Ichthus Christian Fellowship is a

neocharismatic The Neo-charismatic (also third-wave charismatic or hypercharismatic) movement is a movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity that is composed of a diverse range of independent churches and organizations that emphasize the post-biblical ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

church movement and Apostolic network based in London,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is part of the

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 k ...

(BNCM) and has links with other BNCM leaders and movements, especially Gerald Coates of Pioneer Network.

History

Ichthus Christian Fellowship was founded in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1974 by

Roger T. Forster Roger Thomas Forster (born March 1, 1933) is the leader of Ichthus Christian Fellowship, a neocharismatic Evangelical Christian Church that forms part of the British New Church Movement. In 1965 he married Faith Forster (1941- ) and has three chi ...

. By 1982 the Forest Hill congregation had grown to around 400 people, and two new congregations were planted. In 1990 Ichthus had 43 congregations; in 1992, Ichthus had 47 congregations, and was split into three areas. After some rationalisation the number of congregations dropped to 27. In 2002 a further major change involved a number of churches disaffiliating and forming a separate group known as Transform Network; still others became independent. Ichthus congregations meet across London as well as in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Approximately 130 other churches and movements across the UK and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

are linked with Ichthus Christian Fellowship. In comparison to other BNCM streams, the Ichthus link relationship is reasonably loose, denoting shared theology, vision and values, rather than an attempt to create a larger identity (such as

Newfrontiers Newfrontiers (previously New Frontiers International) is a neo-charismatic church network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s co ...

and the Pioneer Network).

Vision

Ichthus is characterised by "social and racial inclusiveness," according to

Peter Hocken Peter Hocken (22 June 1932 – 10 June 2017) was a British theologian and historian of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the Pentecostal movement in the twentieth century. Born in Brighton, England, Hocken was ordained a priest in the Roman Cat ...

. Ichthus theology is also non-Calvinist, and shares much with

Open Theism Open theism, also known as openness theology and free will theism, is a theological movement that has developed within Christianity as a rejection of the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology. Open theism arises out of the freewi ...

; believes in the practice of

spiritual warfare Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritua ...

and takes an

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

position on the issue of women's leadership, (both formal and informal), with congregations led by women. Ichthus identifies

Anabaptism Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

as the Christian tradition that has been most influential in its development. Ichthus has committed itself to social action, which has included starting a primary school, a launderette, action for the unemployed, pregnancy advice and other similar projects. Ichthus has not identified with the "Restorationist" stream within the BNCM. Forster differed with them on their anti-denominational stance, stating that the current multiplicity of church identities was not in itself, a key problem.Brian Hewitt ''Doing a New Thing? Seven Leaders Reflect on the Past, Present and Future of the House Church Movement'' (London; Hodder, 1995) 113 Even though he had been part of the core group that developed around Arthur Wallis, he became uneasy with their emphasis on separation. Hewitt says: "Any emphasis on 'new' churches to the virtual exclusion of the 'old' seemed to him both ignorant and arrogant." Instead of being distant from other churches, therefore, Ichthus has tended towards ecumenism and cooperation. Indeed, for many years the notable Christian musician

Graham Kendrick Graham Kendrick (born 2 August 1950) is an English Christian singer, songwriter and worship leader. He is the son of Baptist pastor M. D. Kendrick and grew up in Laindon, Essex, and Putney. He now lives in Tunbridge Wells and is a member of C ...

was a member of Ichthus, and it was here that

March for Jesus March for Jesus is an annual interdenominational event in which Christians march through towns and cities. History The March for Jesus began as a ''City March'' in London, United Kingdom, in 1987. It emerged from the friendship of three churc ...

, the worldwide cross-church movement of street proclamation, began.

Conferences

Each year Ichthus hosts several conferences, one or two specifically for its

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

and the rest open to the public. Ichthus also hosts a ''Bible School'', running on the first Saturday of each month from September to April, open to all.Bible School
on Ichthus website The main gathering point of the year is a summer Bible Camp known as ''Revive!'', held at Ashburnham Place, which is an opportunity for those sympathetic with Ichthus theology and distinctives to come together.

External links

ichthus.org.uk
Official site

Footnotes

{{Authority control Apostolic networks British New Church Movement Charismatic denominations Christian organizations established in 1974 Christian denominations established in the 20th century

History

Vision

Conferences

Further reading

External links

Footnotes