Arise Church intern allegations to be subject of two reviews
Friday, 15 April 2022
Arise Church has launched two reviews into allegations its interns had been “overworked, overwhelmed, and taken advantage of”.
The church, which can be found in 14 towns and cities across Aotearoa, has developed a reputation over the past decade for its large services that are delivered in the style of a rock concert.
Journalist David Farrier recently reported on the negative experiences of several Arise Ministry School interns, who claimed they had to pay $2500 a year to work four days a week for the church's leaders.
They claimed the internship meant they were working long hours to make ends meet and were pushed to breaking point.
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Arise Church said on its website that an independent reviewer has been appointed to hear how a number of former students of the Arise Church Ministry School had been left negatively impacted through their experience. It was running alongside an HR review by a law firm to examine the school.
Arise Church founding pastor John Cameron said he was “broken and devastated by these stories”.
“Our heart as a church has always been to make a positive difference in the lives of people, and to hear experiences where people have felt negatively impacted by Arise is devastating.”
Cameron said, in relation to the allegations of overworked interns, the church was working to understand what had led to the “hurt”.
“These stories are real and authentic, and there are people hurting because of the actions and culture of performance that was a part of Arise.
“I want to say I am deeply sorry for any hurt caused. We are going to listen and learn.”
Arise had sought advice from an independent body to guide the church on next steps. It has also appointed an independent reviewer called Pathfinding to confidentially hear people’s stories.
“The truth is for a period of time as a church we allowed a culture of performance to be part of our Arise world, and this negatively affected Arise Ministry School students.
“Although this is not true for the majority of our Arise journey, there is enough of it in our journey that I am determined that it will end. It is not acceptable.
“I apologise for the pain that this has caused to those who have worked here previously, our ministry school students, and to the people of Arise. I want to make it clear that there is no place for people’s health to be anything other than our top priority.
“It is true that our Arise Ministry School is now a very different experience to what it used to be. We have changed and made massive improvements in recent years, and this year more improvements will be made.
“Although most staff and ministry school students throughout the country did thoroughly enjoy their experiences and their journey, we can clearly see this was not the case for all, and this is deeply saddening.”