British New Church Movement

The British New Church Movement (BNCM) is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian movement. Its origin is associated with the Charismatic Movement of the 1960s, although it both predates it and has an agenda that goes beyond it. It was originally known as the "house church movement", although this name is no longer relevant as few congregations meet in houses. Gerald Coates, one of the early leaders, coined the name New Churches as an alternative. It is also restorationist in character, seeking to restore the church to its 1st century equivalent. While the Charismatic Movement focused on the transformation of individuals, the BNCM (like Brethrenism, Baptists, Anabaptists and the Restoration Movement in the US) focused also on the nature of the church. For the BNCM since 1970, this has focused on the renewal of the fivefold ministries, particularly apostles, which for others might resemble a charismatically ordained and functioning episcopate.

The British New Church Movement numbered roughly 400,000 people in the year 2000. 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.

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 - , 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 world wide Christian Church. Although they had in practice left the Brethren, their subsequent efforts produced a hybrid, Pentecostalised Brethrenism, displaying features of both traditions.

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