Editing Jesus Christians (section)

=== 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>