Arise Church founding pastor John Cameron resigns from board after allegations by interns

Saturday, 16 April 2022

Claims that interns were treated poorly at Arise Church will be the subject of two reviews.

Arise Church founding pastor John Cameron has resigned following allegations the church’s interns had been “overworked, overwhelmed, and taken advantage of”.

Two reviews into the allegations have been launched.

“John Cameron has voluntarily stepped aside from his pastoral duties, and [pastor] Brent Cameron is currently on leave,” a statement from the Arise Board released on Saturday said.

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“They have also resigned from their positions on the Arise Board, effective Tuesday 12 April 2022. They have expressed support of the independent review that is taking place,” the statement read.

In an additional clarifying statement provided to Stuff, the church said Cameron had not resigned his employment, however, and “remains an important part of the Arise family”.

“In order to not influence the independent review he has voluntarily agreed to step back from Pastoral duties. He has resigned from the Board of Arise to ensure its independence,” the statement said.

Two additional non-executive board members had been added, and the Arise Board had expanded the independent review to include its governance processes, structure and composition.

“Pending the results of this review there may be additional changes made to the Arise Board to provide even further robustness and input.”

Arise Church, which can be found in 14 towns and cities across Aotearoa, has developed a reputation for its large, rock concert-style services.

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.

In response to that, Arise Church founding pastor John Cameron said he was “broken and devastated by these stories”.

“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,” he said in an earlier statement.

Clarification: John Cameron remains employed by Arise Church, his resignation is from the board, and he has voluntarily stepped back from pastoral duties while the independent review is under way.