Gerald Coates

Gerald Coates (25 November 1944 – 3 April 2022) was an author, speaker, broadcaster and the founder of Pioneer, a neocharismatic evangelical Christian network of churches and forums, established to "develop new churches across the UK and engage in mission globally."

Work
Coates was an author, speaker and a broadcaster, in both secular and religious media.

The Pioneer network he founded is a charismatic group of evangelical churches. It is part of the British New Church Movement and can also be described as Restorationist. He later handed over the leadership of the movement to Billy and Caroline Kennedy of New Community, Southampton. Coates himself was responsible for coining the term "New Church" to replace the more confusing former name "House Church Movement," of which he was also a founding member. Along with Roger T. Forster of Ichthus Christian Fellowship and Lynn Green of Youth with a Mission, he was one of the founders of March for Jesus.

He led a church in Leatherhead called Engage, which initially met in the former Thorndike Theatre, but later gathered in Church Halls, Leatherhead. He founded and ran a series of training courses called Insight, which is, in charismatic idiom, a "school of prophecy." He was the chair of the Charismatic Evangelical Round Table for 16 years, was involved with Pioneer's National Churches Forum, and CRAC (the Central Religious Advisory Council).

Safeguarding Investigation
In August 2023 the Pioneer Network instigated a safeguarding review in response to a complaint made against Coates which they themselves decided should not be referred to the appropriate authorities. “The current concerns relate to approaches to ministry and pastoral practice and do not meet the threshold for referral to statutory services (e.g., the police or social care).” https://pioneer.org.uk/independent-review/

This review was published on 23rd May 2024 https://pioneer.org.uk/independent-review/

Pioneer's statement says:

"The report reveals a clear pattern of Gerald sharing a prophetic word with a young man and then seeking to establish ongoing contact. If a subsequent meeting occurred, he would greet them with an uninvited ‘holy kiss’ (a kiss on the cheek) and then quickly move into a conversation where he would ask uninvited and detailed questions about issues around pornography and masturbation. Most of Gerald’s interactions were with young adults he met at conferences and other public gatherings but on occasions he used social media to connect and share prophetic words. There were two, possibly three in their mid teens and one aged 12-13 years old, who it appears was contacted directly via social media. This behaviour would, both now and at the time that it occurred, be regarded as a safeguarding concern that should have been raised with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

We also acknowledge the report’s statement that it is important to recognise that due to Gerald’s death in 2022, his voice could not be heard and it is therefore impossible to judge his motives and intentions."

Personal life
He married Anona in 1967 and had three sons, two grandsons and two grand daughters. They lived in Bookham, Leatherhead, Surrey. He died on 3 April 2022 at the age of 78.