - Apocalyptic Movie Commentary| date=29 May 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdihRNNBoRk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/WdihRNNBoRk |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref> who voiced the commentaries from the audio visual version of the Jesus Christian's apocalyptic novel, Survivors.<ref name="smithvideos" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Survivors |url=http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/359143 |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=Smashwords |language=en}}</ref> Members and non-members alike participated in narrating videos on this channel.<ref>{{Citation|title=TOP PRIORITY—THE MARK— DON'T MISS IT!| date=9 August 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-T1ql08HF4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/z-T1ql08HF4 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=End Time Survivors is a Worldwide Movement! Help Us by Contributing Subtitles!| date=14 June 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCtOT_GgDjs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/qCtOT_GgDjs |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref> An accompanying website of the same name was also created in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=End Time Survivors|url=https://endtimesurvivors.com/|website=endtimesurvivors.com|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref><ref name="smithvideos" />

The YouTube channel, 'A Voice in the Desert'<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGK3xwxFRFvYyXAtDBShlMQ A Voice in the Desert]</ref> was created in October 2016. It features sermons on a broad range of Christian topics usually delivered by Dave McKay.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Most HATED of All Jesus' Teachings| date=9 February 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOc4vb0lvPs|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=What You Need to Know About AI and the Mark of the Beast| date=30 April 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaHAC3W5NhU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/uaHAC3W5NhU |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-05-11}}{{cbignore}}</ref> As of May 2023, A Voice in the Desert has over 140,000 subscribers and close to 13 million accumulated views.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Voice In The Desert |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGK3xwxFRFvYyXAtDBShlMQ |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=YouTube}}</ref> The group, which had been limited to about 30 members worldwide, reported a dramatic increase in numbers after starting its video ministry in 2016.<ref name="smithvideos" />

In 2019, the group was profiled for inclusion in the [[World Religions and Spirituality Project]],<ref>[https://wrldrels.org/2019/05/19/jesus-christians/ World Religions and Spirituality Project] 2019-06-24</ref> which provides independent academic insight into the group, its beliefs, and history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Results for "jesus christians" – WRSP |url=https://wrldrels.org/?s=jesus+christians |access-date=2023-05-16 |language=en}}</ref>

The history and activities of the Jesus Christians over the years have been extensively documented by both the group and the mainstream media, attracting both positive and negative attention. Some older newspaper articles were reproduced on the group's website, and where these are used below this is noted in the references.

===Early days===

The group was started in [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]], by Dave and Cherry McKay when Neville Williams moved in with the McKay family in early 1981.<ref>{{cite web|title=JC History 1981-1996|url=http://jesuschristians.com/early-days/706-jc-history-1981-1996|publisher=Jesus Christians|accessdate=6 June 2013}}</ref> David McKay was a former associate of the [[Family International|Children of God]] but cut ties with the group following the revelation of heretical practices such as [[Flirty Fishing|flirty fishing]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Global Contemporary Christianity Movements, Institutions, and Allegiance|last=Barker|first=Eileen|publisher=Brill|year=2016|isbn=9789004310780|pages=414–415|chapter=From the Children of God to the Family International - A Story of Radical Christianity and De-Radicalising Transformation|quote=Another schism, the Jesus Christians, was founded in Australia in 1981 by Dave MacKay (1944– ) following disagreements over practices such as flirty fishing.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Thesis on The Jesus Christian Movement - An Academic Review: The Influence of the Counter-Cult Movement|url=https://www.jesuschristians.com/images/PDF/Voices_in_the_Wilderness_An_Ethnography.pdf#page=39|last=Smith|website=jesuschristians.com|access-date=2025-05-07}}</ref> The Jesus Christians operated under several names, including Christians, The Medowie Christian Volunteers, Australian Christian Volunteers, and Voices in the Wilderness. The name 'Jesus Christians' was selected in 1996. ("A Change of Name", August, 1996)<ref>[https://jesuschristians.com/teachings-page/archived-articles/jesus-and-money/516-a-change-of-name A Change of Name]. Article from The Jesus Christian's website</ref>

====Free Work====
In 1983, Australian media followed members of the community who offered to do free work for one day for any family or business which requested their assistance.<ref name="Excommunicated">{{cite web|title=Excommunicated|url=http://jesuschristians.com/JC/Library/EXCOMM/chap5.html|publisher=Jesus Christians|accessdate=24 May 2013|archive-date=11 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911092823/http://jesuschristians.com/JC/Library/EXCOMM/chap5.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Money Burning====
In 1984, group member Boyd Ellery was sentenced to three months prison in [[Sydney]] for burning an Australian dollar note in a statement about trusting God and not money. The protest was broadcast on national television by [[Mike Willesee|Mike Willisee]].<ref name="Excommunicated"/>

====Messages With Money====
In January 1985, the group glued Australian $2 notes to pavements to spell out messages against greed and money outside post offices around [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] and [[New South Wales]].<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news|last1=Hall|first1=Sarah|last2=Vasagar|first2=Jeevan|last3=Bates|first3=Stephen|date=28 July 2000|title=Boy Camped with Cult as Hunt Went On|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jul/28/sarahhall.jeevanvasagar|accessdate=28 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://jesuschristians.com/early-days/706-jc-history-1981-1996|title=Jesus Christians history|website=jesuschristians.com|publisher=Jesus Christians}}</ref>

Christian messages also appeared written on a claimed AUS$100,000 worth of $2 notes in Sydney. The group claimed that as a result the federal police confiscated their mail until the [[NSW Council for Civil Liberties]] intervened.<ref>{{cite web|title=JC History 1981-1986|url=http://jesuschristians.com/early-days/706-jc-history-1981-1996|publisher=Jesus Christians|accessdate=28 May 2013}}</ref>

====Nullarbor Walk====

[[File:Nullabor-Walkers.gif|thumb|Nullarbor Walkers clockwise from top left: Gary McKay, Robin Dunn, Roland Gianstefani, Christine McKay, Dane Frick, Malcolm Wrest, Rachel Sukamaran]]

In May and June 1985, six of the youngest members of the community, 12-year-old Rachel Sukamaran, Malcolm Wrest, Roland Gianstefani, Robin Dunn, and Gary McKay, headed by 15-year-old Christine McKay, walked 1,000 miles across the [[Nullarbor Plain|Nullarbor Desert]] in the interior of Australia<ref>{{Cite web|last=ABC|first=News|date=28 September 2019|title=Walk across the Nullarbor (1985)|url=https://www.facebook.com/abcnews.au/videos/495414464572263/|access-date=|website=ABC FaceBook}}</ref> without taking any money, provisions, or support vehicle for their journey, prompting controversy and media interest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Walkers Begged Say Locals|url=http://jesuschristians.com/early-dayswalk-of-faith/772-walkers-begged-say-locals|publisher=Jesus Christians|accessdate=24 May 2013|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222184621/http://jesuschristians.com/early-dayswalk-of-faith/772-walkers-begged-say-locals|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=***** Seven Christian walkers - including girls of 12 and 15 - walk... |url=https://www.gettyimages.com.mx/detail/fotograf%C3%ADa-de-noticias/seven-christian-walkers-including-girls-fotograf%C3%ADa-de-noticias/1081590678 |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=Getty Images |date=12 December 2018 |language=es}}</ref> A book based on the diaries of the Nullarbor Walkers was published in 1985 by [[John Sands (company)|John Sands]], shortly after the walk was completed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=9780958932707: Without Thought for Food or Clothing - AbeBooks: 0958932700|url=https://www.abebooks.com/9780958932707/Thought-Food-Clothing-0958932700/plp|access-date=2021-01-06|website=www.abebooks.com|language=en}}</ref> An Easy English version of the diaries was later published by New Century Book House (India)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walk of Faith|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/85736922-walk-of-faith|access-date=2021-01-06|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref> and [[Smashwords]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walk of Faith, an Ebook by Dave Mckay|url=http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/952588|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Smashwords|language=en}}</ref>

====Fall of America Prophecy====
In 1990, members of the group travelled to the United States to hand out 290,000 booklets entitled "The Fall of America".<ref>"[https://www.jesuschristians.com/jc-books/127-the-fall-of-america/945-the-fall-of-america The Fall of America]"</ref> prophesying America's destruction. They wore T-shirts with an [[Upside-down American flag|upside down American flag]] (as a symbol of distress) and the caption "Pride Goeth Before a Fall".<ref>{{cite web|title=Modern-Day Jeremiahs at Target Zero|url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/early-days/other-campaigns/678-modern-day-jeremiahs-at-target-zero|accessdate=24 May 2013|publisher=Jesus Christians}}</ref>

====India====
In 1994, Rob and Christine Dunn, Gary, Dave and Cherry McKay, Ross Parry, Rachel Sukamaran,Paul, Craig, Kevin, Rols, Sue, Sinni, Liz, Boyd, Chris, Roshini, and Sheri were among Jesus Christian members who voluntarily cleaned sewers and toilets in India.<ref>{{cite web|last=McGirk|first=Tim|title=New Untouchables in Madras Sewers (reproduced on the JC website)|url=http://jesuschristians.com/early-daysvision-2000/276-new-untouchables-in-madras-sewers|publisher=The Age|date=26 June 1994}}</ref> After one protest, where members stood in the sewer for a week to draw attention to the filth that spread disease, Craig Hendry contracted [[Typhoid fever|typhoid]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Australians find Godliness in Latrines and Sewers of Madras|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australians-find-godliness-in-latrines-and-sewers-of-madras-1425042.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australians-find-godliness-in-latrines-and-sewers-of-madras-1425042.html |archive-date=2022-06-08 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Independent|accessdate=24 May 2013|location=London|first=Tim|last=Mcgirk|date=26 June 1994}}</ref>

In 1995, the Jesus Christians converted a section of open sewer in [[Chennai]] into a children's playground. The real estate created by covering the sewer was estimated to be worth AUD $950,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Australians Good Intentions Drowned in an Indian Cesspit|url=http://newsstore.smh.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&kw=Craig+Hendry&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=news950227_0107_8952|accessdate=17 June 2013|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=27 February 1995}}</ref> After one year, the project was handed over to Indian charities to run; However the Indian government eventually demolished the site because it had been built on government land without permission.

====Nappy Chappies / Children of God====
In April 1997 and 1998, several Jesus Christians were arrested at the [[Sydney Royal Easter Show|Royal Easter Show]] in Sydney dressed as babies in over-sized [[Diaper|nappies]] while distributing "The Baby Books", highlighting how Jesus said his followers need to become like children to enter into God's Kingdom. The introduction of the books stated "We are children of God",<ref>{{cite web|title=The Baby Books|url=http://jesuschristians.com/JC/Library/BB1/BB1.html|publisher=Jesus Christians|accessdate=28 May 2013|archive-date=1 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301104148/http://jesuschristians.com/JC/Library/BB1/BB1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> which led to confusion about the group being the same as the [[Family International|Children of God]] group started by [[David Berg]]. This continuing confusion can be seen in a 2013 article which uses a photograph of the "Nappy Chappies" labelled as the Children of God.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/children-snatched-from-their-homes-in-dramatic-raids-on-the-children-of-god-sect-in-1990s-trials/story-fnat7jnn-1226590249796|title=Children snatched from their homes in dramatic raids on the Children of God sect in 1990s trials|last=Hunt|first=Elissa|publisher=Herald Sun|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602174119/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/children-snatched-from-their-homes-in-dramatic-raids-on-the-children-of-god-sect-in-1990s-trials/story-fnat7jnn-1226590249796|archive-date=2 June 2016|accessdate=17 June 2013}}</ref>

====Split====
In 1998, there was a split in the community. Craig and Yesamma Hendry and their family, Kevin and Elisabeth McKay, Boyd and Sheri Ellery and their family, Darren and Donna Cooke, Ray Sippel, Josh, and Tim left the community in Australia. Boyd wrote to the remaining community "The Spirit you are following is not Christ's. We will have no part of your hierarchies and fleshly importance."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Strong Meat, A Collection of forty essays for mature Jesus Christians|last=McKay|first=Dave|publisher=Jesus Christians|year=2003|location=Repromen, Chennai, South India|page=156|chapter=29. The Split}}</ref> The remaining community were "encouraged to avoid private correspondence or discussions with them..."<ref name="The Split article'">{{Cite web|last=Dave|year=2000|title=The Split|url=https://www.jesuschristians.com/teachings-page/archived-articles/strong-meat/734-the-split|access-date=2021-01-06|website=www.jesuschristians.com|at=Paragraph 25-28|language=en-gb}}</ref>

====Kyri and Berni Sheridan====
In July 1999, 19-year-old Kyri Sheridan joined the Jesus Christians in the UK. His mother reported him missing to the Guildford Police in [[Surrey]]. Kyri presented himself at the Guildford police station to state that he was not actually "missing". The police confirmed Kyri was happy and making his own decision to be with the Jesus Christians. When his mother held Kyri to stop him from leaving, she was pinned down, handcuffed, and arrested by the police.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/82096_mother_slates_police_for_not_preventing_her_son_going_off_with_religious_cult|title=Mother Slates Police for not Preventing Son Going off with Religious Cult|publisher=Get Reading News|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130423110551/http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/82096_mother_slates_police_for_not_preventing_her_son_going_off_with_religious_cult|archivedate=23 April 2013|accessdate=17 June 2013}}</ref> This incident led to the first media report about the group in the UK, featuring comments from [[Graham Baldwin]] and labelling the group as a "cult".<ref>{{cite web |last1=McVeigh |first1=Tracy |title=Mother's crusade to rescue son from clutches of evil cult |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/903994969/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Express |access-date=9 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250107000000/https://www.newspapers.com/image/903994969/ |archive-date=2025-01-07 |date=12 July 1999}} [https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/the-kyri-saga/1371-mother-s-crusade-to-rescue-son-from-clutches-of-evil-cult Alt URL]</ref>

===2000-2010===
[[File:Bobby Kelly and Roland and Sue Gianstefani.jpg|thumb|Bobby Kelly (left) caused a British tabloid media frenzy by "disappearing" with the religious group "Jesus Christians" in June 2000 as a teenager. 17 years later Bobby poses with friends Roland and Sue Gianstefani who were convicted of contempt for refusing to reveal his whereabouts to a High Court judge.]]

====Bobby Kelly Controversy====
On 14 July 2000 the group was splashed across the front page of the British tabloid [[Daily Express]], which declared that members Susan and Roland Gianstefani had [[kidnap]]ped a 16-year-old boy, Bobby Kelly.<ref name="guardian.co.uk" /> Bobby had picked up a Jesus Christians cartoon book called ''The Liberator'' in Romford High Street, [[Essex]] near the end of June 2000,<ref name="The Daily Telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1350630/Police-find-sect-boy-at-woodland-camp.html|title=Police Find Sect Boy at Woodland Camp|last1=Pook|first1=Sally|date=28 July 2000|accessdate=12 December 2017|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|quote=A teenager who vanished a month ago with a religious sect was found yesterday with two of its members in a tent in Hampshire.}}</ref> and gone home to tell his grandmother about the Christian man he met. Bobby went out again that afternoon and returned to tell his grandmother he wanted to join the Jesus Christians. A few days later, "an Australian couple with their young son, a German, and two English men" from the group visited and met Bobby's grandmother.<ref name="Cult Kidnaps Boy Aged 16">{{cite news|last1=Hendry|first1=Alex|title=Cult Kidnaps Boy Aged 16|url=http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=464&Itemid=8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523125908/http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=464&Itemid=8|url-status=dead|accessdate=15 December 2017|publisher=Express Newspaper|date=July 14, 2000|archivedate=23 May 2015}}</ref> In the first two weeks of July, while Bobby was with the group and before the scandal had hit the headlines, Bobby visited his youth worker from St. Peters Anglican Church in [[Harold Wood]]. He had previously attended that church. The youth worker, David Whitehouse, told the press a week later, "The group has a veneer of respectability, but there is something very disturbing about them. When I saw Bobby a week ago, he was with three of them, and he seemed very scared, which was unlike him".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hendry|first1=Alex|title=Cult Kidnaps Boy Aged 16|url=http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=464&Itemid=8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523125908/http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=464&Itemid=8|url-status=dead|accessdate=15 December 2017|publisher=Express Newspaper|date=July 14, 2000|archivedate=23 May 2015|quote=David Whitehouse, a youth worker at St Peter's Church in Harold Wood, Essex, which Bobby attended, said: "He is a typical cheeky teenager and will talk to anybody and that's what happened here. This group has a veneer of respectability but there is something very disturbing about them. When I saw Bobby a week ago he was with three of them and he seemed very scared, which was unlike him."}}</ref>

Sometime before July 14, David Whitehouse, "the family friend who helped set up the rescue effort", and "who suspected that something was wrong, and did something to try to save him" had been in contact with anti-cult "exit-counseller" [[Graham Baldwin]], described in the media as Whitehouse's friend.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hendry |first1=Alex |title=Cult Leader Defies Bid To Track Down Bobby |url=https://culteducation.com/group/1001-the-jesus-christians/10715-cult-leader-defies-bid-to-track-down-bobby-.html |publisher=The Daily Express |access-date=25 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712152610/https://culteducation.com/group/1001-the-jesus-christians/10715-cult-leader-defies-bid-to-track-down-bobby-.html |archive-date=12 July 2014 |date=15 July 2000 |quote=David Whitehouse, the family friend who helped set up the rescue effort}}</ref><ref name="Cult Kidnaps Boy Aged 16" /><ref name="Whitehouse Baldwin Kirby">{{cite news |last1=Mullins |first1=Andrew |title=Police find boy hiding with sect in forest |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/police-find-boy-hiding-with-sectin-forest-707063.html |access-date=25 February 2025 |work=The Independent |date=28 July 2000 |quote=Mrs Kelly was advised by David Whitehouse, a pastor at St Peter's Church in Romford where the Kellys live... Mr Whitehouse is a friend of Graham Baldwin, of Catalyst, a charity that counsels people who have left cults. They put the pastor in contact with solicitors Kirby & Co of Wimbledon, who began moves to have Bobby made a ward of court.}}</ref> Baldwin formed and directs the charity Catalyst, which helps families of people involved in groups labelled as "cults". Baldwin put Whitehouse in contact with Clare Kirby, a [[solicitor]] who "specialises in cases against cults", and who has worked with Baldwin in other cases.<ref name="Cult Kidnaps Boy Aged 16" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirby |first1=Clare |title=Notable Reported Cases and Media |url=https://www.peacock-law.co.uk/team/clare-kirby/ |website=Peacock & Co Solicitors |access-date=25 February 2025}}</ref> They then began moves to advise Bobby Kelly's grandmother to have Bobby made a [[Ward (law)|ward of the court]].<ref name="Whitehouse Baldwin Kirby" /> Graham Baldwin also advised David Whitehouse to give Bobby Kelly the impression that everything was normal until the solicitor succeeded in getting the emergency High Court action to try to "rescue the schoolboy".<ref name="Whitehouse Secrecy">{{cite news |title=Cult link youth may be abroad |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12184037.cult-link-youth-may-be-abroad/ |access-date=25 February 2025 |work=The Herald Scotland |date=14 July 2000 |quote=I had been in contact with a group which helps those taken in by cults before the meeting and been advised to keep things as normal as possible. Until Bobby had been made a ward of court, it was important to keep in contact as this group has a record for just going underground.}}</ref><ref name="Cult Kidnaps Boy Aged 16"/> Neither Bobby Kelly's grandmother nor any other relative or friend told him to come back home nor that there was an issue with him being with the Jesus Christians "until it was all in the newspapers".<ref>{{cite news |author1=Jon Ronson |title=I wasn't Brainwashed but Enlightened |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/726967526/ |access-date=25 February 2025 |work=Evening Standard |agency=Newspapers.com |date=13 October 2000 |page=116 |quote=My nan didn't tell me she wanted me back until it was all in the newspapers}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Exclusive Bobby Kelly Interview |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd6izd?start=389 |website=Dailymotion |access-date=25 February 2025 |date=4 May 2010 |format=Video |quote=At not one point did she or anyone, absolutely anyone, no family member or her or anyone or even a friend, suggest to me that I needed to come back or said 'we want you to come home' or 'we're scared that you're spending time with a religious cult'... if someone had told me that there was an issue or suggested that I come home, I would have come home.}}</ref> 

The front page newspaper report in ''The Express'' was published two weeks after Bobby first met the Jesus Christians with the story that Bobby had "disappeared" after he met the group: "Within hours Bobby had forsaken his possessions and moved in with the group. The police were called and the airports and docks were put on the highest alert".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ronson|first1=Jon|title=Lost at Sea, The Jon Ronson Mysteries|date=2013|publisher=Pan Macmillan|location=Part Five, Blood Sacrifice|isbn=9781447246039|page=313|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDlEpTj8iNIC&q=cult+kidnaps+boy+age+16+Jesus+Christians+bobby+kelly&pg=PA313|accessdate=7 December 2017}}</ref> After ''The Express'' broke the story, instead of handing the boy over to the police, the Jesus Christians with Bobby "in tow", panicked and went "on the run".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jon Ronson |title=Lost at sea: the Jon Ronson mysteries. |date=2012 |publisher=Picador |isbn=978-1-4472-6471-2 |page=335 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBjYCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 |quote=There was an emergency High Court action to 'rescue' the boy, which led to Bobby's photo being circulated. That's when the Jesus Christians panicked and went on the run, with Bobby in tow.}}</ref> The UK Jesus Christians became fugitives for two weeks.

When the Jesus Christians could not be found in the nationwide search, and when Bobby started doing telephone interviews with the media declaring that he had not been kidnapped,<ref>{{cite news|title=Boy speaks out for sect|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/852109.stm|publisher=BBC News|access-date=18 May 2013|date=26 July 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Radio Interview with Bobby Kelly |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/cult-kidnap-boy/television-and-radio-clips/614-bbc-radio-interview-with-bobby-kelly |website=Jesus Christians |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> an emergency court ruling was made banning the broadcast of interviews with Bobby or the group, which the BBC successfully challenged, considering it to be a case of "extreme censorship".<ref>{{cite news|title=BBC barred over cult boy footage|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/838861.stm|publisher=BBC News | date=18 July 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Rod Liddle |title=Free to report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/jul/31/broadcasting.mondaymediasection1 |work=The Guardian |date=31 July 2000 |quote=This was, in our view, an extreme case of censorship. While Jesus Christians were allegedly in contempt of court for not having disclosed the whereabouts of Bobby Kelly, the organisation was not illegal nor a force for evil deserving a restriction of its members' civil rights. Why should they be deprived of free speech?}}</ref> 

Bobby was eventually located hiding out with two Jesus Christian men, including Reinhard Zeuner, in a [[Hampshire]] forest,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pook|first1=Sally|title=Police Find Sect Boy at Woodland Camp|url=http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=467&Itemid=8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107120255/http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=467&Itemid=8|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2011|accessdate=12 December 2017|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=28 July 2000|quote=A teenager who vanished a month ago with a religious sect was found yesterday with two of its members in a tent in Hampshire. The threesome had earlier spent 10 days staying on an official camp site at the Basingstoke Canal Visitors' Centre. The man who booked in said he was Reinhardt Zenner.}}</ref> and placed in a [[Foster care|foster home]]. No members of the Jesus Christians were charged with kidnapping but a charge of [[contempt of court]] (for failing to answer questions from the High Court judge) resulted in six-month sentences for Susan and Roland Gianstefani. The solicitor for the Gianstefani's told the court that the Gianstefani's feared Bobby might be subjected to the [[deprogramming]] of his religious beliefs if they had revealed his whereabouts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cult Pair Freed after Bobby Plea|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/853876.stm|website=BBC World Services|publisher=BBC|access-date=17 December 2017|date=27 July 2000|quote=Mr Bain told the judge that Mr and Mrs Gianstefani feared Bobby might be subjected to the deprogramming of his religious beliefs if they had revealed his whereabouts.}}</ref> Minutes before the Gianstefanis were due to be sentenced, Bobby, who was kept in a separate room at the High Court, sent a note to the judge through the representative of the Official Solicitor saying that the Gianstefani's had acted nobly and they feared he (Bobby) might be subjected to the deprogramming of his religious beliefs if they had revealed his whereabouts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cult Pair Freed after Bobby Plea|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/853876.stm|website=BBC World Services|publisher=BBC|access-date=17 December 2017|date=27 July 2000|quote=In his statement the teenager said the couple were acting "nobly" because they did not want a cult [[Deprogramming|deprogrammer]] to "get his hands on me"}}</ref> Bobby said: "I hope they don't get into trouble. They were willing to go to prison for me".<ref name="The Daily Telegraph"/> The Gianstefanis' sentences were suspended after Bobby had pleaded with the judge in their defence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cult pair freed after Bobby plea|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/853876.stm|publisher=BBC News|access-date=18 May 2013|date=27 July 2000}}</ref>

In 2003, [[Jon Ronson]], briefly interviewed Bobby Kelly about his alleged abduction, in his [[Channel 4]] documentary ''Kidneys for Jesus''.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Kidney's for Jesus |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989014/ |website=imdb |publisher=World of Wonder Productions |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> Bobby clearly states, "I definitely wasn't kidnapped..." and that media coverage about the alleged kidnapping was "absolutely stupid, and silly, and just, over the top big time".<ref name=":0" />

In May 2010, the Jesus Christians interviewed Bobby Kelly personally. Bobby explains in detail what happened while he was visiting with the Jesus Christians, the lies that were told to his grandmother to convince her to sign over her guardianship for him to become a ward of court, and the effect the lies, and living with a foster family with restricted access to his grandmother, had on his life over the next years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exclusive Bobby Kelly Interview |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd6izd |website=Dailymotion |date=4 May 2010 |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>

In October 2017 Roland and Susan Gianstefani had a live radio interview with Bobby Kelly on a Welsh radio station where they discussed their life and the controversies they were involved in when they were a part of the Jesus Christians community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radiobronglais.cymru/en/interviews/interview-with-activists-roland-and-sue-gianstefani/|title=Interview with activists Roland and Sue Gianstefani (32:10)|publisher=RBFM live|accessdate=17 December 2017}}</ref>

====Kidney Donations====
As of 2024 around thirty Jesus Christian members have altruistically donated a kidney, thus earning them the nickname 'the kidney cult'.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/kidney-cult-accused-of-pressuring-donor/2007/06/04/1180809387667.html Hospital refuses to accept kidney - National]. smh.com.au. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.</ref>

In January 2003, [[Jon Ronson]]'s documentary, ''Kidneys for Jesus'', aired on [[Channel 4]] in the UK. After an invitation from Dave McKay, Jon Ronson followed the group over a year as they attempted to donate their kidneys to strangers in the UK and the US. The successful donations of members Casey Crouch, Robin Dunn and Susan Gianstefani are featured.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ronson|first=Jon|title=Blood Sacrifice|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/apr/06/weekend.jonronson|newspaper=The Guardian|accessdate=18 May 2013|location=London|date=6 April 2002}}</ref> The film also documents the tension that arose between Ronson and McKay during filming: McKay became increasingly concerned that Ronson was portraying the Jesus Christians in a poor light and Ronson was concerned about McKay's ideas to try to manipulate a media storm around the donations as well as his role in the decisions made by members to donate kidneys.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ronson|first=Jon|title=Blood Sacrifice (part 2)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/apr/06/weekend.jonronson1|newspaper=The Guardian|accessdate=18 May 2013|location=London|date=6 April 2002}}</ref>

In 2004, the group made headlines in Australia when David McKay revealed that members in Australia had lied to health authorities in order to be able to donate their kidneys.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cult push for Living Sacrifices|url=http://wwrn.org/articles/12892/?&place=australia&section=other-nrms}}</ref><ref name="abc.net.au">{{cite web|title=ABC The Religion Report, full transcript|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=2 August 2005|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionreport/full-transcipt/3363172#transcript|accessdate=24 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403000000/http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionreport/full-transcipt/3363172#transcript|archive-date=2015-04-03|url-status=dead}} [https://www.jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/kenyan-kidnapping-charges/video-radio-kenya-kidnapping/623-abc-radio-interview-about-kenyan-kidnapping-charges Alt URL]</ref>

In June 2007, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s ''[[Australian Story]]'' broadcast the first of a two-part report on Ash Falkingham's fight for his right to donate a kidney to a stranger.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ash's Anatomy |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/kidneys/australian-story-report/abc-australian-story/686-ashs-anatomy |publisher=ABC Australia |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> The documentary, "Ash's Anatomy",<ref>{{cite web |title=Ash's Anatomy |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-06-04/ashs-anatomy/9173534 |website=ABC |date=3 June 2007 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Commission |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> covers the attempts of his parents to thwart his attempts to donate a kidney. The follow-up report, "Body and Soul", broadcast in June 2008<ref>{{cite web |title=Body and Soul |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/kidneys/australian-story-report/abc-australian-story/687-body-and-soul-videos-and-transcript |website=jesuschristians.com |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Commission |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref><ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/austory/body-and-soul/9173210 Australian Story :: Body And Soul]. Abc.net.au (2010-02-08). Retrieved on 2010-11-26.</ref> follows Ash's continued attempt, and his final success, at donating his kidney. Ash left the community shortly after donating to work restoring bicycles for a charity.

====Kenya Abduction Charges====

[[File:James Montagu and Barry Mendez campaigning outside the Kenyan High Comission in London for the abduction charges against fellow Jesus Christians Roland and Susan Gianstefani to be dropped. July 2005.jpg|thumb|Jesus Christians James Montagu and Barry Mendez campaigning outside the Kenyan High Commission in London in July 2005 for the charges against Roland and Susan Gianstefani to be dropped]]
In 2005, a charge of abduction was made against Roland and Susan Gianstefani in Kenya, this time by the father of a 27-year-old single mother Betty Njoroge, who had joined the community with her 7-year-old son. The woman released a video on the group's website declaring that she and her son had not been kidnapped and that her father was responsible for the case being pursued as he wanted custody of her son.<ref>{{cite web|title=Betty's Video Statement|url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/kenyan-kidnapping-charges/video-radio-kenya-kidnapping/622-bettys-video-statement|publisher=Jesus Christians}}</ref> Roland Gianstefani was arrested, questioned by police, and held for several days without charge until the Australian embassy insisted he be charged or released.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cult member held over woman's 'abduction'|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/cult-member-held-over-womans-abduction/2005/06/27/1119724574085.html|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald | date=27 June 2005}}</ref> Roland and his wife Susan were charged<ref>{{cite news|title=Australian cult member arrested in Kenya|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/australian-cult-member-arrested-in-kenya/2005/07/19/1121538962645.html|publisher=The Age|accessdate=19 May 2013|location=Melbourne|date=19 July 2005}}</ref> and Roland was held in a remand prison in [[Nairobi]] until 600,000 [[Kenyan shilling]]s bail was paid.<ref>{{cite news|title=Second Kenya arrest over 'abduction'|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Second-Kenya-arrest-over-abduction/2005/07/19/1121538962637.html|publisher=The Age | location=Melbourne|date=19 July 2005}}</ref> The charges against him and Susan were dropped when Betty Njoroge appeared in court and presented an [[affidavit]] confirming she was acting of her own free will.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2005/09/02/Sect-members-cleared-of-kidnap-charges/54151125656680/?ur3=1|title=Sect members cleared of kidnap charges in Kenya|date=September 2, 2005|publisher=UPI News Online|accessdate=28 October 2019}}</ref> Roland contracted [[tuberculosis]] in prison and Susan, who had earlier told the media that she and her husband would never stoop to bribery,<ref name="abc.net.au"/> not even to save their lives, claimed she had to resort to bribery to get basic amenities provided for Roland from the prison guards.<ref>{{cite web|last=Giles|first=Tanya|title=Cult Aussie can't post bail|url=http://wwrn.org/articles/17746/|publisher=Herald Sun|accessdate=19 May 2013}}</ref>

====Californian Whipping Trial====

[[File:Joseph Johnson Jesus Christian.jpg|thumb|Jesus Christian, Joseph Johnson, South London, 2006]]

In October 2006, Jesus Christians in the United States, along with Dave and Cherry McKay, held a mock trial in [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], [[California]] where they charged the parents and two brothers of one of their members, Joseph Johnson, with attempted murder and with aiding and abetting others in doing this. It followed an attack on one of their members, Reinhard Zeuner, in which he received a fractured spine, bleeding on the brain, broken teeth, and numerous cuts to the head and face. An amateur video was made of the attack<ref name=":1">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cemriEzDiQk Christian Bashing Covered up by Police]. YouTube. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.</ref> but the police never prosecuted the case. Although the family did not attend the trial, various sentences of 5–25 lashes of the whip were carried out on volunteers from the Jesus Christians themselves, as an attempt to illustrate their understanding of the cross of Christ. "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner", they said, in an effort to summarize what they were doing. ("The Trial")<ref>[https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/the-whipping-trial The Trial]. jesuschristians.com (Media section) Updated on 2019-10-28.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Whipping Trials |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrHDDNHZGM0&t=180s |website=A Voice in the Desert Exposed! |publisher=YouTube |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref>

====''The Jeremy Kyle Show''====
On 11 December 2007, Dave and Cherry McKay and Roland and Susan Gianstefani were interviewed on stage as part of a two-day feature on religious cults on the UK television programme ''[[The Jeremy Kyle Show]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcd442|title=The Jeremy Kyle Show - Cults or Religious Groups? - Part 1 - video dailymotion|website=Dailymotion|date=25 February 2010|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref> The show attempted to link the Jesus Christians with such groups as [[Jim Jones]]' [[People's Temple]] and the Children of God. Dave, Cherry, Roland, and Sue were questioned by [[Jeremy Kyle]] and opponents of David McKay. At one point, due to the nature of the questioning, Dave McKay refused to reply to any more questions and walked out of the interview, then returned to say "Just let them do their thing".

====Freeganism and ''Wife Swap'' Show====

In February 2008, Roland, Susan, and Daniel Gianstefani were featured on the Channel 4 program ''[[Wife Swap (UK TV series)|Wife Swap]]'',<ref>[http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/W/wifeswap/episodes_s9_1.html Wife Swap]. Channel 4 (2009-05-14). Retrieved on 2010-11-26.</ref> where [[freegan]] Susan went to live with the millionaire family of an IT consultant.

====Gianstefanis Leave====
In August 2010, long term members Roland, Susan, and Daniel Gianstefani left the community after "numerous tensions over their parenting skills". This followed "a number of community discussions", according to the Jesus Christians Newsletter. Susan and Roland had been members of the group for more than twenty years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=End Time Survivors |url=https://makingitreal.wixsite.com/home/end-time-survivors |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=home |language=en}}</ref>

===="Disbanding"====
In November 2010 the Jesus Christians announced that they had "disbanded", though there was some confusion with regard to what that meant for the continuing organisation of members of the Jesus Christians.<ref name="jesuschristians.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jesuschristians.com/teachings-page/recent-articles/recent-deep-thoughts/831-graduates|title=Graduates}}</ref>

Following this announcement, long-term members Roland and Sue Gianstefani and Ross Parry,  claimed they had been [[Excommunication|excommunicated]], and later [[Shunning|shunned]], for objecting to the changes in which they believed the group was to operate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://makingitreal.wixsite.com/jesus-christians-uk/disbanding|title = Disbanding by Roland}}</ref> Another member, Alan Wright, later claimed he was disfellowshipped from the group for refusing to sue his wife for more money in a divorce settlement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://makingitreal.wixsite.com/jesus-christians-uk/kicked-out|title = Kicked Out by Alan}}</ref>

Roland and Susan Gianstefani, went on to establish their current ministry, Making It Real,<ref>{{cite web |title=Making it Real - homepage |url=https://makingitreal.wixsite.com/home |website=Making it Real}}</ref>  which is focused primarily on anti-war and human rights activism, and promoting altruistic organ donation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Making it Real - projects |url=https://makingitreal.wixsite.com/home/projects |website=Making it Real}}</ref>

=== 2011–Present ===

====End Time Survivors and A Voice in the Desert====
[[File:Paul Henry End Time Survivors - Jesus Christian, London, 2017.jpg|thumb|alt=]]

In February 2016, new and old members of the affiliated ex-Jesus Christian communities launched a YouTube channel called End Time Survivors<ref>{{cite web |title=End Time Survivors Youtube channel |url=https://www.youtube.com/@EndTimeSurvivors/featured |website=End Time Survivors |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> which focused on teachings about the End Times. The videos were presented by 'anonymous' narrators, using masks and digitally altered voices, and included both members and non-members of the affiliated communities.

An accompanying website of the same name was also launched in conjunction with the YouTube channel.<ref>{{cite web |title=End Time Survivors website |url=https://endtimesurvivors.com/ |website=End Time Survivors |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

In October 2016 another YouTube channel was launched, 'A Voice in the Desert'.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Voice in the Desert Youtube channel |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGK3xwxFRFvYyXAtDBShlMQ |website=A Voice in the Desert |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref> The videos primarily featured Dave as narrator of teaching videos on topics of a more general spiritual nature. The group, which had been limited to about 30 members worldwide for decades, reported a dramatic increase in numbers after starting its video ministry in 2016.<ref name="smithvideos" />  As of May 2023 A Voice in the Desert channel has over 140,000 subscribers and close to 13 million accumulated views.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Voice in the Desert Youtube subscribers |url=https://www.youtube.com/@AVoiceInTheDesert/about |website=A Voice in the Desert |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

====Academic Interest====
On December 7, 2017, at the annual conference of ''The Australian Association for the Study of Religion''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aasr.org.au/|title=The Australian Association for the Study of Religion|website=The Australian Association for the Study of Religion|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref> in Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Smith<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sydney.academia.edu/GeraldineSmith|title=Geraldine Smith {{!}} The University of Sydney - Academia.edu|website=sydney.academia.edu|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref> presented an academic paper accompanied by formal discussion about the [[new religious movement]] that Dave and Cherry McKay founded in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aasr.org.au/conference-program/|title=The Millenialists Project: A Comparative Study Between the End of Time Survivors and Survivalism in Western Modernity|last1=Smith|first1=Geraldine|publisher=The Australian Association for the Study of Religion|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208070555/https://www.aasr.org.au/conference-program/|archive-date=2017-12-08|accessdate=17 December 2017}}</ref> 

In 2018, after considerable research, interviews and observations made while visiting and participating in activities with the group, Smith submitted a thesis to the [[University of Sydney]] in partial completion of the requirements for her degree of [[Bachelor of Arts]] (Honours), called: ''Voices In The Wilderness: An Ethnography Of The Endtime Survivors.''<ref name="EthnographySmith" /> Along with the history and controversies related to the Jesus Christians, Smith reveals an intimate look at how members live their day to day, and how the group restructured internationally in 2010.

In May 2019, a shortened excerpt of Geraldine Smith's longer thesis<ref name="EthnographySmith" /> was published on the [[World Religions and Spirituality Project]] web site.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Religions and Spirituality Project - Jesus Christians |url=https://wrldrels.org/2019/05/19/jesus-christians/ |website=World Religions and Spirituality Project |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

In May 2025, [[Massimo Introvigne]] and María Vardé published an in-depth academic article on the group titled: ''The Jesus Christians: History, Theology, Controversies'' which was published in [[CESNUR|The Journal of CESNUR]]<ref name="IntrovigneVarde" /> The article expands on some key topics covered by Smith's ethnography along with detailed information on controversies that occurred after 2018, including two failed deprogramming attempts and false accusations of human trafficking by anti-cultists. 

A series of articles based on this work was also published in the religious liberty and human rights magazine ''Bitter Winter''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Articles on The Jesus Christians |url=https://bitterwinter.org/tag/jesus-christians/ |website=Bitter Winter |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref>

====Regrouping====
In August 2019, a video was published on the YouTube channel A Voice in the Desert explaining that although the Jesus Christians had formed separate ministries in 2010, due to the influx of people wanting to be part of the movement as a result of the success of the channel, many of the teams and former members of the Jesus Christians agreed to use the Jesus Christians name to represent the wider movement.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Voice in the Desert - "Jesus Christians" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PQ3k6L8-GU |website=A Voice in the Desert| date=5 August 2019 }}</ref> Along with this announcement the Jesus Christian website,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jesuschristians.com/|title=Official Web Page of The Jesus Christians|website=jesuschristians.com|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref> which had been largely dormant for nine years, was reinstituted and now included material published on the A Voice in the Desert YouTube channel.

Also in 2019, the Jesus Christians protested the arrest of [[Paul Nthenge Mackenzie]], leader of [[Good News International Ministries]] on the grounds of religious liberty relating to his stance against the [[Huduma Namba]] biometric ID card.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lwanga |first=Charles |date=19 April 2019 |title=Pastor Paul Makenzi in trouble again |url=https://nation.africa/kenya/news/pastor-paul-makenzi-in-trouble-again-157952 |access-date=22 April 2023 |website=Nation |language=en}}</ref>

====Human Trafficking Allegations in Argentina====
In March 2021, Pablo Salum<ref>{{cite web | url=https://leyantisectas.com/biografia/ | title=Biografía &#124; Pablo G. Salum - LeyAntiSectas }}</ref> founder of "LibreMentes"<ref>https://redlibrementes.org/</ref> (Free Minds in English), an Argentine [[anti-cult]] organisation, filed a criminal complaint against the group in Argentina together with family members of two people who had contact with the Argentine community; a 30-year-old woman who had joined the community and a young man who had only visited the community in 2020.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/live/l43x5BuE9K8?feature=shared |title="La SECTA del Riñón se LLEVO A MI HIJA {{!}} Jesus Christian {{!}} Dave Mackay Sobrevivientes #34 |language=en |access-date=2024-09-06 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Kx8smJNEQ |title=Me ESCAPE de la SECTA "El Riñón de Jesús" {{!}} Jesús Christians - Como Vivir por Fé Sobrevivientes #35 |date=2022-05-22 |last=LeyAntisectas |access-date=2024-09-06 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Salum's legal complaint accused the leadership of the Argentine community of human rights violations, claiming their practices of [[intentional community]] and [[volunteerism]] amounted to [[human trafficking]] and labor exploitation, and that their prior [[Organ_transplantation#Good_Samaritan|altruistic kidney donations]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/kidneys | title=Kidneys }}</ref> were akin to [[organ trafficking]].<ref>[https://www.antisectas.com/casos/la-secta-del-riñón-fue-todo-un-invento Pablo Salum y la secta del riñón]</ref>

A police raid was conducted at the properties of the community in Buenos Aires as part of the investigation that had been initiated by Pablo Salum's complaints.

In the days immediately following the raid, Pablo Salum garnered significant media attention in Argentina with the claims of human and organ trafficking, and labour exploitation. Family members of the woman who had recently joined the group participated in many of the media interviews.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mazzitelli |first=Maximiliano |date=2022-05-15 |title=Cómo Vivir Por Fe: la secta con sucursales en Argentina que capta víctimas para donar riñones |url=https://elintransigente.com/2022/05/como-vivir-por-fe-la-secta-con-sucursales-en-argentina-que-capta-victimas-para-donar-rinones/ |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=El Intransigente |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3e7ZXt_xtc&feature=youtu.be |title=Tremendo: cambió a su familia por una misteriosa secta |date=2022-05-13 |last=Crónica TV |access-date=2024-09-06 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

The community in Argentina was investigated for a total period of close to two years. During the course of the investigation it was discovered that there was no evidence for any of the allegations made against the Argentine community, nor of any other crime.<ref name="CasoLegal">[https://comovivirporfe.com/pdf/Archivo-Caso-Legal-Como-Vivir-Por-Fe.pdf Jesus Christians Argentine Legal Case]</ref> The court ruling highlighted that Pablo Salum had prejudicially influenced the judicial testimony of the young man who had visited the group in 2020, stating:<ref name="CasoLegal" /><blockquote>The court cannot ignore, as the defense also emphasizes, the proven interference of the aforementioned Pablo Salum in the testimony. This is because he interviewed the young man before he testified and such interview evidences that the former had already formed a negative opinion about the work of the religious community and undoubtedly influenced the analysis that the witness gave to the court.</blockquote>It was also noted that the young man's testimony against the community did not include any evidence of any of the allegations made against the group.<ref>[https://www.antisectas.com/casos/como-vivir-por-fe Cómo Vivir Por Fe - El Caso Judicial]</ref>

Upon completing the investigation against the community the case was dismissed by the presiding judge, "noting that the facts in question do not constitute a crime, it is appropriate to order the closing of the present proceedings," and, "To close the present proceedings for not being able to find the commission of the crime denounced."<ref name="CasoLegal" /> The case was closed without any charges having been made, due to no evidence presented or found to justify an imputation. 

Following the closure of the case, the Argentine community created a new YouTube channel called Corona de Espinas ('Crown of Thorns' in English)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/@CoronaDeEspinas777 Corona de Espinas]</ref> where they published several videos explaining what had happened and highlighting the court's ruling.

In July of 2024, a conference was held in the Palace of Legislature of Buenos Aires discussing the anti-cult movements' increasing use of human trafficking laws as a tool for religious persecution. Titled, Discrimination and Criminalization for Religious and Spiritual Reasons in Argentina,<ref>[https://libertaddecreencias.com/ Discriminación y Criminalización por Razones Religiosas y Espirituales en Argentina]</ref>  the conference included a presentation by the Argentine community detailing the accusations which had been brought against them by Pablo Salum.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C00_5O81iU | title=HOW TO LIVE BY FAITH Felipe Discrimination and Criminalization for Religious and Spiritual Reasons | website=[[YouTube]] | date=12 August 2024 }}</ref> Several academics in the field of anthropology, sociology and [[freedom of religion]] and conscience participated, including Massimo Introvigne, founder of [[CESNUR]], Dr Alejandro Frigerio from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (IICS-UCA/[[CONICET]]), and Rosita ŠORYTĖ from the European Federation for the Freedom of Belief.

===="Strange Bedfellows" video and defamation case====
In June, 2021, a video titled "Strange Bedfellows"<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-qMgbiahMY |title=Strange Bedfellows |date=2021-06-07 |last=A Voice In The Desert |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref> was published on the Voice in the Desert YouTube channel, discussing Jesus Christian allegations that they were the recipients of coordinated opposition from several parents of adult members of the group. The video stressed that these parents had widely diverse religious views. In particular, it mentioned parents of three different Jesus Christian members, identifying one set of parents as Neo-Nazi, another as Pentecostal Christians, who had previously physically attacked a Jesus Christian member,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joe |date=2010-01-23 |title=Joe's Story - A Murderous Attack |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/the-whipping-trial/joe-story/666-joes-story-part-1 |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=jesuschristians.com |language=en}}</ref> ([[#California Whipping Trial|Refer to #California Whipping Trial]]) and an Australian mother whom they referred to as "a Luciferian, a Satanist if you like". They based their claim on letters from the mother to her daughter, in which she wrote about her many years studying, amongst other things, witchcraft, and other spiritual beliefs, including "occult, esoteric traditions, ancient mysteries", and considering Lucifer "a catalyst for finding the true light of Christ."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Cowie |first=Tom |date=2023-12-23 |title=Renee beat the 'kidney cult' in court, but her own daughter testified against her |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/renee-beat-the-kidney-cult-in-court-but-her-own-daughter-testified-against-her-20231221-p5et46.html |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref>

This mother, Renee Spencer, identified only as "Renee" in the video, felt that her reputation and her relationship with her daughter had been ruined by such an accusation, so she sued David McKay in the Victorian (Australia) civil courts for defamation. The case went to trial in September 2023. McKay was unrepresented, as he could not afford a lawyer, and no court-appointed lawyer was available. McKay was not allowed to give testimony in his own defense, as he said that he could not in good conscience affirm the court oath due to the "whole truth" clause, stating, "I am quite happy to say that I will try to be totally honest in everything I say today and I understand that there are penalties if I knowingly do not do that. The reason for wanting to word it that way is that I can't honestly tell you that I would say the whole truth and I don't think the court wants to hear the whole truth"<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />

In December, 2023, Judge Julie Clayton ruled that McKay had acted maliciously in defaming Renee Spencer, but also noted that, "it is likely that the allegation caused harm to Ms Spencer's reputation within the Jesus Christians but it is unlikely that her reputation will be damaged more broadly, including in her professional life." Renee Spencer was awarded $85,000 in damages and McKay was ordered to edit the video to remove any reference to Ms. Spencer, as well as some additional words and imagery.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Stuart |title=County Court of Victoria |url=https://www.countycourt.vic.gov.au/news-and-media/news-listing/2023-12-18-judgement-spencer-v-mckay |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=County Court of Victoria |language=en-AU}}</ref>

====''Spotlight'' documentary====
The Jesus Christians were featured on the May 19th, 2024 episode of the Australian channel [[Seven News]] program ''Spotlight''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_D64VS-Owc |title=The dark reality of the Kidney Cult {{!}} 7NEWS Spotlight |date=2024-06-10 |last=7NEWS Spotlight |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref> The documentary featured a meeting between Renee Spencer and her daughter Ellicia, a 29-year-old Jesus Christian member, in an attempt to reestablish the relationship between the two after having been semi-estranged for a number of years.

The documentary also included complaints from a family in New South Wales, Australia, that they had not seen their son for several years, subsequent to him leaving home at 18 to join the group in December, 2019. Due to their son not wanting to divulge his whereabouts to them, they resorted to hiring a private investigator to find out where he was living, who filmed him without his knowledge. Some of that footage was used in the Spotlight documentary.

The documentary finishes with questions about Dave McKay's possible association with Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, leader of Good News International Ministries in Kenya, who was arrested in April, 2023, for the murder and incitement to suicide of over 400 members of his church, in what has been referred to as the [[Shakahola Forest incident|Shakahola Forest Incident]]. Dave and Cherry McKay deny ever having had any kind of contact with Paul Mackenzie, although they acknowledge that a Jesus Christian member had brief contact with Paul Mackenzie in mid-2019 when he preached at Mackenzie's church in Nairobi, Kenya.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administrator |title=Open Letter Regarding The Shakahola Incident |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/the-shakahola-lies/1336-open-letter-regarding-the-shakahola-incident |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=jesuschristians.com |date=12 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Jesus Christians categorically denied that the sermon had any relation to the decisions taken by Paul Mackenzie and the members of his church four years later in the Shakahola Incident.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-28 |title=Australian couple refutes links to Shakahola tragedy |url=https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/kilifi/australian-couple-refutes-links-to-shakahola-tragedy--4447842 |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Nation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hardy |first=Elle |date=2023-11-27 |title=Australian Christian group fights claim it was linked to leader of Kenya starvation massacre doomsday cult |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/australian-christian-group-fights-claim-it-was-linked-to-leader-of-kenya-starvation-massacre-doomsday-cult |access-date=2024-06-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Administrator |title=The Guardian's Shakahola Article by Elle Hardy {{!}} The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly |url=https://jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/the-shakahola-lies/1338-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-the-guardian-s-shakahola-article-by-elle-hardy |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=jesuschristians.com |date=30 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Previous to release of the Channel 7 Spotlight report on YouTube, the Jesus Christians had published, on "A Voice in the Desert", an exposé of the allegations made against them regarding the Shakahola Incident.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fHCeL64ZVw |title=The Truth About Shakahola and The Jesus Christians |date=2023-11-21 |last=A Voice In The Desert |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Shakahola Lies |url=https://www.jesuschristians.com/media-section/controversies/the-shakahola-lies |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Jesus Christians - Official Website |language=en}}</ref> Four videos responding to the claims made in the Spotlight program are published on their YouTube channel, which include a video from Ellicia voicing her views on the relationship between herself and her mother.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx6CTS78tmg |title=I'm Ellie. This is what happened with my mother... |date=2024-05-19 |last=A Voice In The Desert |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref> They also include recordings of the full "master" interviews which were filmed by Channel 7.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueoPl0MGDoA |title=Anatomy of a Stoning |date=2024-05-19 |last=A Voice In The Desert |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref> These recordings showed additional information and context that was omitted from the Spotlight documentary.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3LCf5N94aU |title=When Spotlight Can't Handle the Spotlight! |date=2024-05-19 |last=A Voice In The Desert |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmMUdGHbtcs |title=Spotlight Comments |date=2024-05-16 |last=A Voice In The Desert |access-date=2024-06-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref>