Editing Jesus Army (section)

===New Creation Christian Community===
[[File:Bugbrooke Baptist Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 1328138.jpg|thumb|Bugbrooke Baptist Chapel in 2008]]
In the early years of the Jesus Fellowship, a residential Christian community was founded for its growing membership. Initially, a large Anglican rectory in Bugbrooke was purchased and renamed "New Creation Hall". Several members of the Jesus Fellowship moved in and it became the first centre of a community lifestyle. By 1979, several other large houses in the surrounding area were purchased and "New Creation Christian Community," as the entire community was named, was established, with some 350 residents.<ref>Hunt in ''Pneuma'', p. 25</ref> At its height in the early 1990s there were roughly 850 residents in about 60 communal households, but their numbers later dropped to less than 200 persons.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Motivation for the Jesus Fellowship's venture into residential communal living and the sharing of possessions came primarily from their interpretation of Biblical descriptions of the early church.<ref name=Kay2004>William Kay in C. Partridge (ed), ''Encyclopedia of New Religions, a Guide'' (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2004).</ref>

The Jesus Fellowship's community had many features in common with other charismatic Christian [[intentional community|intentional communities]]<ref>Hunt in ''Pneuma'', p.21</ref> and part of the initial stimulation towards starting the New Creation Christian Community came from the [[Church of the Redeemer (Houston, Texas)|Church of the Redeemer]], Houston, Texas, established by the Episcopalian priest [[Graham Pulkingham]].<ref>Hunt in ''Pneuma'', p.22: "Pulkingham's model of community living epitomized the conviction that collective life would provide a deeper expression of the Christian faith and the charismatic experience, his ministry to the poor inspired a number of Christians in Britain committed to ministering to the needy, the Jesus Fellowship among them."</ref> New Creation Christian Community was one of the largest intentional Christian communities in Europe.<ref name="Hunt">Hunt in ''Pneuma'', p.22</ref> According to sociologist [[Stephen J. Hunt]], the Jesus Fellowship's community "has been a source of inspiration and frequently attracts visitors from Europe and beyond who wish to observe, and sometimes imitate, a vibrant and enduring model of charismatic community life."<ref name="Hunt"/> Residents of each community house ranged in number from 6 to 60 people.<ref name=Kay2004/> The pattern of community life in the largest, down to the smallest residence, was modelled along the same principles and pattern. Those dwelling in a community house, along with the majority of members who lived outside but who are formally attached to it, made up the "church household". The church household was the basic unit of the Jesus Fellowship, usually comprising both members who lived in community and a majority who did not. Several church households usually came together to form congregations for public worship along with members of the public who wished to attend.<ref>Hunt in ''Pneuma'', p.31</ref> Jesus Fellowship congregations typically met in a hired venue such as a school or community centre, although latterly the church purchased "Jesus Centres" in some cities and towns: the Jesus Fellowship in these places used these centres as their venue for public meetings.

The community founded a series of Christian businesses (House of Goodness group) employing once up to 250 people. Profits from the businesses helped fund the wider work of the Jesus Fellowship. Businesses and community houses were owned by a Trust Fund ultimately controlled by the members.<ref>Newell in ''Charismatic Christianity'', pp.131–132</ref> In 2001, one of the houses was featured in a [[Channel 4]] television documentary, ''Battlecentre''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diverse.tv/programme.aspx?id=20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522201233/http://www.diverse.tv/programme.aspx?id=20 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 May 2006 |title=Diverse.tv |website=diverse.tv |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/Reader_Review/0,,-90304,00.html |title=Battlecentre (2001) - Reviews - guardian.co.uk Film |website=The Guardian |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/sunday/s20011216f.ram |title=BBC interview with producer  |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref>