Noel Stanton: the preacher who turned a Christian dream into a decades-long cult nightmare
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Charismatic preacher Noel Stanton, once a humble Baptist minister, built a powerful religious empire that masked decades of horrific abuse under the banner of the Jesus Army.
Born on Christmas Day in 1926, Stanton began his career as a conventional churchman. But in the 1970s, he reinvented himself as the visionary behind a radical Christian community in rural Northamptonshire. What began as a bold experiment in faith would become one of Britain’s most controversial religious movements.
Stanton urged followers to hand over their possessions, homes and even their children, promising to build “heaven on Earth.” The Jesus Fellowship Church – more widely known as the Jesus Army – grew from a small congregation in Bugbrooke to a national organisation with thousands of members unlike other notorious cults which remained small.
His followers lived in strict communal houses, surrendering their wages and autonomy while adhering to his increasingly rigid rules. Public evangelism became the group’s signature, with colourful Jesus Army buses and street teams in eye-catching jackets becoming familiar sights across the UK.
But behind the exuberant outreach and public prayer lay a darker truth. Stanton demanded complete obedience, creating a culture where questioning leadership was equated with blasphemy. As revealed in a new BBC documentary, survivors now describe the Jesus Army as a cult “hiding in plain sight.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2087588/noel-stanton-preacher-who-turned.
