Newfrontiers

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Newfrontiers
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationBritish New Church Movement
ScriptureChristian Bible
Theology
PolityModified Congregational
Leader
FounderTerry Virgo
Origin1981 as Coastlands, 1986 as Newfrontiers[1]
Congregations>800 (2011)[1]
Official websitenewfrontierstogether.org

Newfrontiers (previously New Frontiers International) is a global network of evangelical, neo-charismatic churches, founded in Great Britain by Terry Virgo.[1] It is a part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s, combining features of Pentecostalism with British evangelicalism.[2] In an "About" page of its web materials, Newfrontiers describes itself as "a group of apostolic leaders partnering together on global mission, joined by common values and beliefs, shared mission and genuine relationships".[3]

History

In the early days of the movement, a Bible week called The Downs was held at Plumpton Racecourse each year. This was replaced by Stoneleigh Bible Week, which was held at the National Agricultural Centre showground. After the Stoneleigh Bible Week was stopped, a number of smaller more regional events were started, such as North Camp, which was held in the North of England near Teesside. After running for 10 years, North Camp ceased after the 2013 event. Then, after two years, it started again under a new name, Devoted.

The Newday camping event, "an important part of Newfrontiers", was designed for attendance by young people between the ages of 12 and 19.[4]

The logo for the Stoneleigh Bible Weeks

According to a Newfrontiers-produced timeline of its history, "the baton" of the organisation's leadership "was passed... to fifteen apostolic leaders" at a final Leadership Conference in 2011,[1] leaders who were worldwide, each of whom is described as being "free to develop his own strategies, training programs, and [strategy of] gospel advance". He also handed general oversight of Newfrontiers to Dave Devenish at that time.[5]

According to a Newfrontiers-produced timeline of its history, the organisation transitioned from the leadership of Dave Devenish over the "Newfrontiers Together Team" to that of Steve Tibbert, at the Global 2020 conference.[1]

Beliefs

2024 Theological statement

Newfrontiers has stated, as of a September 2024 "Theological Statement", that, "[a]s part of the universal church", they "hold to the ecumenical creeds (the Apostles’, Nicene-Constantinopolitan, Chalcedonian and Athanasian Creeds)".[6] They go on to say, "[a]s Protestant Christians, [they] affirm that justification is by faith alone, and stand in the tradition of Reformation confessional documents like the Heidelberg Catechism, although [they] believe water baptism is only for believers".[6] They go on to note that "[a]s contemporary evangelicals, [they] also affirm modern statements such as the Lausanne Covenant and the Evangelical Alliance statement of faith".[6]

Values

In that September 2024 statement, Newfrontiers presented what it separately termed "some core values in theology, doctrine, leadership and mission" as "an apostolic fellowship",[3] the "Core Doctrinal Values" of which were that Newfrontiers is to be:[6]

  • "Word-based".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers "believe[s] in the absolute truthfulness, sufficiency, and final authority of Scripture" and that "[t]his value is expressed through the Bible having the central place in governing doctrine, practice, ethos and patterns of church life."[6]
  • "Grace-filled".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers believes that "the message of grace and the gospel is central to the Christian life and local church." In this more extensive statement, Newfrontiers states, in part, that "[g]race ought to be expressed in relation to salvation, church life, relationships and leadership style" and that they see salvation as a work of God from start to finish".[6]
  • "Spirit-empowered".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers believes that "all the gifts in Scripture are available... today".[6] (Newfrontiers believes in continuationism.) In this more extensive statement, Newfrontiers states, in part, that "[b]eing indwelt by the [Holy] Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are theologically distinct experiences."[6]

With regard to its "Core Leadership Values", it states that it is to:

  • Be led by "Elders in each local church".[6] By this it means that it believes that "[t]he Holy Spirit appoints elders confirmed by... church and apostolic ministry... [whose] main functions involve leading, feeding, guarding and guiding the church... [and who are] qualified men who lead as a team... with one... provid[ing] leadership to the... team as a first among equals."[6]
  • Conduct "Ephesians 4 ministries".[6] By this it means Newfrontiers believes that "all Ephesians 4 gifts are valid today and help bring churches to maturity and to equip men and women..." and that elders "are encouraged to invite [such] ministries to... bring their local church to maturity".[6] (Congregants are encouraged to use their gifts in the churches.) Moreover, "local elders are encouraged to invite and... receive clear apostolic input and authority".[6]
  • Display "Servantheartedness".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers believes "Christian leadership... is a call to... [follow] the example of Jesus... to serve others not be served. [As such] Christian leadership should be godly, transparent and accessible."[6]

With regard to its "Core Mission Values", it is to be:[6]

  • "Local church focused".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers "regard[s] the local church as central to the mission and purposes of God", and as "the place of primary focus for Ephesians 4 ministries... [that] "exist to serve the local church", not vice versa.[6] (As such, Newfrontiers operates using a form of congregationalism.)
  • To have its "Mission... expressed locally, globally and holistically".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers believes that "local churches [ought be] involved in holistic mission, engaging with all sectors of society, particularly the poor and the marginalised" and that "local fruitfulness and effectiveness leads to a wider sphere of ministry" such that they are "caught up on a global apostolic Kingdom mission".[6]
  • To display "Contextual freedom in application".[6] By this it means that Newfrontiers believes that its "core values will need to be contextualised and applied differently in different contexts" by "translating and applying... [them] without compromising the[ir] essence".[6]

Selected further values

Complementarianism

All Newfrontiers churches hold to a complementarian position on gender similar to that promoted by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. This means that women are not elders. However, women are leaders – and in many churches actively preach, teach and are a part of decision-making affecting local, regional and national church decisions. Women also hold positions in almost every other area in the church and are encouraged to do so.[7]

Homosexuality

Newfrontiers do not believe that being gay is a sin, but that sexual acts of homosexuality are not acceptable. It strongly condemns homophobia. However, views differ from church to church. There have been claims that at least one Newfrontiers church has attempted to "cure" gay people, though these have been strongly disputed.[8]

Spiritual strongholds

A book by prominent Newfrontiers leader David Devenish on spiritual warfare, praised by Terry Virgo as a text that "will help to fortify every believer intent on winning this battle", defines spiritual warfare as

The reality that the advance of the gospel and the building of the church involve us in attacking and experiencing counter-attack in relation to real cosmic forces of darkness under the control of Satan who is also described as the god of this world.[9]

Structure

According to the church-produced timeline of its history, as of a 2011 Leadership Conference, Newfrontiers "had grown to over 800 churches in 70 nations" (that under the leadership of Terry Virgo).[1] In that year, the timeline states that Newfrontiers "redefined [itself] as a network of apostolic spheres worldwide", with the network's leadership passing to "fifteen apostolic leaders", at what it reported to be the final of such conferences.[1]

These include:

Responses

Nigel Wright believes that Newfrontiers and other British restorationists are claiming too much when they speak of "restoring the church".[19]

In 1986, sociologist and church historian Andrew Walker wrote of Newfrontiers that "churches are far more centralised and controlled than those of… mainline charismatic fellowships… The situation seems slightly analogous to Japanese business practices: they… export with great success, but import virtually nothing from anybody else".[20]

In April 2009, the Journal of Beliefs and Values published an article reporting on a 2007 study which "set out to examine the psychological type profile of lead elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom and to compare this profile with the established profile of clergymen in the Church of England". One of the conclusions:

There is a toughness about this style of leadership that is unlikely to be distracted by opposition. The disadvantage is that this style of leadership can leave some individuals hurt and marginalised for what is seen by the leadership as the overall benefit to the organisation.[21]

In February 2016, musician Joseph Coward wrote an article for Vice magazine, in which he described a now disbanded Newfrontiers church. He claimed that it had "all the hallmarks of a cult".[22]

Further reading

Independent sources

Organisational sources

See also

References

  1. Newfrontiers Staff (15 February 2026). "Newfrontiers Story". Newfrontiers (newfrontierstogether.org). London, England: New Frontiers International Trust Ltd. Archived from the original on 15 February 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  2. Walker, Andrew (1984), Martin, David; Mullen, Peter (eds.), Strange Gifts? A Guide to Charismatic Renewal, Oxford: Blackwell, p. 214, ISBN 0631133577, LCCN 84008861
  3. Newfrontiers Staff (February 2026). "About Newfrontiers / Mission. Vision. Values. / Our Values". Newfrontiers (newfrontierstogether.org). London, England: New Frontiers International Trust Ltd. Archived from the original on 26 February 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  4. Newfrontiers Staff (25 January 2013). "newday—About newday". newday (newdaygeneration.org). Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2026. "How does newday fit within Newfrontiers? / newday is an important part of Newfrontiers. It's been launched by Newfrontiers as a family of churches together on a mission and we've seen thousands of young people coming from the Newfrontiers churches to make this happen."
  5. Virgo, Terry (16 November 2010). "The Newfrontiers Story" (personal webpage, article series link collection). Terry Virgo website (TerryVirgo.org). Retrieved 13 August 2013. The date provided for this source, 16 November 2010, is the latest date appearing on a linked article of the page. Note, this page only presents links to other articles in a ten-article series, but otherwise contains no citation-worthy historical or other content (e.g., no mention of Dave Devenish).
  6. Newfrontiers Staff (June 2026) [September 2024]. "Theological Statement" (PDF). Newfrontiers (newfrontierstogether.org). London, England: New Frontiers International Trust Ltd. Retrieved 23 June 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Our seventeen values", Together, archived from the original on 19 May 2010
  8. Doward, Jamie; Flyn, Cal; Rogers, Richard (2 May 2010), "Rising Tory star Philippa Stroud ran prayer sessions to 'cure' gay people", The Observer, London, archived from the original on 14 September 2013, retrieved 6 September 2013
  9. Devenish, David (2013), Demolishing Strongholds (rev. ed.), Milton Keynes: Authentic Publishing, ISBN 978-1-860-24371-4
  10. "Home". Advance Movement. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  11. Catalyst
  12. "ChristCentral". ChristCentral. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  13. "Commission". Commission. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  14. "Confluence Churches | A Family Of Churches On Mission". Confluence Churches | A Family Of Churches On Mission. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  15. "Homepage • Disciple Nations". Disciple Nations. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  16. "New Ground Churches". newgroundchurches.org. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  17. "Regions Beyond | For Him . For One Another . For The Nations". regionsbeyond.net. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  18. "Relational Mission". Relational Mission. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  19. Wright, Nigel (1986), The Radical Kingdom: Restoration in Theory and Practice, Kingsway: Eastbourne, pp. 118–9, ISBN 0-86065-399-4.
  20. Walker, Andrew (1986), Restoring the Kingdom: the Radical Christianity of the House Church Movement (2nd ed.), London: Hodder & Stoughton, pp. 317–8, ISBN 034051406X.
  21. Francis, Leslie J; Gubb, Sean; Robbins, Mandy (2009), "Psychological type profile of Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom" (PDF), Journal of Beliefs & Values, 30 (1): 61–9, doi:10.1080/13617670902784568, S2CID 44924301.
  22. Coward, Joseph (2 February 2016). "I Grew Up in a Religious Cult in Essex". Vice. Retrieved 1 August 2020.