Gerald Coates Pioneer: A Biography

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He was extremely prophetic, both at national events and in the lives of individuals. He had an expectation that God would speak.

The British New Church Movement numbered roughly 400,000 people in the year 2000. [3] It has two major aspects: those who believe in the role of apostles, where churches relate together in "streams", and independent charismatic churches, where they generally do not. Those in streams represent about 40% of the BNCM. Since its origins, it has grown to include many networks of churches, with individual congregations found throughout the world. Assess the current safeguarding arrangements and culture and identify any deficiencies and required improvements. Later in life, Gerald would forget in conversation the stories he had previously told. And if you dared to interrupt, he’d start again! Pressure has always been on to complete the missing north west section from Crown East across the River Severn to Hawford and this time the preferred route ran straight through Gerald’s garden. “It would have been his Armageddon moment,” said Brian.The Jesus Fellowship, initiated by a Baptist pastor, Noel Stanton, who practised the sharing of goods in community and who developed the Jesus Army, an aggressive but effective means of evangelism among the marginalised sections of society. Arthur Wallis and David Lillie, Plymouth Brethren men, became convinced of the validity of spiritual gifts. Lillie had received the "Baptism in the Spirit" in 1941, and Wallis in 1951. Influenced by ex- Apostolic leader Cecil Cousen, they developed an understanding that a return of the 'charismatic gifts' (e.g., prophecy and speaking in tongues) to the traditional denominations was not sufficient, and that the church needed to be restored to the New Testament forms of church government as described in St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians - Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher (Eph 4:11). This became known as the fivefold ministry model, and the group saw the fulfillment of these offices as essential to the reviving of the worldwide Christian Church. Although they had in practice left the Brethren, their subsequent efforts produced a hybrid, Pentecostalised Brethrenism, displaying features of both traditions. The timing of England’s Lionesses World Cup final clashed with Sunday morning church services, but there were novel responses. Some churches chose to show the service on a big screen after their service, including CofE Winton Moordown and Charminster, Ebenezer church Bristol and Hillingdon Park Baptist. The Rev Mark Montgomery wore an England shirt to lead worship at West Malling in Kent. The Bishop of Derby, Libby Lane, the CofE’s spokesperson on sport, told The Times that the church was “fine” if people wanted to watch the match instead of attending their usual Sunday service, as they could visit another church at another time instead. The idea that football could dictate church service times and attendance provoked fury on social media with clergy questioning whether worship should rank second to sport. But the Archbishop of Canterbury, among other clergy, got into the spirit of things, calling on the Almighty before the match, tweeting “May God Be With You!”, but after their disappointing defeat, some pastoral help: “Commiserations @Lionesses, World Cup 2023 Finalists. We know you gave it everything. We admire your talent, grit and determination. And congratulations to Spain, who played with such dedication to the end”. Mr Fahy’s decision to afford Mr Ellis anonymity is his personal choice but I feel under no obligation whatsoever to do likewise as this is yet another instance of those who claim to be Spirit-anointed departing radically from the truth as found in God’s Word. There is no doubt that now that the excitement surrounding ‘Toronto’ has begun to subside it will be necessary for the leaders in (the extreme) charismatic circles to be on the look-out for some new ‘spiritual plaything’ to offer their followers and I just wonder if ‘Celtic Spirituality’ might be the next course on the menu. Understand the culture across Pioneer Trust activities with specific reference to the safeguarding culture and how safeguarding is embedded into the ministry culture.

The scene then shifted to England where similar ‘miracles’ were being claimed and once again we were re-tracing the 1994 TORONTO TRAIL. Now we were in the company of Gerald Coates and his Pioneer Church. Listen to this extract of the interview with Mr Coates We pray for Gerald’s wife, Anona, as well as their three sons and their families. And we pray for John, Christine’s husband, and their extended family.

Remembering that criticism is only noise is a great way to keep the main thing the main thing, avoid hurt and bitterness and maintain a clean heart.