Gerald Coates Pioneer: A Biography

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THE founder of the Pioneer network of churches and March for Jesus, Gerald Coates, has died, aged 78, it was announced last weekend. He was an author and speaker, and well known in Evangelical circles. His books include What On Earth Is This Kingdom?, Divided We Stand, and Non-Religious Christianity . Gerald was a storyteller. Never a theologian, though widely read, it’s important to record that his seemingly off-the-cuff preaches were laboured over, well prepared and prayed through. Often hilarious and many times at his own expense, he captured the listener. Later, I learned that in medieval times the court jester, also known as the fool, acted like an immensely powerful rogue, who could nudge the mightiest power in the land to dothe right thing, often through wit and repartee. The jester taught with laughter and sought to bring healing to painful situations. The smiling Gerald modelled that in life, and now exhorted me in word. I was relieved. There was dignity in my calling.

The rapid growth of the New Churches in the 1980s continued in the 1990s, but not easily. Rapid growth requires a time of consolidation, and this did not always happen. Disagreements about the type and nature of leadership appeared and two of the most well-known streams, Harvestime, under Bryn Jones, and Ichthus, under Roger Forster, saw severe splits in their churches, with Harvestime becoming Covenant Ministries in the process. Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction, p. 82, Stephen Hunt, 2003: "Restorationism and the house church movement: Restorationism denounced the historical churches as 'the abomination of the denominations'."Andrew Walker distinguishes Roger and Faith Forster's Ichthus Christian Fellowship from the rest: "perhaps the most significant house church organization that lies outside Restorationism is the Ichthus movement." [4]

Keith Larby/Alamy Live News One of the windows of Truro Cathedral which were damaged by vandals last month

A small group of churches centred on King’s Church in Aldershot under Derek Brown and Mike Pusey, who were originally Baptists. The Learning Community is a group of eight local churches who meet every six months for prayer and planning for vision and growth." {7}

Concerns about activities in which Pioneer Trust co-delivers with other charities in a partnership arrangement (whether network churches or other charities and regardless of the formality / informality or the partnership) and where Pioneer Trust therefore has shared or full responsibility and authority are included in the scope of this review. Although Spring Harvest began in 1979, it was during the 1980s that it expanded with huge popularity, bringing charismatic influence and the desire for change to numerous evangelical (and other) churches. By 1989, one in eight evangelical churchgoers in the UK had been to a Spring Harvest event.

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The opening shots showed many people seated prayerfully with their hands clasped – not together but around their jaws. The prayer of the pastor at the front could be heard filling the auditorium – ‘In the name of Jesus – fill teeth Lord – replace amalgam fillings with gold and with platinum’. Who were these people, what was the location and who was the pastor/prospector praying for an infilling, not of the Holy Spirit, but of precious metals? We were in TORONTO – birthplace of the 1994 so-called ‘BLESSING’. Same fellowship and same pastor – John Arnott.

There are times when watching ‘things Christian’ on TV that I cringe and think to myself ‘what must the unsaved think as they watch this’? Such an occasion occurred whilst watching ‘Tonight’ broadcast by ITV on 15th July 1999. For almost 15 minutes the latest ‘charismatic craze’ was exposed and examined in front of millions of viewers. During that time, Gerald and I worked and travelled together, visiting many nations in Europe, North America, Africa and Australasia.He wrote numerous articles and authored eight books between 1983 and 1995, including What on earth is this Kingdom?, Divided We Stand and Non-Religious Christianity which carried his influence to many emerging leaders in the mainstream churches and beyond the shores of the UK. Pioneer Trust have commissioned Christian Safeguarding Services (CSS) to examine past and present culture and practice, to identify any failures or deficiencies in their policies, practices and safeguarding arrangements, to seek to understand the impact of such failures or deficiencies and the prevalence and scope of harm that has been caused, and to recommend changes and improvements to practice. When Gerald bounded into prominence in the early days of the New Church movement in the UK, he was loved by many and loathed by a few. Intolerant of any religious clutter that obscured the simple beauty of Jesus, Gerald ushered many sacred cows to the slaughterhouse. Later, in a desire to help foster unity across the denominations, his tone softened – but his passion to see a healthy Church never waned. As a preacher, he was a consummate storyteller, utilising laugh-out-loud humour while lobbing memorable one-liners around like stun grenades. I saw him close up, as a friend and a member of his team. We laughed with him at his eccentricity; he’d repeat a story we’d already heard a dozen times, usually peppered with the names of a few famous folk.