Editing Jesus Army (section)

==Abuse==
===Sexual, physical, emotional and financial abuse===

Some leaders and members of the Jesus Fellowship committed abuse of children and vulnerable adults, with Noel Stanton and other leaders of the group accused of committing abuse. Several former members were found guilty of sexual abuse of children. Karl Skinner was given a suspended prison sentence for inappropriate behaviour with a young boy, and Alan Carter was sentenced to three years in prison for sex acts on a boy aged between 14 and 16 in the 1990s.<ref name=northamptonchron-20170918>{{cite news |url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/special-report-alleged-victim-of-historic-abuse-reveals-traumatic-childhood-growing-up-in-jesus-army-1-8155579 |title=SPECIAL REPORT: Alleged victim of historic abuse reveals traumatic childhood growing up in Jesus Army |last=Lynch |first=Paul |website=Northampton Chronicle |date=18 September 2017 |access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref>

After Noel Stanton's death in 2009, the church supplied allegations to [[Northamptonshire Police]] of sexual offences against Stanton and others, who carried out "Operation Lifeboat";<ref name=speed>{{cite news| last=Speed | first=Barbara | title=The rise and fall of the British cult that hid in plain sight |newspaper=The Guardian | date=24 July 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jul/24/jesus-army-fellowship-cult-noel-stanton }}</ref> {{as of|2019|lc=y}} there were 43 complainants of historic sexual and physical abuse.<ref name=bbc-20190719>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48447066 |title=Jesus Army sex scandal: The dark secrets of life in a commune |last=Ironmonger |first=Jon |work=BBC News |date=19 July 2019 |access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref> Police appealed for reports, but most came from people who had not themselves suffered abuse; some alleged victims could not be traced, and others denied abuse, or did not want police action.<ref name=speed/>

Ten people from the church were convicted of sex offences, and a report concluded that abuse of women and children was covered up by senior members. A Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jesusfellowshipsurvivors.org/ |website=Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association|title=Home page |access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref> represents about 800 alleged victims;<ref name="Iron">{{cite news |last1=Ironmonger |first1=Jon |title=Jesus Army abuse 'covered-up by church leaders', report claims |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-53450901 |work=BBC News |date=5 August 2020 |access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref> they found that Operation Lifeboat had "barely scratched the surface" of what had happened.<ref name=speed/> After resisting allegations, leaders were forced in 2019 to acknowledge that there were serious allegations against Stanton, and the Apostolic Five stepped down. Membership dwindled to about 1,000 ageing members, hitting finances—a senior leader said that there was a growing feeling that the fellowship was "too broken to fix".<ref name=speed/> The Jesus Fellowship Community Trust closed in December 2020 following the scandal, and issued a Closure Statement including an unreserved apology for the abuse that occurred in the Jesus Fellowship Church (JFC) and the residential New Creation Christian Community (NCCC).<ref name=closure>{{Cite report|url=https://jesus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Redress-Scheme-Closure-Statement-Final-UPDATED.pdf|title=Closure Statement|author=Martin Desborough, Chair of Trustees|publisher=Jesus Fellowship Community Trust|date=November 2021|archive-date=19 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119112815/https://jesus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Jesus-Fellowship-Redress-Scheme-Closure-Statement-November-2021.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Jesus Fellowship Redress Scheme was available to those who have suffered harm, abuse and/or adverse experiences within the Jesus Fellowship community. The Redress Scheme closed for new applications on 31 December 2023; applications received continued to be processed.<ref name="Redress"/> The scheme to compensate members identified 539 alleged perpetrators of alleged abuse and revealed about one in six children had been sexually abused. 601 individuals applied for damages, though the trust recognised the true number of victims was likely to be greater. A total of £7.7m has been paid directly to applicants of the scheme. The trust accepted ultimate responsibility for 264 alleged abusers, 61 percent of them former leaders. Some twelve former members of the Jesus Fellowship Church have been convicted for indecent assaults and other offences.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title=One in six children sexually abused in Jesus Army cult |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qejd0njpeo |access-date=13 September 2024 |work=BBC News |date=13 September 2024}}</ref>

A former member said in 2025 that ex-members "make little inside jokes about ''[[The Handmaid's Tale]]'', because the language was so similar."<ref name=speed/>