Arise Church leadership failures 'egregious and systemic', report finds

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

The Detail: Journalist David Farrier talks about his reporting on serious allegations of emotional and physical abuse at one of the country’s biggest megachurches: Arise.

An external review of Arise Church has called for its entire board to resign amid a deluge of reports from more than 500 current and former members, including allegations of “cult-like behaviour”, racism, sexual assault and conversion therapy.

The report, compiled by Pathfinding, a consultancy firm for charitable organisations, was leaked to journalist David Farrier, who earlier revealed damning allegations of abuse and misconduct against Arise.

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It has laid bare the experiences of hundreds of people involved with the Pentecostal church, which received nearly $15m in donations last year.

* The Detail: David Farrier on Arise Church

* Will the investigation into Arise Church really do what needs to be done?

Arise Church senior pastor John Cameron resigned from his role in May following hundreds of allegations about the church’s culture.

Leaders John, Gillian and Brent Cameron resigned from their roles in May following the raft of allegations, which were first made public on Farrier’s Webworm platform in April.

A 34-page summary of the investigation concluded it was “undeniable” there had been “significant hurts” caused to people involved with Arise and “egregious and systemic failures” in governance over many years.

“Notwithstanding the new appointments, the Board as an entity has lost its moral mandate to govern Arise,” it said.

Brent Cameron, pastor and brother of John Cameron, also resigned from his position in May.

“We believe it to be unacceptable that the Board were unaware of key issues within Arise, and did not initiate the necessary mechanisms to ensure they could exercise their governance responsibilities,” the report said, calling for Board members to announce their exit dates by the end of last month.

Pathfinding set out 92 recommendations in the report, which Arise had attempted to stop being released publicly, leading to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) placing a temporary non-publication order on the document last month.

However, after the publication of the review by Farrier and RNZ in the past 24 hours – and a teleconference held on Wednesday between John and Gillian Cameron and the ERA – the order was rescinded.

In a statement on its website on Wednesday, Arise said it was “committed to safely share the stories of those who had participated” and that the report had been “illegally obtained”.

Arise Church conference at TSB Arena, Wellington. A review found racist remarks were sometime said from those preaching on the stage.

The report was intended to be “one of a number of inputs” to inform change and while being an important tool to gather stories, it was “not an investigative process, with no testing or verification of what was heard.”

“Because this approach does not result in substantiated findings, the Board sought further advice from experts in the field of HR, governance, and finance,” the statement said.

Further reports are now being carried out by Duncan Cotterill, Parry Fields Lawyers and BDO Accounting.

The Pathfinding report recommended a full independent review of the church’s finances, including how donations “tagged” for certain purposes are used in reality and a review of policies around expenditure limits for senior leadership. It also recommended disallowing tithing by children.

An Arise Church service at the Michael Fowler Centre. More than 500 submitters shared their experiences at the church in an external review.

In total, 545 people completed submissions for the review, including from every campus across the country, past and present Ministry School students, current and former members, staff and past board members.

They revealed harmful practices had continued up until present day and “a very significant number” of people had experiences that caused pain and hurt.

When troubling behaviour was experienced by members, they felt unable to speak up, due to pressure to say yes and please senior leaders amid an “honour culture” that had a strong focus on leadership rather than Jesus, the report said.

“Countless stories” of exhaustion, burnout, and mental and physical breakdowns by students of the church’s Ministry School were reported. Meanwhile, some in the “training centre” for the church reported living in impoverished conditions.

Arise has 14 churches across New Zealand.

Reviewers heard reports of people at the church who were part of the LGBTQI+ community being subjected to conversion therapy, and denied opportunities to serve because of their ‘sin’.”

Reports of sexual harassment, assault and rape were made – some from outside the church space – but others at the hands of other Arise members of staff.

“We heard from these people that they experienced being disbelieved, and that they felt judged.”

The survivors’ stories were often shared more widely within the church than what was appropriate or necessary. The reviewers also heard of senior leaders and a former board member getting naked in front of a staff member and “ongoing targeted sexual harassment”.

“We heard that there was a lack of action from the board in preventing subsequent incidents,” the report said.

Submitters recounted stories of racist remarks, including from the stage during Sunday church services, and some staff being told to focus on “white kids”. Māori felt they were unable to succeed within the church, and felt the efforts to engage with Māori were tokenistic and Pākehā-led.

The culture created favouritism among members and leaders sometimes used “derogatory” nicknames over a period of months for some individuals.

Staff and volunteers were subjected to anger and being physically “handled” by leadership, often in front of others.

Some submitters felt “disillusioned and deeply disappointed” by the way their monetary donations had been used, and “great discomfort” from past and present members about “extravagant spending by senior leadership”.

“We have heard a strong desire for greater financial accountability, for policies guiding expenditure, and for full transparency around the use of church finances,” the report said.

There was pressure to donate money, and some felt uncomfortable about comments made about their donations. Some experienced personal hardship, so they could tithe what was expected.

The reviewers heard from people who were pressured to continue working despite illness or serious injuries, including broken bones and concussion and the dangers people faced driving through the night on no sleep to meet expectations, and operating heavy machinery after 17 hours of duties.

The church has been approached for comment.

Where to get help for sexual violence

Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00, click link for local helplines.
Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline 0800 842 846, text 4334, webchat safetotalk.nz or email support@safetotalk.nz.
The Harbour Online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse.
Women’s Refuge 0800 733 843 (females only)
Male Survivors Aotearoa Helplines across NZ, click to find out more (males only)
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story said the Pathfinding report made 72 recommendations. It was 92. (Amended 8.10pm, August 17, 2022)