Editing Noel Stanton

{{short description|English religious leader}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type             = 
| honorific-prefix = 
| name             = Noel Stanton
| honorific-suffix = 
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| native_name_lang = 
| title            = 
| image            = Noel_Stanton.jpg
| image_size       = 
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| caption          = 
| church           = Bugbrooke Jesus Fellowship
| archdiocese      = 
| province         = 
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| diocese          = 
| see              = 
| elected          = 
| appointed        = 
| term             = 
| term_start       = 1957
| quashed          = 
| term_end         = 2009
| predecessor      = 
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| successor        = Mick Haines
| other_post       = Leader of the [[Jesus Army]]
<!---------- Orders
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<!---------- Personal details ---------->
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| birth_date       = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|12|25}}
| birth_place      = [[Bedfordshire]], England
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2009|05|20|1926|12|25}}
| death_place      = 
| buried           = 
| nationality      = British
| religion         = [[Christianity]]
| residence        = [[Bugbrooke]]
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| occupation       = [[Pastor]]
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'''Noel Stanton''' (25 December 1926 – 20 May 2009) was the founder of the [[Jesus Army]], also known as the Jesus Fellowship Church, a [[charismatic Christian]] movement known for its [[communal living]]. Under his leadership from 1957 until shortly before his death, the church grew from a small [[Baptist]] congregation in [[Bugbrooke]], [[Northamptonshire]], into a nationwide network of communities that attracted individuals from marginalised backgrounds, including the homeless and those [[addiction recovery|recovering from addiction]]. 

Following his death in 2009, numerous allegations emerged implicating Stanton in fostering a culture of control and abuse; former members reported cases of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse, including minors being subjected to coercion and assault, leading to official investigations and a redress scheme to compensate over 40 identified victims. 

The Jesus Fellowship Community Trust closed in 2020 following scandals, and issued a closure statement including an unreserved apology for the abuse that occurred in the Jesus Fellowship Church and the residential New Creation Christian Community (NCCC).<ref name=closure>{{Cite report|url=https://jesus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Jesus-Fellowship-Redress-Scheme-Closure-Statement-November-2021.pdf|title=Closure Statement|author=Martin Desborough, Chair of Trustees|publisher=Jesus Fellowship Community Trust|date=November 2021|access-date=22 April 2022|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=dead}}</ref>

==Life==

Stanton was born in [[Bedfordshire]]<ref name=Army/> and educated at [[Bedford Modern School]].<ref>"School Of The Black And Red-A History Of Bedford Modern School" by Andrew Underwood (1981); reset and updated by Peter Boon, Paul Middleton and Richard Wildman (2010)</ref>  His parents were farmers.<ref>{{Cite book|page=149|title=Exploring New Religions|first=George D. |last=Chryssides|year=1999|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]]|isbn=0826438903 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2131404687 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> When he was 18, he was [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|conscripted]] into the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fire in Our Hearts: The Story of the Jesus Fellowship/Jesus Army|author=Cooper, Simon|author2=Mike Farrant |page=24|publisher=Multiply Publications|year=1997|isbn=1900878054}}</ref> The Navy sent him to [[Sydney]], Australia,<ref name=Army>{{Cite web|title=Noel Stanton (1926-2009)|publisher=[[Jesus Army]]|url=http://www.jesus.org.uk/jesus-army-more-depth/noel-stanton|access-date=26 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053616/http://www.jesus.org.uk/jesus-army-more-depth/noel-stanton|archive-date=21 September 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> where he was approached by [[Evangelism|evangelist]] [[Frank Jenner]], who asked him, "If you should die tonight, where would you go?  Would it be heaven or hell?" Stanton felt conflicted for several months afterwards and consequently converted to [[Christianity]] the next year.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jenner of George Street: Sydney's Soul-Winning Sailor|author=Wilson, Raymond|page=44|year=2000|publisher=Southwood Press|location=[[Hurstville, New South Wales]]|isbn=0646408305}}</ref>

When [[World War II]] ended, Stanton attended [[All Nations Bible College]] and worked for  and then went into business.{{sfn|Chryssides|1999|p=149}}<ref>{{Cite book|page=315|title=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements|editor=Peter Clarke|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2004|isbn=0203484339}}</ref> In 1957, he became the [[pastor]] of a Baptist church in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire.<ref>{{Cite book|page=69|title=Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements|author=George D. Chryssides|edition=2|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0810879676}}</ref> Under Stanton's leadership, the church took on characteristics of the [[Charismatic movement]] and then of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]].<ref>{{Cite book|page=177|title=The A to Z of New Religious Movements|author=George D. Chryssides|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|year=2006|isbn=0810855887}}</ref> In 1973, he began turning the church into an [[intentional community]] modelled after [[early Christianity]], and the resulting movement became the Jesus Army.<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[The Independent]]|title=The Jesus Army Wants You|author=Fiona MacDonald-Smith|date=29 April 1995|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-jesus-army-wants-you-1617501.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-jesus-army-wants-you-1617501.html |archive-date=21 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=26 September 2013}}</ref> He wrote the book ''Your Baptism Into Jesus Christ and His Church'', which was published in 1998.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Noel Stanton|title=Your Baptism Into Jesus Christ and His Church|year=1998|publisher=Multiply Publications|isbn=1900878062}}</ref> Stanton remained the Jesus Army's leader until 2009, when he named Mick Haines the new leader before dying on 20 May.<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph]]|title=Funeral of Jesus Army founder to be screened|date=23 May 2009|url=http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/funeral-of-jesus-army-founder-to-be-screened-1-733019|access-date=26 September 2013|archive-date=30 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930023727/http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/funeral-of-jesus-army-founder-to-be-screened-1-733019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Allegations of abuse==

After Stanton's death in 2009, the Jesus Army supplied allegations to [[Northamptonshire Police]] of sexual offences committed by Stanton and others, and as of 2019 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=19 July 2019}}</ref> The Jesus Fellowship Redress Scheme was available to those who suffered harm, abuse and/or adverse experiences within the Jesus Fellowship community. 

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. 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>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite web |last=Lynch |first=Paul |title=Sexual and financial abuse claims made against founder of the Jesus Army in Northampton |website=Northampton Chronicle and Echo |date=11 May 2017 |url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/exclusive-sexual-and-financial-abuse-claims-made-against-founder-of-the-jesus-army-in-northampton-1-7956742 }}
* {{cite web |last=Stacey |first=James |title=Noel Stanton |website=The man with the mop |date=21 May 2009 |url=https://man-with-the-mop.blogspot.com/2009/05/noel-stanton.html }}
* {{cite web |last=Lynch |first=Paul |date=18 September 2017 |title=In the Jesus Army, we had no voice. Now damaged ex-members must be heard |website=iNews.co.uk |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/jesus-army-no-voice-now-damaged-ex-members-must-heard/ }}
* {{cite web |last=Eveleigh |first=Peter |title=Shaking Noel's hand |website=Surviving the Jesus Army |date=27 February 2004 |url=https://ja-1984.blogspot.com/2007/10/shaking-noels-hand.html }}
* {{cite web |title=R.I.P Daniel Patterson and Noel Stanton |website=Living Radical - The Jesus Army Life |date=22 May 2009 |url=https://jesus-army-radical.blogspot.com/2009/05/rip-daniel-patterson-and-noel-stanton.html }}
* {{cite web |title=Jesus Army tributes to founder |website=Northampton Chronicle and Echo |date=20 May 2009 |url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/jesus-army-tributes-to-founder-1-890334 |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528192613/https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/jesus-army-tributes-to-founder-1-890334 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |title=Noel Stanton (1926-2009) |website=Jesus Army |url=https://jesus.org.uk/ja/ja_noel_stanton.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523113238/https://jesus.org.uk/ja/ja_noel_stanton.shtml |archive-date=23 May 2009 }}
* {{cite web |last=Spencer |first=Nigel |date=18 April 2004 |title=Confessors of the Faith |publisher=Anglican Church of Basel |url=http://www.anglicanbasel.ch/sermons/Apr1804a.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212103102/http://www.anglicanbasel.ch/sermons/Apr1804a.pdf |archive-date=12 December 2006 |access-date=28 May 2019 }}
{{refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Noel}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:Royal Navy sailors]]
[[Category:People from Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:People educated at Bedford Modern School]]
[[Category:20th-century English Baptist ministers]]
[[Category:British New Church Movement]]
[[Category:English Charismatics]]
[[Category:Christian revivalists]]
[[Category:English Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:Converts to Protestantism from atheism or agnosticism]]
[[Category:Counterculture communities]]
[[Category:Christian communities]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:People from Bugbrooke]]