Jesus Life 84 - The Jesus Army

JESUS 

Issue 84 FREE 

two / 2010 

www.jesus.org.uk 

LIFE 

The magazine of the 

modern Jesus army & 

Multiply Christian Network 

Revolutionary Church 

COVENANT BROTHERHOOD TALKING TO: RICH WILSON ON THE MARGINS: SEX WORKERS

Rev 

olutionary 

Church 

The Jesus Fellowship Church, which is also 

known as the Jesus Army and includes the New Creation 

Christian Community, upholds the historic Christian 

faith, being reformed, evangelical and charismatic. 

it practises believer’s baptism and the New Testament 

reality of Christ’s Church; believing in Almighty God: 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit; in the full divinity, atoning 

death and bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; in 

the Bible as God’s word, fully inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

This church desires to witness to the Lordship 

of Jesus Christ over and in His Church; and, by holy 

character, righteous society and evangelical testimony 

to declare that Jesus Christ, Son of God, the only 

Saviour, is the way, the truth and the life, and through 

Him alone can we find and enter the kingdom of God. 

This church proclaims free grace, justification by faith in Christ 

and the sealing and sanctifying baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

© 2010 Jesus Fellowship Church, Nether Heyford, Northampton 

NN7 3LB, UK. Editor: James Stacey. Reproduction in any form 

requires written permission. The Jesus Fellowship does not 

necessarily agree with all the views expressed in articles 

and interviews printed in this magazine. Unless otherwise 

indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY 

BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 

1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of 

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, a member of the Hodder headline Plc 

Group. All rights reserved. Photographs in this magazine are 

copyright Jesus Fellowship Church or royalty-free stock photos 

from www.sxc.hu. The Jesus Fellowship is part of Multiply 

Christian Network. Both the Jesus Fellowship and Multiply 

Christian Network are members of the Evangelical Alliance 

UK. Jesus Fellowship Life Trust Registered Charity number 1107952. 

 

Jesus Life 

A word from Mick Haines, 

apostolic team leader of the 

Jesus Fellowship. 

JESUS CHRIST began the greatest revolution ever 

known upon this planet. 

Wherever Jesus went He brought an explosion of 

light into darkness and a release to people from the 

unseen powers that bound them. He offended the 

religious, reached and healed the sick and outcast of 

society, and broke down walls of race and gender. He 

proclaimed God’s kingdom as He spoke words of life. 

Jesus Christ died, rose again and ascended into 

heaven, and then poured out the Holy Spirit upon 

His first disciples. Baptised into this revolutionary 

Spirit, weak, fearful men and women were 

transformed into confident, fearless disciples. Soon 

they were to be accused of “turning the world upside 

down” (Acts 17:6). 

This was the birth of the revolutionary Church. 

The new society emerged with new kingdom of God 

principles: love, healing, equality, everyone valued, 

real fellowship, sharing of possessions, simplicity, 

self-denial, reconciliation, awesome unity and power, 

brotherhood, togetherness. Barriers of age, race 

and class all broken down; this is a society with no 

celebrities because all serve one another. This is real 

renewed humanity. 

The call to the Church in the UK is to lose all 

defensiveness and receive new confidence, to return to 

living in the excitement and adventure of the front line: 

unafraid, unashamed, pioneering revolutionary Church. 

Jesus is with us. He’s pouring out fresh life, 

living faith and the overcoming Spirit. Let’s stand 

against the tide of this world, and live for the King 

and His kingdom! 

JL 

www.jesus.org.uk

contents 

Prophetic Word 

Huw Lewis gives a passionate 

plea for committed brotherhood. 

Talking to... 

Iain Gorrie talks to Rich Wilson 

of student movement, Fusion. 

Changed Life 

Jen Carter is now a 

rebel for God. 


4-7 11-14 

On the Margins 

Series on marginalised groups. 

This issue: sex workers. 

18-21 24-27 

32-33 34 

Spiritual Search 

Gambian Didier Douno tells 

Jesus Life his moving story. 

On Fire 4 Jesus 

Youth blogger Aidan Ashby 

expresses passion. 

also... 

Lawyer, Dealer, 

Clothes Stealer 

Laurence Cooper on 

Christian Community 8-9 

Passion from 

the past 

Oscar Romero, champion 

of the poor 10 

Jesus Centres 

Piers Young, Coventry Jesus 

Centre manager, blogs on the 

rough and the smooth 15-17 

Multiply Christian 

Network 

Emmaline Hart reports on 

a radical Swiss community 

22-23 

Radical Bites 

Chewy challenge from 

Jesus Life editor, 

James Stacey 28-29 

Rant & Rave 

Boiling with rage and bubbling 

with excitement 30-31 

Contact us! 

Phone numbers for churches 

throughout the UK 35 

Jesus Life

“I do” – for good 

Committed, covenant promises 

are vital if church is to have any 

power in our hurting society, 

writes Huw Lewis. 

WE LIVE in a society of fractured 

relationships and minimal commitments. 

The average length of partners living 

together is just over three years. forty per 

cent of fathers lose contact with their children 

two years after separation. The UK has 

the highest rate of divorce in the EU. 

The splintering of relationships, seen 

in both high-profile celebrities as well as 

the couple next door, is widespread. The 

cost, socially, financially and emotionally, 

is enormous. Short-term convenience 

frequently characterises our attitudes 

towards one another. 

Combined with this, loss of trust is “the 

pernicious virus of our time” at all levels 

and between all sections of the nation. 

It reflects our individualistic, damaged 

and disconnected age. Whether corrupt 

politicians, unfaithful film superstars or 

domestic violence nearer to home, the 

bonds of trust have been seriously weakened 

in recent years. 

Often, we more easily talk to someone 

the other side of the world, online, than to 

those living in our street. It is safer. 

Ours is a deeply hurting generation 

which desperately needs commitment, 

stability and settled friendships. Yet these 

are so hard to find. 

Moreover, consumerism reigns and 

endless personal choice prevails. Western 

society is now marked by a shallow 

individualism that is powerless against 

market forces beyond its control. 

 


www.jesus.org.uk

Sadly, the “supermarket mentality” now 

pervades much church life. The average 

length of stay in a church is four years. People 

so often come, take what they want and 

then go. The only thing they are committed 

to is themselves and their own pleasure. 

In this context of superficial “me-ism”, 

endless personal choice and the breakdown 

of relational trust, will the church of 

Jesus show that committed brotherhood 

covenant love is the answer? 

The promise or pledge between church 

members who belong together and are 

“parts of one another” (Romans 12:5; Ephesians 

4:25) has been a feature of church life 

for centuries. A vowed covenant that exists 

not just between God and His people or His 

people and God, but between one another. 

Such brotherhood covenant identifies 

a people and binds them together in a 

pledge of love. It is often sealed and renewed 

by the covenant meal of the bread 

and wine. It “anchors” or “earths” this life 

together in tangible and agreed promises. 

But why pledge our lives not just to 

God, but to one another? Why covenant 

with each other? 

It is a sad truth that too easily our love 

“grows cold” (Matthew 24:12-13). We lose 

the fire we once had and devotion to our 

brothers and sisters in Jesus. We are victims 

of selfish instability, fickle promises. We too 

easily follow untrustworthy emotions. 

We need covenant. It keeps us true 

to promises, reminds us what we have 

Continued overleaf 

Let’s end the “easy-come, easy-go” 

attitude... where we stick around 

as long as we feel like it. 

s 

s 

s 

s 



“I do” – for good 

s 

s 

Continued from previous page 

committed ourselves to, and binds us in 

a common vision. We need its strength 

and safeguard in times of temptation 

and weakness, reminding us of promises 

made when inspired by the Holy Spirit 

– just as, in marriage, the vow frequently 

holds the love between husband and wife 

during the inevitable rocky patches. 

The Bible is full of brotherhood 

covenant commitments. David’s heart 

was bound to Jonathan in a covenant of 

deep trust, vulnerability and loyalty that 

transcended natural family ties (1 Samuel 

18:3-4; 20:8-9; 23:15-18). David himself 

wrote of the man who dwells on God’s 

holy hill – “He swears to his own hurt and 

does not change” (Psalm 15:4). Will we 

live the kind of covenant love which puts 

the church of Jesus and our brethren before 

personal ambitions, job promotions 

or natural family demands? 

Ruth committed herself to staying with 

her distraught, widowed mother-in-law, 

Naomi, for the rest of her life – only death 

could part them (Ruth 1:16-17). There was 

nothing convenient about this sacrificial 

pledge. 

Jesus loved His disciples “to the end” 

(John 13:1). He never gave up on them, 

abandoned them or rejected them in their 

weaknesses and failings. Such covenant 

love won their hearts. It had nothing to do 

with personal fulfilment and satisfaction. 

It was costly, sacrificial and utterly powerful 

in its effects. Jesus was determined 

to get the best out of this varied group 

of followers who needed discipleship, 

challenge and direction in how to flow 

together in love. 

Likewise, Paul’s complete loyalty to the 

churches he had established meant he 

had a heart commitment to the people in 

those churches. They were “in his heart, 

to live together and die together” (2 Corinthians 

7:3-7). They brought him life and 

refreshment (Philemon 7, 20) and were 

his “joy and crown” (Philippians 4:1). It all 

flowed from deep, lifelong allegiance. 

 


www.jesus.org.uk

READ MORE: More 

Prophetic Word articles at: 

jesus.org.uk/propheticword 

People today 

need to 

know that we 

Christians can 

be counted on 

and aren’t going 

to bail out like 

so many other 

people have in 

their lives 

But the breakdown of brotherhood 

covenant commitment can be devastating. 

Violation of deep bonds caused 

David great hurt (Psalm 55: 12-21). His 

friend’s betrayal was much worse than 

an enemy’s attack. Yet this is always the 

price for such covenant. The refusal to 

be humble and broken away from proud, 

arrogant self-centredness will always spell 

the death of true covenant love. 

Let’s end the “easy-come, easy-go” attitude 

prevalent in many churches where 

we stick around as long as we feel like it 

or personally benefit from it. God’s total 

devotion to us should be reflected in our 

commitment to one another if we are to 

love as He loved us (John 15:12). We come 

to God with our brothers and sisters in 

Jesus, walking in the light together (1 John 

1:5-10) and finding deep fellowship with 

one another and cleansing in His blood. 

People today need to know that we 

Christians can be counted on and aren’t 

going to bail out like so many other people 

have in their lives. 

Covenant brotherhood love is all about 

the church displaying what the world 

needs to see more than anything else: 

genuine, selfless relationships, forged 

in battle, surviving the tests of time and 

pledged from the heart. 

JL 

Huw Lewis is a member of the 

Jesus Fellowship’s apostolic team. 

He lives in Kettering in one of 

the Jesus Fellowship’s Christian 

community houses. 



THE LAWYER, 

THE DEALER 

and the SERIAL 

CLOTHES STEALER 

Jesus Fellowship 

leader Laurence 

Cooper shares 

what he calls “an 

everyday tale of 

community living”. 

MOST PEOPLE have something 

to give up when 

entering Christian community. 

It could be sex, drugs and rock 

‘n’ roll. It could be SKY sports. 

Most people have a fear they 

have to face. Sharing a room. 

Lack of a particular brand of hair 

conditioner (“Pantene phobia” 

– common among females). 

Me? My fear was that I’d never 

have any clothes to wear. When 

I joined the community in 1997, 

I had some decent clobber and 

thought, “Well, when it wears 

out I’ll just have to wear beige 

sackcloth or something.” 

As it turns out, I have never 

had any issues in the clothing 

supply department. That’s 

partly because God’s generous, 

because we share stuff, and 

partly because of my clothes 

kleptomania – which means 

that if I see clothing lying 

around, I’ll probably be wearing 

it pretty soon. I am an infa- 

mous purloiner of teeshirts and 

trousers. This has from time to 

time created a bit of a stir. (Like 

the time I came down to breakfast 

in Fiona’s night shirt.) 

Enough on me. Let me tell 

you about my friend Andy, 

who is one of the partners 

in our church’s legal practice. 

Recently, he decided 

he needed to get a new suit; 

his old one was looking a bit 

moth-eaten. It wasn’t exactly 

projecting the right image 

to potential new clients, you 

might say – or to the court, on 

his many appearances there. 

What should he do? For any 

“normal” lawyer, the answer is 

obvious: buy a very good one, 

or two, or three – or however 

many you want to – you’re a 

lawyer, for God’s sake! 

Well, precisely. Andy is a 

lawyer – for God’s sake. So that 

means he’s devoted to a lifestyle 

of, amongst other things, 

8 


www.jesus.org.uk

BLOG 

This has 

from time to 

time created 

a bit of a 

stir. (Like 

the time I 

came down 

to breakfast 

in Fiona’s 

night shirt.) 

relative poverty. He’s not about 

to lash out top dollar on Paul 

Smith or Aquascutum; he needs 

to think thrift and simplicity. 

After consulting a few people 

on the matter, including 

me, he took money out of our 


“common purse” and went 

shopping, but returned dismayed 

that the most suitable 

stuff was so very pricey. 

I sympathised with his 

dilemma, because it’s such a 

common one in a common 

purse lifestyle like ours. Although 

he definitely needed the suit, 

his feelings (rightly or wrongly) 

were mixed about spending a 

lot of money on “himself”. 

At this point, in steps a friend 

of ours who lives in our community. 

“Dave” is a man with many 

court appearances to his name 

(but no lawyer, he). “Dave” is 

an ex-international drug dealer 

with a criminal record as long as 

the M1. Now he’s on the straight 

and narrowest way of all, he no 

longer needs his court costume, 

and was happy to give it to Andy. 

It’s a quality item – and a nearpefect 

fit. 

So now, as Andy goes in to 

court to represent his clients, 

he will be wearing the coat I 

gave him a few years ago (a 

cashmere that once belonged 

to my father, a commercial 

barrister). Underneath that 

coat, he will be sporting the 

smart suit of a former international 

criminal. 

I think you will agree that it’s 

unusual for a chap like Andy to 

be dressed in this manner, but 

he certainly looks the part: every 

inch the commercial solicitor 

and partner of his legal practice. 

You’d never guess that underneath 

his strangely-sourced 

finery was the fiery heart of a 

radical who loves the equality, 

simplicity and justice of the 

upside-down kingdom. JL 

READ LAURENCE’S 

BLOG:laurencecooper. 

wordpress.com 

FOR MORE ON 

CHRISTIAN 

COMMUNITY: 

newcreation.org.uk 

Jesus Life 9

On 24 March 2010, the President of 

El Salvador issued a public apology 

for the murder of Oscar Romero. His 

compatriots had waited 30 years to 

hear it. Trevor Saxby reports. 

IN THE 1970s, El Salvador was ruled 

by a brutal dictatorship. The poor had 

their land confiscated; any who protested 

were never seen again. Mutilated bodies 

clogged the mountain streams. The 

Catholic Church, by not opposing this, 

was seen by many as supporting it. 

But in the darkest hour, one man stood 

up. Oscar Romero, the archbishop, spoke 

out against injustice. “The Church’s place 

is beside the poor, the outraged and 

rejected, to speak out for them,” he wrote. 

“Is our preaching so spiritual that it will 

not cry ‘Idolaters!’ at those who kneel 

before money and power? Jesus brings a 

kingdom where we share our wealth, so 

that nobody is without what they need for 

a dignified life.” 

The powerless poor took him to their 

hearts, but people of influence were too 

afraid to join him. Posters went up: “Be a 

patriot – kill a priest!” All his clergy drew 

back from him, except one, who was mur- 

READ TREVOR’S BLOG on the 

Christian Church’s passionate 

past: radical-church-history. 

blogspot.com or visit: jesus.org. 

uk/short/passionate-past 

The Church’s 

place is beside 

the poor, the 

outraged and 

rejected, to speak 

out for them. 

dered. Romero refused to be intimidated. 

“Soon it will be my turn to die for what 

is right,” he declared – and continued to 

speak out against tyranny. 

In 1980, while taking a friend’s funeral, 

Romero was gunned down by a death 

squad. He was 63. At his funeral, attended 

by 250,000 people, gunmen opened fire at 

mourners. Yet today, democracy is bringing 

growth to El Salvador and churches 

are growing at a rate of 90 per cent every 

10 years. The people are in no doubt: it is 

God’s blessing on the radical leader and 

martyr, Oscar Romero. 

JL 

10 


www.jesus.org.uk

on the margins 

Off the 

hook 


Jesus Life looks 

at the harsh life 

faced by female sex 

workers and asks 

“What way out?” 

SALLY EVANS grew up in the red-light 

area in Northampton, Spring Boroughs, 

and was 17 when she first “did a 

client” of her own. 

“I was abused as a child and started gassniffing 

– things got progressively worse. I 

was drunk one night and I did a client.” 

Sent to prison for a month for 

shoplifting, Sally “started working the 

streets properly” when she came out. 

Sadly, her story was not unusual for 

Spring Boroughs: 

“Four or five of us girls who were 


 

 


11

One sex worker 

detoxed from 

heroin... moved 

back to her 

family... clean 

and completely 

transformed. 

 

 


Sergeant McDonnell headed up 

a series of projects in Northampton 

called CASPAR (Crime and Anti-Social 

Behaviour Partnership), including a 

highly successful project in Spring 

Boroughs. He saw the traditional police 

way of dealing with street prostitution 

– arresting and fining prostitutes – as 

faulty. It targeted the wrong people: the 

victims, the sex workers themselves. 

“There was no point in prosecuting 

the people who had no choice,” he 

explains. “But there was a crucial weak 

link in the ‘industry’: the clients. They 

were incredibly vulnerable to being put 

brought up in that area all ended up street off. Crudely put, we aimed to destroy 

sex workers and drug addicts.” 

customer confidence.” 

Street prostitution almost always goes A “toleration zone” was established in 

hand in hand with addiction. 

a small industrial estate, and a “toleration 

“I started taking heroin when I was time” within it: 7pm till 7am. Sex workers 

18,” says Sally. “It helped me to do what knew they wouldn’t be prosecuted there; 

I was doing.” 

a ‘no-toleration’ policy was stepped up 

“Ninety-eight per cent of the sex 

elsewhere. Subtle use of bollards and fencing 

meant unmarked police cars spotted 

workers we had contact with were crack 

addicts,” Police Sergeant Mark McDonnell drivers circuiting the zone. “If a vehicle 

told Jesus Life. “The ones that weren’t were went round three times, we’d record the 

alcoholics. There wasn’t one prostitute registration number and send a letter to 

that I came across who wanted to be on the registered car owner.” 

the streets as a sex worker.” 

“A third were business cars, so the 

12 Jesus Life 

www.jesus.org.uk

letters would be opened by secretaries,” 

says Sergeant McDonnell with a suggestion 

of a smile. “I had some very interesting 

replies. And you cannot imagine how 

many men drive cars registered to their 

wives! One man was driving his girlfriend’s 

mother’s car...” 

Court hearings were arranged to 

occur on the same day as each other, 

with newspaper reporters present for 

maximum publicity. 

“It was very effective, as you can imagine,” 

says Sergeant McDonnell. “To a 

certain extent, by agreement, we involved 

the sex workers in the solution. This was 

also where the SWAN project came in 

(Sex Workers Around Northampton), 

which offered support for women seeking 

to exit prostitution.” 

The SWAN project gave many women 

vital support in finding new ways forward 

in their lives. 

There were many layers to CASPAR 

– like community punishments given to 

drug dealers to clean up the toleration zone 

(“having to pick up the condoms and needles”). 

Over a decade or so street prostitution 

in Spring Boroughs was eradicated; 

many women were helped to exit sex work. 

Spiritual renewal, too, can play a vital 

part in lifestyle change. “The spiritual void 

inside is one of the key things that make 

women able to sell themselves sexually,” 

says Ann Hawker, whose team has, for a 

number of years, been bringing ‘church’ to 

sex workers in Coventry from a Jesus Army 

minibus, parked in the red-light district. 

“Most of the women really hate what 

they’re doing, but don’t feel enough sense 

of self-worth to change. The knowledge 

that God really loves them as a person is 

such a vital step out.” 

Sally Evans told Jesus Life the moving 

story of how she left behind sex work and 

addiction when she found Christian faith. 

After the heartbreaking experience of having 

her children removed by social services, 

Sally went to a rehab in Luton. It was 

there she found her turning point. Though 

she is at pains to stress that it hasn’t all 

been plain sailing since then, she has left 

sex work and drug addiction behind. 

“Without Jesus I know I couldn’t do it,” 

she says, “no two ways about that.” 

Ann Hawker says, “Providing a mobile 

base for women to come and experience 

God’s love is just the beginning. Obviously 

it’s also an opportunity, if they want, to give 

them advice, help, and a stepping-stone 

into something more. We can encourage 

them to get involved with appropriate 

agencies including Coventry Jesus Centre.” 

One of Coventry Jesus Centre’s 

biggest successes in helping the 

vulnerable, including sex workers, is 

their Bond Scheme, which helps people 

into housing. Centre manager, Piers 

Young, told Jesus Life, “The Jesus Centre 

has housed quite a few sex workers on 


the Bond Scheme and helped others at a 

basic level through the drop-in, meeting 

basic needs and friendship.” 

“One sex worker who was helped 

to get a new flat was supported by the 

church while she detoxed from heroin,” 

says Ann Hawker. “Eventually she moved 

back to her family in Birmingham, clean 

and completely transformed.” 

Sergeant McDonnell agreed that housing 

is a key aspect of getting women out of 

the dreadful vulnerability of street prostitution: 

“Helping women out of prostitution 

is a housing issue because most of the 

women don’t have any lawful housing and 




13


Another sex worker... was 

“attacked and stabbed in 

the groin repeatedly, bled a 

great deal and nearly died 

in hospital with multiple 

internal wounds” 

 

 


READ ABOUT OTHER 

GROUPS ON THE MARGINS: 

jesus.org.uk/short/margins 

are therefore trapped in a vicious cycle.” 

Dangers faced by women working 

the streets are manifold. They are at risk 

of violence, rape, even murder. One sex 

worker, known by the Coventry Jesus 

Fellowship team, was “attacked and 

stabbed in the groin repeatedly, bled a 

great deal and nearly died in hospital with 

multiple internal wounds,” said Piers 

Young. “Sadly, a year later we saw her on 

the beat again.” 

Ann Hawker, like Sally Evans, is sure 

that being able to find friendship and support 

in a “church without prejudice” can 

be vitally important for women seeking to 

leave behind sex work. 

“Treating these women as ‘prostitutes’ 

is really degrading,” she says; “treating 

them as a person and providing the same 

services, the same hope, the same family 

as you would for any other person” – that 

is vital. Sex workers are “ordinary people 

– though incredibly resilient – and often 

very caring”. 

Sally Evans put it powerfully: “Jesus 

told us not to cast stones, didn’t He? 

We’re all God’s children – no matter what 

we’ve done.” 

JL 

Some names have been changed 

14 


www.jesus.org.uk

BLOG 

The 

ROUGH with the 

smooth 

Coventry Jesus Centre 

manager, Piers Young 

on the highs and lows 

of life serving Jesus on 

the front line. 

THE 

ROUGH 

INCIDENT report, 10 

March. People involved: 

Visitor A (let’s call him Alf); 

Visitor B (let’s call him Bill); 

Rob (staff); Anne-Marie 

(volunteer receptionist). 

What happened: Alf was 

using a PC. He went to the 

toilet and Bill sat down at the 


s 

s 


www.jesuscentres.org.uk 


15

Then he put his head 

round the door and said 

“F***ing Jesus” 

THE ROUGH 

s 

s 


PC and started using it. Alf came back and 

complained. Bill answered back; an argument 

ensued. Both went to the reception 

window and carried on and Anne-Marie 

was a bit freaked out. 

Rob was nearby and he said to Bill, 

“You didn’t book in for the PC and you 

haven’t given your name.” Bill said, “You 

know my name.” Rob said, “You haven’t 

given your name.” Bill became abusive 

(F-words and so on) and went out. Then 

he put his head round the door and said 

“F***ing Jesus”. Later he came back in and 

sat at a PC again. Rob went and asked him 

to book in. He left (“F*** you”). 

Alf did not lose it at all. 

Action later: Bill banned for one month. 

The aftermath was that Bill came back 

in today and went into the drop-in, where 

someone realised that he was banned and 

took him outside. He declined to take his 

ban letter or to leave. I was told and went 

down, ready to tell him once and then call 

the police, which usually works, and he 

went without much protest. 

Alf, by the way, had been a mercenary 

soldier, and was very restrained. He is 

softening a lot these days, having been a 

very rough character. 

Bill may come back in a month. We’ll see. 



www.jesus.org.uk

READ PIERS’ 

COVENTRY JESUS 

CENTRE BLOG: 

pierscjc.blogspot.com 

FOR MORE ON 

JESUS CENTRES: 

jesuscentre.org.uk 

The tables were spread, 

candles lit, thanks and intro 

given, and the feast began. 

The 



Smooth 

Last week on Monday we had our annual 

volunteer and staff event, to big up our 

team and thank God for all that has been 

achieved in the past year. Nick (not a 

volunteer) volunteered to cook a meal 

and produced a quality spread that day. 

He had a team of half a dozen young 

helpers as waiters and waitresses and 

cleaner-uppers. The tables were spread, 

candles lit, thanks and intro given, and 

the feast began. 

After the meal we had 20 minutes of 

a Planet Earth video: mountain beauty, 

eagles, pandas, and pathos. (The usual 

technical hitches were narrowly averted by 

our technical assistants, Helen and Simon.) 

After that Gillian, our volunteer 

volunteer coordinator (yes, that’s right), 

gave out certificates of achievement to all 

volunteers present, by role: cleaners, cafe 

helpers, kitchen crew, leaders of services: 

Mums & Toddlers, Your Space, Your 

Art, Your Future, Anger Management, 

Dads-4-kids, Re-Cycle, Allotment, Guitar 

Class, Habit Breaker, Alcohol Free, Your 

Weight, Live at the Well, Home Education 

and Talk English, plus those doing 

Maintenance, Admin, Technical Support, 

Reception, The Bridge, and committee 

members. Quite a roll of honour. 

Finally, we thanked God and worshipped. 

It all went smoothly and everyone 

seemed to enjoy it. Forty-two volunteers, 

eight staff, one trustee, eight non-volunteers, 

10 helpers. Thank You Lord. 

Alf was helping to set up a room today. 

Maybe Bill will make it to be a volunteer 

one day, too. 

JL 


17

Jesus Fellowship leader Iain Gorrie 

interviews Rich Wilson, National Team 

Leader for the student movement, Fusion. 

Rich has been involved with Fusion since 

its beginnings in Autumn 1997. 

Iain Gorrie 

How did your involvement 

with Fusion come about? 

I got involved with a church in 

Loughborough – Open Heaven 

– and the church had a focus 

on students. I was in a church 

community house and felt 

wisdom from God about there 

being a student movement 

which He wanted to bring 

about. I felt that I had a part to 

play in that. It wasn’t long before 

I heard about something 

fresh and new being set up 

nationally for students. One of 

the guys involved was Roger 

Ellis who, a few years earlier, 

had relayed a prophecy about 

our church in Loughborough. 

There wasn’t a strong connection, 

but I prayed into it and 

one came about. 

I created space in my life, 

I didn’t pursue a graduate 

career, I got part-time work so 

I would be available to form 

what this new student movement 

could look like. That 

went on for nearly three years. 

It was quite a tortuous time, 

quite a shaping time. 

One of the main characteristics 

of Fusion seems to be 

working through cell groups? 

Fusion started with the idea of 

cell groups – small missional 

communities that multiplied. 

As we went on we realised that 

we needed to keep training 

people for this, year on year. 

Somehow we needed to get 

the church focus rather than 

us, a small organisation. In 

2002 we made a deliberate 

shift to working solely through 

local churches. 

Cell groups are still a key 

part of that – but it’s broader, 

we don’t want people to 

get stuck on the word “cell” 

and our vision is to equip 

and inspire local churches 

in a variety of ways. Fusion 

doesn’t have any groups 

but we are connected with 

18 


www.jesus.org.uk

Rich 

Wilson 

around 230 churches, many of 

which have their own student 

small groups. We also equip 

churches by training local 

church-based student workers, 

connecting school leavers 

to local churches, and sharing 

fresh ideas and inspiration for 

local church-based student 

mission. The same values are 

there but the language has 

maybe changed a bit. 

Would you say Fusion has 

been a success? 

I look at it from two angles. 

Sometimes I think we’ve not 

achieved anywhere near the 

amount I was hoping for. But 

then I look at it another way 

and think “actually we’ve 

come a really long way”. Our 

success has been around 

bringing about a change of 

commitment and conviction 

in the church in the UK. It 

has taken some time for the 


s 

s 

Rich Wilson 



19

Rich Wilson 

READ PAST 

INTERVIEWS: 

jesus.org.uk/talkingto 

s 

s 


churches to recognise that 

they have a significant part to 

play in student mission. Each 

church needs to have a vision 

for the next generation – 

otherwise we’re one generation 

from extinction. 

Do you think students have 

changed over recent years? 

Lots has changed. In the last 

four decades the number of 

UK students has increased 

700%. Student debt is huge. 

Technology has changed 

student culture. Student life 

is a lot less social than it used 

to be. Loneliness is masked by 

social networks where people 

can watch others’ lives and 

engage at a distance. 

The idea that we can do 

mission as we always did 

it just doesn’t make sense. 

These days there are more 

restrictions around universities. 

Conversely, student life 

now often exists across towns 

and cities rather than being 

confined to a campus. I think 

there’s a huge role to play for 

churches that are prepared to 

work at relationships, engage 

in the breadth of student life, 

and be sensitive to what the 

Loneliness is masked 

by social networks 

where people can 

watch others’ lives and 

engage at a distance 

universities are trying to do. 

In what ways can churches 

engage with students? 

It’s really important that 

churches have a web profile 

that reflects a heart for 

students. It’s working with 

the new media to create a 

platform and then following 

this up by meeting people in 

person. At the end of the day 

we’re relational – and that’s 

what makes the difference. 

If it’s on campus you need 

to get permission. If it’s off 

campus there are all sorts of 

things you can do. Free tea 

and coffee before lectures, 

dragging a sofa on to campus 

and offering ‘free chats’; it’s 

about engaging in a relevant 

way. We can afford to be 

upfront but we also need to 

be transparent; students are 

looking for authenticity and 

to see that we genuinely care 

about them. We’ve put together 

a booklet called Love 

Your Uni which has loads of 

ideas in it. 

You talked recently about the 

danger of being “moment centred” 

rather than “movement 

centred”. What do you mean? 

The “moments” – the high 

points in our meetings – can 

just be consumer experiences. 

We need a generation that 

has a sense of purpose. 

Andrew Marr made a revealing 

comment at the Live8 event: 

“‘Make Poverty History’ 

– that’s a movement. We need 

20 

Jesus Life www.jesus.org.uk

Free tea and coffee 

before lectures, 

dragging a sofa on to 

campus and offering 

‘free chats’; it’s 

about engaging in a 

relevant way 

a movement – but all these 

people they look like they’re 

just here for the moment. 

Will this moment create a 

movement – or will it just 

remain a moment?” 

Most people say “Yeah! 

make poverty history!” – but 

haven’t got the resolve to outwork 

that. That’s where I guess 

discipleship comes in. 

How would you define what 

Jesus is doing on campuses? 

Jesus is calling His church to 

love the universities they are 

close to, to express that love 

in a diversity of ways through 

words, works and wonders. 

We need thousands more 

school leavers going up to uni 

knowing who they are in God; 

wanting to get a degree but using 

their time at uni to live for 

Jesus and make a difference. 

We need “whole-life disciples” 

who spend time with the millions 

who don’t know Jesus 

yet, pursue all sorts of different 

avenues – but with God at 

the centre of them. 

How should churches help 

school leavers? How do you 

release them in the right way? 

The release doesn’t happen all 

at once, over the sixth-form 

years there’s a preparation for 

adulthood and going away. 

There needs to be a preparation 

for some of the issues in 

the next life stage. We’ve tried 

to present these issues in a 

way churches can get hold 

of. We’ve created something 

called Student Link Up which 

has a number of resources to 

help school leavers get to grips 

with some of the challenges 

that they will face. 

What sort of things? 

It lifts the lid on university 

culture, alcohol pressures, 

relationship pressures and so 

on. It says “determine, before 

you go to university, how 

you’re going to respond to 

some of these challenges” and 

– on the positive side – “what 

positive contribution are you 

going to make?” 

It’s not just about abstaining, 

it’s about making a difference 

and about learning how 

to explain your stance which 

reveals God’s heart. It’s not 

just “I don’t do this because 

I’m a Christian”, or “because 

the Bible tells me not to”. 

It’s “I don’t do this because I 

value how I’m made, I value 

relationships, I value people.” 

Each church has a part to 

play in bringing the gospel to 

students in their area! JL 



21

M 

ULTIPLY 

HRISTIAN 

Big house, 

big kingdom 

– big vision 

NETWORK 

Emmaline Hart was one of a group 

from the Jesus Fellowship who visited 

“Basivilla”, a Christian Community in Switzerland last March. She 

tells Jesus Life about this exciting branch of the Multiply family. 

WE THOUGHT that we had come 

“ home and everyone had been 

waiting for us,” says Mark Fels on visiting 

the Jesus Fellowship for the first time in 

1991. 

This visit was the catalyst which started 

to burn the vision of Christian community 

in his heart, so on returning to Switzerland, 

Mark and his wife Silvia with their 

young son Joshua invited two single men 

and a drug addict to embark on a lifestyle 

of community living in their home. 

Through prayer, many other people, 

especially the young, were attracted to 

live this radical life of sharing, so much so 

that their house became increasingly full. 

This seemed to go very well with the name 

of the house at that time – “Perazim” 

which means “breaking through”. 

By 1994, with 15 people living in as 

residents, they had a good team. Evangelising 

on the streets, prayer and worship 

times was their way of life. The seed had 

germinated and was flourishing – this was 

radical Christianity. 

However, there was a tendency to 

neglect members in the household, with 

a focus on mission rather than relationships 

– this led Mark and Silvia, eager 

to build brotherhood, to reach a crunch 

point and they decided to move out. 

Four months later, they received a 

phone call asking them to move back: 

they sensed God calling them back to the 

vision of community. 

It was a new launch – and with this 

new launch came a new name, “Basivilla” 

(Basi from “Basileia” meaning “kingdom 

of God,” and villa being a “large house”). 

With a heart for people “on the edge”, 

the team is involved in helping the poor; 

they also work with kids and host Alpha 

courses, aware that this is spiritual work 

for the Lord rather than social work. They 

now have 17 living in the house. 

“We love to live brotherhood,” says 

Silvia – and this is evident by the warm 

welcome they give and their generous 

hospitality. Throughout the week, they 

have many friends outside of the community 

coming around for meals to have 

a taste of the lifestyle. 


www.multiply.org.uk

ULTI 

CHRISTIAN 

NETWORK 

many people 

were attracted 

to live this 

radical life of 

sharing... their 

house became 

increasingly full 

When some members of the Jesus 

Fellowship, including myself, visited, the 

team hosted a two-day event at Basivilla 

about Christian Community. They invited 

some of the Jesus Fellowship members to 

share their experiences. 

It was a time of tears as many people 

glimpsed what they had been longing for. 

For myself, I found conviction about how 

the pioneers of the Jesus Fellowship had 

laid down their lives to make community 

so available, and how I should push 

forward the vision rather than just rely on 

the strength that we already have. 

WHAT IS MULTIPLY? 

Multiply Christian Network is 

a worldwide apostolic stream 

of churches, initiated by Jesus 

Fellowship Church. 

CONTACT MULTIPLY: 

www.multiply.org.uk 

Contact Multiply Director, Huw 

Lewis, Tel: +44 1327 344533 

Email: huw.lewis@jesus.org.uk 

Write to: Jesus Fellowship/ 

Multiply, Nether Heyford, 

Northampton, UK NN7 3LB 

Clockwise from top left: Visionaries: Mark and Silvia; 

‘Smile’: the whole community; Fun times at ‘Children’s 

week’; ‘Play it’: the Basivilla worship band. 

Basivilla joined the Multiply Network to 

gain support from other Christians living 

the same lifestyle of community, to be 

able to seek advice from the friendships 

that are built through communication and 

short visits. Being a younger and smaller 

pioneering group, they look to the Jesus 

Fellowship, with its larger community, as 

an example of how to make the kingdom of 

God visible through community. 

Ultimately, their vision is “to see Jesus 

lifted high and to see many people come 

to faith in Jesus”. 

www.multiply.org.uk 


Coming in... 

Didier has found 

something to live for 


www.jesus.org.uk

from 

the cold 

From sunny Senegal via cold London 

streets to the warmth of God’s family: 

Didier Douno tells Jesus Life his story. 

JANUARY 2002. Didier had 

arrived in the UK from Senegal 

and was knocking on his 

auntie’s door. No answer. No 

one at home. 

Didier was absolutely freezing. 

Until that moment he had 

thought a temperature of 19 

degrees Celsius was cold. At 

a bracing minus two degrees, 

Britain felt like the coldest 

place on the planet. His 

fingers were heavy and numb 

with cold. He could see the 

headlines in his mind’s eye: 

“African immigrant freezes to 

death on Tooting doorstep!” 

Finally, hours later, his aunt 

returned from work. Shivering 

Didier found refuge in 

her home, snuggling under a 

mountain of blankets, trying 

to get warm. 

It was a memorable – if 

miserable – arrival in the UK. 

And his family had said that it 


was such a great place to be. 

Born Aboubacar Sidiki 

Douno, 26-year-old Didier, as 

he likes to be called, is from a 

traditional Muslim family in 

Guinea, West Africa. His father, 

a government employee, 

has four wives. Didier is one of 

three boys and 10 sisters in the 

large family. 

His childhood was happy, 

though he wasn’t much interested 

in praying five times a 

day like they taught him to in 

the Islamic religious school he 

attended. 

Unfortunately, civil wars 

in neighbouring Sierra Leone 

and Liberia kept spilling over 

the borders into Guinea. Life 

in the country was unsafe. In 

1995, Didier’s father sent him 

to live with his uncle in Senegal, 

away from the fighting. 

Didier’s uncle was relaxed 


 

 

Didier’s dad 

stopped 

paying 

for his 

housing and 

education. 

Didier was 

suddenly 

alone; 

homeless, 

on the 

streets of 

London. 


25

from 

he cold 

The worst was going three 

weeks without a shower in 

the middle of summer 

 

 


about religious observance. 

He let Didier do what he 

wanted and, though he fasted 

during Ramadan out of tradition, 

the teenage Didier essentially 

lived as he pleased. He 

was popular, got good grades, 

joined the basketball team at 

his high school and wanted to 

do a scientific job in his future; 

a geneticist, a biotechnologist 

– something cool like that. 

Religion seemed futile, 

especially when he started 

reading philosophy. At the 

age of 12, he read books about 

Plato and Socrates, and argued 

with a Christian friend who 

tried to persuade him that God 

was real. “I took great pleasure 

in defeating my friend in the 

debates we had,” says Didier, 

with a rueful smile. 

At 18, Didier was enjoying 

life in Senegal when relatives 

in the UK sent word that he 

should come over. The UK was 

a great country, a place where 

Didier could develop his full 

potential, they said. 

“They didn’t mention the 

weather!” thought Didier as he 

stamped his feet and froze on 

his aunt’s doorstep. 

But things improved from 

there. Didier quickly learned 

English and then took science 

A-levels at Kingston College. 

It was education, education 

and more education as he did 

Maths, Physics, Chemistry, 

Biology – then on to a year 

in business school – then he 

discovered computers, the 

beginning of an interest that 

continues to this day. Things 

were looking up for Didier as 

he flexed his intellectual muscles 

and made good progress. 

But after six years things 

went wrong. Didier found that 

he was at odds with his father. 

In Guinean society, the head 

of the household is always 

right. Didier found he couldn’t 

agree with his dad on a family 

matter – and things went sour. 

“It was a painful rift,” says 

Didier. “As the eldest son of the 

family a lot is expected of me, 

not only that I would always 

be dutiful and obedient, but 


www.jesus.org.uk

FOR MORE ON LONDON 

JESUS CENTRE: 

londonjesuscentre.org.uk 

that one day I would return to 

Guinea and take my place as 

the head of the family. I had to 

take a stand.” 

Communication broke 

down. Didier’s dad stopped 

paying for his housing and 

education. Didier was suddenly 

alone, homeless, on the 

streets of London. 

“For three months I had 

no place,” says Didier. “The 

worst was going three weeks 

without a shower in the 

middle of summer.” 

Didier was looking for food 

in a bin outside an EAT restaurant 

when a man that people 

called “Big Rob” recommended 

he go to the London Jesus 

Centre for help. 

Didier says, “I’d seen the 

Jesus Army in Leicester Square 

when I had been doing work 

as a nightclub promoter. I’d 

always thought ‘Are you guys 

for real? No one wants to talk 

about God on a Friday night!’” 

Ditching his reservations, 

Didier went inside for a shower. 

“That shower was so 

great!” says Didier. “No one 

in London cares about you 

when you are on the streets. 

At the Jesus Centre, I found 

friendship and warmth. The 

contrast was clear.” 

Didier met with Tim and 

Edwin who work at the 

London Jesus Centre. He was 


impressed with their patience 

and kindness; it made him 

curious. Mary, one of the 

workers at the centre, made 

Didier feel like “the most 

important person on earth”. 

Amazing people! “They were 

friendly and real,” he says. 

Didier got a place to live 

again and got back on his feet. 

Are you guys for real? No 

one wants to talk about 

God on a Friday night! 

He got to know people at the 

centre and heard their stories. 

His curiosity grew – and so did 

his faith. In May 2009, he was 

baptised as a Christian – but 

still needed to cross the line 

into living for Jesus. 

“I was ‘one foot in the 

world and one foot in God’s 

kingdom’. Living with my girlfriend, 

going clubbing – but 

knowing I needed to make a 

choice. We used to laugh at 

Christians on the TV, but now 

– I wasn’t laughing any more.” 

In August 2009, at a 

leaders’ training session at 

Cornhill manor, Didier had a 

decisive experience. 

“I was walking in the fields 

surrounding Cornhill, when 

I felt an amazing peace and a 

sense of belonging. I thought, 

‘That’s it, I belong here.’” 

Two months later, Didier 

and his girlfriend agreed to 

go their separate ways. Old 

friends were perplexed at the 

change in him, but Didier was 

set on living a new life. 

This desire led Didier to 

move into Christian community, 

which he did this year in 

January, the cold month of his 

first arrival back in 2002. 

Says Didier: “Community 

reminds me daily of the 

preciousness of the kingdom of 

God, of the people around me.” 

With vision to use his skills 

for building the church, Didier 

is asking God to increase 

his faith. 

“I want to be a real disciple 

of Jesus and I know I have 

some work to do.” 

No longer out in the cold, 

Didier’s heart has been 

warmed by the love of God; 

he’s a changed man, ready and 

willing to live for Jesus with all 

that he’s got. 

JL 


BODY 

BUILDERS 

CHRIST’S BODY. This group of 

not-very-perfect people in big, bad 

Corinth expressed Christ all on their own 

– fully. 

But maybe you want to correct Paul: 

“Hang on there, Mr Apostle: they are part 

of the body of Christ – don’t forget those 

Christians up in Thessalonica or over the 

bay in Ephesus? Not to mention further 

afield?” 

Most Christians know “the body of 

Christ” means the Church – but they get 

twitchy about any one church being “the 

body of Christ”. “Part of the body” seems 

more correct, not so OTT – safer. 

Yet the body of Christ is most 

powerfully real where people are joined 

together in day-to-day life. “I’m a part 

of the whole body of Christ across 

the world” may be true enough (and 

wonderful in its way), but if you don’t 

actually belong to specific people it’s 

dangerously airy-fairy. 

The more you belong to the brothers 

When Paul wrote to the 

Corinthians he called them 

something awesome: “You 

are the body of Christ”. 

and sisters you’re actually with, the more 

you belong to the body of Christ. The 

whole body was at Corinth. The whole 

body was at Thessalonica. And Ephesus. 

The whole body is a reality in any church 

where there is lasting commitment to God 

and to each other. God has not scattered 

limbs and organs across the world. 

Whenever even two or three gather 

– commit to each other, lay down their 

lives – Christ is there (Matthew 18:20). 

Then – and only then – a big 

bogeyman is given the death sentence: 

independence. Independence – so prized 

by the world’s spirit! – is the big enemy 

of “body of Christ” reality. 

And independence often wears a 

devout mask: “I’ll go where the Lord calls 

me!” (Translated: “I’ll go where I like 

and never limit my options.”) In the New 

Testament, people weren’t “called” – if 

by “called” you mean getting a personal 

“phone call from God”. Even Paul, who 

certainly was “called to be an apostle”, 

God has not scattered limbs 

and organs across the world 


www.jesus.org.uk

Chewy challenge 

from Jesus Life 

editor, James Stacey 

#13 

RADICAL 

BITES 

only set off apostling when God spoke to 

his church, in Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). 

Relationships in this kind of body 

go very deep. “We are members of 

one another”; “If one member suffers, 

all suffer together; if one member is 

honoured, all rejoice” (Romans 12:5, I 

Corinthians 12:26, ESV). 

But we won’t get it on the cheap. 

How about total loyalty to the body you 

belong to? Never leave unless you’re 

commissioned and sent. 

Be the body of Christ: deal the deathblow 

to your independence. 

How about 

total loyalty 

to the body 

you belong to? 

Never leave 

unless you’re 

commissioned 

and sent. 

READ THE E-BOOK: 

jesus.org.uk/short/ 

kingdommanifesto 



Ranting 

LIZZIE KROON 

Rant 

RANT & RAVE 

T 

HERE 

& 

Boiling with rage and 

bubbling with excitement 

be “Let girls girls” 

WAS outrage 

recently when it was 

discovered that a high-street 

clothing store was selling 

“sexy” padded bikinis for girls 

as young as seven. Shocking! 

But really, is it so surprising? 

The whole advertising 

machine revolves around 

airbrushed, cabbage dietinduced, 

abnormally slim 

supermodels. (And this is how 

you, too, can look! – if you’ll 

just buy this, do this, go here, 

wear that). 

airbrushed, cabbage 

diet-induced, 

abnormally slim 

supermodels 

The commercial industry 

preys upon a young girl’s 

insecurities, destroying any 

respect for what God has 

made her. 

No film, no music video 

– and certainly no TV ad 

– is complete without the 

presence of a “flawless 

goddess”. From a very young 

age, thanks to the wonders 

of modern technology, girls 

are introduced to their life’s 

assignment: “to ‘make it’ 

in society, be impossibly 

beautiful.” 

I’m an instant write-off: 

short, brown-haired – and 

clumsy, too! Fortunately, I was 

blessed with a healthy, happy 

environment to grow up in. It 

brought security, but it doesn’t 

make me immune to such 

pressures. In homes where 

there is no such protection, 

it’s all too easy for girls to be 

crushed, constantly striving to 

be someone else. 

What happened to being 

free to be who we are and 

enjoy life as it is? 

Real confidence comes 

from the beauty of a 

contented spirit. Sure, take 

care of yourself physically, 

but we should be promoting 

the cultivation of a beautiful 

character. 


www.jesus.org.uk

Rave 

“Let men express their 

passion” 

Raving 

T 

HINK 

churches and you 

get graveyards. Think 

young men at churches and 

you think choirs, weddings 

and funerals. 

No chance of becoming a 

churchgoer then. Or so many 

young men would say. 

But they also say things 

like, “One life: now live it”. 

This translates into “sex, 

power and money” – but 

never church and rarely Jesus. 

Young men love football, 

too – that’s the big one. In 

fact, “it’s our religion”, they 

say, “our passion”. 

We Christians, who think 

we know about church “as it 

should be”, can knock them 

for it. We can look down on 

it as shallow. But football has 

found a connection with young 

men that church has lost. 

There is passion in every 

man that is desperate to find 


its voice – its expression. And 

football provides a daily fix, a 

common ground with fellow 

“believers”, a cause to live 

for, a dream to be fulfilled. 

Church must be like this! 

Church has to be a place 

for young men – a place 

of energy, passion, power, 

and at times terrace-like 

singing! 

Jesus showed the way to 

be a true man 

and gave us a 

worthy cause to 

live for. 

May young 

men reading 

this search and 

find a church 

like that – and 

live your life 

to the full, not forever 

blowing bubbles and 

following the crowds 

– but living life to make 

a difference. 

ANDY GREGORY 

“One life: now live it” 

translates into 

“sex, power 

and money” 

JL 

READ AND COMENT ON 

MORE RANTS AND RAVES: 

jesus.org.uk/short/rantrave 


31

God’s rebel 

JEN WAS “kicked out of school” at 14. 

After that, in her own words, she “went 

pretty wild”: drugs, festivals, parties 

– everything possible not to conform. 

In 2001 Jen was 16 and out clubbing. 

She met some young people who had 

grown up in the Jesus Fellowship; they 

became good friends. 

“I’d been put off Christianity,” says Jen, 

“because Christians seemed too ‘nice’: 

everything ‘sorted’ and ‘tucked in’. Reality 

isn’t like that.” 

Jen went to a church event with her 

new friends. Everyone was singing a song 

with the words “I fall on You, because 

everything else is insecure”. 

Jen stood listening – and then burst 

into tears. 

“I remember feeling a total peace that 

cleared away all of the rubbish inside of 

me and something in me felt satisfied,” 

recalls Jen, “I went home and wrote it off 

– thought I was just a bit emotional that 

day – but deep down I knew it was something 

more because I never cried. 

“What I felt that night kept bugging 

me – I couldn’t forget that peace that I’d 

never felt before and had always wanted.” 

Jen kept coming back after that: “I 

wanted to find that peace again and I 

couldn’t find it anywhere else. When I 

wasn’t in church meetings I had panic 

attacks and it was these that drove me to 

give my life to God.” 

A year later, at 17, Jen decided to get 

baptised. “I was determined to be different 

– so I was up for trying it!” 

“People talk about amazing experiences 

they had when they were baptised 


– but it wasn’t quite like that for me,” admits 

Jen. “I was baptised in a river, it was 

freezing and I didn’t really feel anything 

special. But there was a real change in me 

after that. From that moment on I didn’t 

take drugs or get drunk.” 

By 2007, Jen had reached a point in 

her life where she knew she had to make 

difficult choices. A long-term relationship 

meant that her future seemed certain, but 

she knew God was calling her to more. 

“Somehow I knew that it compromised 

what God wanted me to be,” says Jen. “I 

can be quite reckless and I realised that God 

wanted to use that recklessness for Him.” 

At a Jesus Festival, another song line hit 

Jen: “So let us rid ourselves of anything 

that slows us down The reality of what 

God was asking hit her. She ended her 

relationship, and a week later moved into 

a Jesus Fellowship Christian community 

house called “Living Stones”. 

“I love the idea of a random bunch of 

people living together, muddling through 

living for God and making it work,” she 

says. 

The future? Jen’s passion is to see 

young girls realise they are loved and valued 

by Jesus, to find their security in God. 

“I know what it’s like – I’ve been there. 

You see it all around you, young girls who 

think they’re worthless. They give themselves 

to things that just cause more pain 

because they don’t think they’re worth 

anything better.” 

“I want to show them that there’s 

something more. If God can rescue me, 

He can definitely rescue them. It’s a long 

journey; I’ve still got a lot to learn.” JL 

www.jesus.org.uk

Jen Carter was a rebellious 

teenager. Now she lives for God. 

She told Jesus Life her story. 

I can be 

quite 

reckless 

and I realised 

that God 

wanted to 

use that 

recklessness 

for Him 


READ MORE: Find other 

people’s stories of how 

Jesus changed their life: 

jesus.org.uk/jcml 


BLOG 

On-Fire-4-Jesus 

youth 

Aidan Ashby, a fiery young 

Jesus Army brave, blogs about 

a growing youth movement. 

RECENTLY, after leaving a youth gathering 

with the Jesus Army, I tweeted, 

“Phenomenal! Just left a gatherin of 80 onfire-4-Jesus 

youth. God’s presence powerful, 

we took ground in faith 4 @realandwild.” 

We’d been worshipping, battle-praying, 

and generally getting fired up for a summer 

jam-packed with our flavour of gospel, 

multimedia, evangelistic events, including 

The atmosphere? I’d describe it as 

the roar of a train through a tunnel 

RAW (Real and Wild), our annual youth 

event. The atmosphere? I’d describe it as 

the roar of a train through a tunnel; God’s 

presence was so with us, and we all felt it. 

Which brings me to Tallskinnykiwi’s 

words, quoted above. The first generations 

of our church gave a phenomenal amount 

for an amazing vision (particularly residen- 

34 


“Although a particular man-made 

doctrinal construction may have 

been considered as ‘orthodox’ by one 

generation, it will need to be reestablished 

by the next if it is to regain 

and maintain credibility and usage.” 

– from tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com, 

defending the emerging church. 

tial Christian community, our all-thingsin-common 

lifestyle). 

The culture is now in place, but maybe 

the cogs seem to be running too smoothly 

these days. To us in the third generation 

of this church movement, it can seem that 

maintenance is our only objective. More 

and more, we’re seeing the need to give 

ourselves wholeheartedly to wherever our 

God-pointed feet take us. 

God is taking this generation forward. He’s 

challenging us to have a faith with which we 

will invest all 

our substance 

in His Kingdom. 

Exciting 

times. JL 

READ AIDAN’S BLOG: 

morethanbrothers.blogspot.com 

CHECK OUT @realandwild tweet 

stream: twitter.com/realandwild 

www.jesus.org.uk

keep in touch! 

Multiply churches and groups meet 

all over the UK. Get in touch with your locals 

and find out what’s going on in your area. 

BELFAST 

Jesus Fellowship Church.................... 0845 123 5552 

Birmingham 

Jesus Fellowship Church.....................0845 166 8153 

BLACKBURN 

Hyndburn Christian Fellowship..........0170 622 2401 

BLACKBUrn 

Rishton Christian Fellowship..............0125 488 7790 

Bridgend 

The Bridge Community Church..........0165 665 5635 

BrightoN 


bristol 


chatham 

House Of Prayer For All Nations........0163 466 9933 

King’s Church Medway........................ 0163 484 7477 

Coventry 


gloUCESTEr 

Living Word Fellowship........................0145 253 2138 

HASTingS 


High Wycombe 

Church of Shalom.................................0149 444 9408 

Kettering 


Leeds 


LeiCESTEr 


Liverpool 


London CENTRAL 



London N 

Glad Tidings Evangelical Church.......0208 245 9002 

London S 

Bible Life Family Ministries.................0208 689 2244 

London SE 

Ephratah Int’l Gospel Praise Centre.0208 469 0047 

London SE 

Flaming Evangelical Ministries .........0163 420 1170 

London SE 

Glorious Revival Eagle Ministries......0208 855 3087 

London SE 

Life For The World Christian Centre..0163 431 1507 

London SE 

Mission Together for Christ.................0207 401 2687 

ManchESTEr 


Milton Keynes 


Northampton 

Jesus Fellowship Church ....................0845 166 8161 

Norwich 


Nottingham 


Oxford 


RAMSEY HOLLOW (Hunts) 

Christians United...................................0148 781 5528 

SheffiELd 


Stoke-on-Trent 


SWANSEA 


WORCESTER 



Find more at 

WWW. jesuS.org.uk 


THE 

MODERN 

JESUS ARMY 

ONLINE 

Lots of 

interesting things 

to get involved in 

Also check out the (mobile friendly) mja blog at 

jesus.org.uk/blog 

MORE INFO? 

www.jesus.org.uk/dates 

Tel: 0845 123 5550 Email: info@jesus.org.uk 

Write: Jesus Fellowship, FREEPOST, Nether 

Heyford, Northampton NN7 3BR 

modern Jesus army 

EVENTS 

ALL FREE 

ALL WELCOME 

NO PREJUDICE 

SATURDAY 17 JULY 

LONDON JESUS 

FESTIVAL 

11.00am march from Hyde 

Park Corner to Trafalgar Square 

12.15pm Festival on Trafalgar 

Square, LONDON WC2N 

----------------------------------- 

SATURDAY 31 JULY 

UK JESUS 

CELEBRATION 

From 11.00am 

Jesus Centre, Abington Square 

NORTHAMPTON NN1 4AE 

----------------------------------- 

THUR-SAT 5-7 AUGUST 

RAW Real & Wild 

YOUTH FESTIVAL FOR 15-35s 

Cofton Park, BIRMINGHAM 

B45 8UN (realandwild.com) 

----------------------------------- 

FRI-MON 27-30 AUGUST 

WINNING 

FESTIVAL 

Giant Marquee 

Cornhill Manor, Pattishall 

NORTHAMPTON NN12 8LQ 

----------------------------------- 

SATURDAY 25 

SEPTEMBER 

UK JESUS 

CELEBRATIONS 

6.00pm 

NORTH: Open Youth venue 

20 Bank Plain, 

NORWICH NR2 4SF 

SOUTH: Coventry Central Hall 

Warwick Lane, 

COVENTRY CV1 2HA www.jesus.org.uk 

-----------------------------------

Jesus Life 84 - The Jesus Army

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?