Did you know about Gerald Coates' relationship with Waverley Abbey? There's no mention of it in the recent safeguarding report.
Back in the 1990s, Waverley Abbey was the headquarters for a Christian charity called CWR (the Crusade for World Revival). They were well known in Christian circles for the publishing output of their leader, Selywn Hughes.
(Image: Tim Sheerman-Chase*)
During that era, CWR used Waverley Abbey as a conference centre, an office space for their publishing wing and as the base for their further education courses.
In 2023 CWR was renamed Waverley Abbey Trust. If we look at their accounts at Companies House, we see that in the 1990s the organisation was struggling. Each year they made significant losses:
1996 - loss of £199,880
1997 - loss of £105,586
1998 - loss of £175,888
At that time of financial troubles, the charity turned to a well-known figure in UK Christian circles: Gerald Coates. Their annual report for 1998 gave details:
"in July 1998, the board invited Gerald Coates to establish a non-denominational ministry organisation at Waverley to focus on revival and reaching both Christian and political leaders with this message. It is anticipated that this alliance will both increase the ministry output of Waverley Abbey House and also improve our financial position in 1999 and beyond, by virtue of another organisation taking on the responsibility of running the house and sharing the overhead costs."
(Source: Full accounts made up to 31 December 1998, Waverley Abbey Trust filings at Companies House, page 3)
The following year they formalised the relationship:
"KLM Limited, a company owned by Pioneer People Trust entered a lease agreement with CWR with effect from 1 January 1999. This agreement appointed KLM Limited as operators of Waverley Abbey House and is designed to increase the ministry output of the facility and to also share the overhead costs of the property. After a slow start, KLM are developing a growing number of teaching and training events based in the House and encouraging a prayer and revival ministry to emerge."
(Source: Full accounts made up to 31 December 1999, Waverley Abbey Trust filings at Companies House, page 4)
The agreement was accompanied by funds; later in the 1999 annual report we find that KLM Limited paid CWR £67,257 that year. There are further payments in the following years.
Actually, we should talk about KLM Limited. Despite being described as a company, I can find no record of them at Companies House. I have spent a long time searching.
The biography of Anona Coates, Gerald's wife, mentions them:
"Eventually it was decided that we would form a new board called KLM (Kingdom Life Ministries) to run the house. A new manager was appointed and I was asked to oversee presentation, marketing and run the front of house office"
(Source: I Wish I was by Anona Coates, page 120)
In Gerald Coates' biography, Pioneer, we find another reference:
"They take over part of the upper floor as their accommodation, and Anona gets to work as Front of House Manager. Gerald’s influence is seen with regard to direction and networking. With the help of his business friend Paul Williams, a new trust is set up for the house, with the publishing arm being run by others at CWR."
(Source: Pioneer by Ralph Turner, page 194)
The CWR annual report mentions Coates 'developing a growing number of teaching and training events' at Waverley Abbey House. Pioneer's Compass magazine gives details of one event:
"CHILEAN revivalist Miguel Escobar is guest preacher at the new weekend event 'Revival Camp - Awake UK!' to be held in the grounds of Waverley Abbey House, Farnham, this summer.Gerald Coates is leading the event, and Sue Rinaldi will also be taking part in the programme, which will centre on a 1,000-seater marquee.'It will be a mixture of worship, revival teaching and preaching, personal ministry and the prophetic,' said Gerald Coates, 'plus a few surprises!'The entire weekend is free. People can attend for an evening, the whole day or visit the site on all three days. Camping and caravanning in the grounds is also free, and for those who dislike camping, a limited amount of accommodation is available at Waverley Abbey House."
(Source: Summer 1999 Issue, Compass magazine, page 5)
That issue of Compass also mentions some events to come later in 1999:
"Other events are also planned for the Waverley marquee: ladies day with Wendy Virgo, Elaine Storkey, Caroline Bonnett and Sue Rinaldi on 30th June; leaders day on 1st July with Selwyn Hughes, David Powe and Gerald Coates; youth night on 10th July with Pete Greig."
But....
The thing is that CWR still used the house as a venue in this period:
"CWR continues to use the house for a variety of its own courses, including marriage, counselling and life issues. The joint venture with London Bible College has resulted in a good number of students enrolling on the Theology and Counselling degree course and other counselling related courses"
(Source: Full accounts made up to 31 December 1999, Waverley Abbey Trust filings at Companies House, page 4)
The Christian Safeguarding Services (CSS) report into Coates paints a picture of a leader who targeted and built relationships with young adult men. It sounds like he would then overstep personal boundaries in his interactions with them. Some examples:
"2009 – Pioneer Leaders Conference, GC highlights a young man and gives him a ‘holy kiss’ then follows up using FB Messenger."
"Feb 2010 - at a Pioneer Leaders Conference - GC highlights a young man, shared a ‘word’, and gave him a ‘holy kiss’. Future meetings with the young man always involved the ‘holy kiss’."
(Source: Pioneer Trust Safeguarding Learning Review, page 65)
Was Coates behaving the same way at Waverley Abbey in the early 2000s? I'm sure young men would have been present at the events held there, whether they were held by CWR or by Pioneer.
One caveat - Gerald and Anona Coates purchased a flat in London during this period.
"Because we had sold our own house and were renting at Waverley, Gerald and I felt we should buy some property ready for when we would need our own home again. He was spending a lot of time in London with church leaders and MPs, so it seemed sensible to look for a home there. We found the perfect flat in Regency Street, Westminster – very small with two bedrooms, just modernised and in a small gated block complete with communal garden and porter."
(Source: I Wish I was by Anona Coates, page 122)
It's unclear the portion of time Gerald spent in London versus Waverley Abbey. He moved the Pioneer and March For Jesus offices to Waverley, which may be an indicator.
Even a small amount of time at Waverley Abbey may be significant. Look at the accounts of his behaviour at the Pioneer Leaders' conference - an event that only occurred once a year.
At the end of 2001, CWR decided to end their arrangement with Coates:
"With less emphasis on ministry events overseas and our increasing use once again of Waverley Abbey House, it was decided to terminate the lease agreement with KLM Ltd. (a subsidiary of Pioneer People Trust) in December 2001 and for CWR to take back the day to day operation of the House."
(Source: Full accounts made up to 31 December 2001 at Companies House, Page 5)
So, for 3 years, Gerald and his wife were involved at Waverley and lived on site.
I think the current leaders of Waverley Abbey should commission an investigation into Gerald Coates' involvement there. Were complaints made during his tenure? Perhaps they weren't dealt with appropriately.
The CSS safeguarding report says:
"It is important to note that the scope of this review does not include: GC's activities outside of what it now know as the Pioneer Trust."
(Source: Pioneer Trust Safeguarding Learning Review, page 5)
This means it's possible that significant information hasn't been uncovered because it is connected with the home of a separate charity: Waverley Abbey Trust.
I notice that the organisation made no mention of the investigation on their social media channels or website. Have past attendees heard that there has been an investigation into Gerald Coates?
Over to you Waverley Abbey.
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*Image converted to black and white and used under a Creative Commons license
