ARISE FROM THE ASHES – The Untold Details
The allegations made against Arise Church were very serious. What happened to all of these allegations? WE ASKED. You may be surprised by the outcomes. Or maybe you won't......
PART 1 – OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” – Proverbs 18:17
BACKGROUND
On the 14 April 2022, the NZ Herald reported
Two reviews are underway at a large pentecostal church after interns on a ministry school course claimed they were “overworked, overwhelmed and taken advantage of” by leadership. An independent reviewer has been appointed to hear how a number of former students of the Arise Church Ministry School have been left negatively impacted through their experience. It is running alongside an HR review by a law firm to examine the ministry school.
Churchgoers who interned as part of a ministry course and volunteered their services told One News they had been left used, underappreciated and burned out by the church. They revealed the unpaid internship programme had demanded long hours and pushed people to breaking point…
Arise Church founding pastor John Cameron is apologising for the “heartbreaking” stories of affected students saying it has left him “broken and devastated”. “I want to say I am deeply sorry for any hurt caused. 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.” He said leadership had been working to understand the stories and what had led to this 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. 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.” He said the church would listen and learn with the leadership team reviewing the information that had been brought to light.
…Cameron said there was no place for people’s health to be anything other than the church’s 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.” The Arise Board said while an independent HR review was due to start after Easter given the serious nature of some of the allegations levelled against the school the board had also now appointed a separate reviewer.
This all started with an article by LGBT activist David Farrier alleging abuse (overworking / exploitation) of interns on the 3rd of April.
It is significant that:
David Farrier had been vocal against the conversion therapy law which had just been passed through Parliament. (He has also been a strong campaigner against Bethlehem College and has pressured both the school and the Ministry of Education to force the school to compromise its values).
Arise Church had spoken against the ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban Bill, and their leadership had attended a church leaders meeting that I was also present at and where I presented an analysis of the flaws of the bill, and a strategy for opposing the bill.
Because of the campaign by Farrier against megachurches including Hillsong, Life, City Impact and then specifically Arise [The Downward Spiral of Arise Church: Part I, The Downward Spiral of Arise Church: Part 2, The Downward Spiral of Arise Church: Part 3] complainants went to Farrier – and not to the church (Matthew 18).
The connection between Farrier and the Pathfinding Reviewers (more on that to come)
1News also led with the story
One of New Zealand’s biggest mega-churches is launching an independent external review after accusations of mistreatment towards interns and volunteers. 1News has spoken to several who describe feeling used by ARISE Church, eventually leaving “burned out”. “Mentally, and physically, you’re pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion,” one former volunteer said, who had been with the church for more than a decade. They said when they raised issues, they were shut down and shut out. “I remember seeing someone leaving – they were an intern at the time, working at the ARISE conference, and they pushed themselves to their absolute breaking point, literally, where they had to be carried out because they collapsed and had to go to the hospital. It emotionally takes a toll on you as well. You sort of push to your breaking point because you’re giving so much of yourself.” Another former churchgoer had serious criticism of ARISE Church’s “internship” programme, which was run through its Ministry School. “[There were] ridiculous hours, trying to work extra jobs to make up for no pay, putting off or dropping out of university to do this internship,” they said.
For the Christian community throughout New Zealand, these accounts were painful to read.
We should welcome the fact that individuals within a large church family (Arise Church) had the opportunity to share their concerns and hurts.
As a church they should take these very seriously and be grieved by them. They should commit to enabling that process of listening to be part of their regular church life.
As a church they should totally commit to improving the systems and policies which may have led to these grievances. They should also continue to proactively engage with the NZ Police where necessary.
In August, taxpayer-funded Radio NZ & the NZ Herald reported
Allegations of racism, sexual assault, homophobia, bullying and actively discouraging victims from going to the police are contained in a leaked copy of an investigation into Arise Church….
The review team heard accounts of what people faced following sexual assault, harassment or rape. “Sometimes these incidents occurred within the person’s life outside Arise but we also heard of incidents at the hands of other Arise members or staff.”
The allegations made against Arise Church were very serious.
Sexual misconduct, sexual grooming, underage relationships, rape, racism, homophobia, body shaming, sexism, mental health stigma, bulling, ageism, financial mismanagement, and more.
What happened to all of these allegations?
WE ASKED.
We used the Official Information Act to ask every statutory agency and government body who would have been involved with Arise Church what the outcomes were.
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS
NZ POLICE
Significant and deeply troubling claims of sexual grooming, underage relationships, sexual harassment, assault or rape, indecent exposure were made.
These are very serious allegations – especially coming from a church setting.
Pathfinding admitted that it engaged proactively with the Police via the lead reviewer.
We asked the NZ Police in August 2024 for ALL correspondence, complaints received, investigations done and outcomes related to ARISE CHURCH since the beginning of 2022.
They responded:
I can find no record of investigations or outcomes concerning the substance of your request.
Not even ONE complaint, and NO investigations.
Not a single complaint made to the Police about claims of “sexual grooming, underage relationships, sexual harassment, assault or rape, indecent exposure” – despite one of the reviewers acting as a conduit for complainants to contact the NZ Police.
TE TARI TAIWHENUA INTERNAL AFFAIRS (CHARITIES SERVICES)
On February 2024, Arise Church received the following letter
I am writing to advise you that the Department of Internal Affairs, Charities Services, have closed our Investigation into Arise Church ( ), registration number CC30589.
Our investigation did not find sufficient evidence to determine an ongoing breach of the Charities Act. There was, however, sufficient evidence to support this letter of expectations about the steps that your charity must take to support improved compliance with the Act…
…During our inquiries we did not find sufficient evidence to support a finding of that specific incidents of serious wrongdoing as defined in the Act had occurred, and the investigation into your charity has now been closed. We note that there will be ongoing monitoring of the matters listed below. However, we did find that your charity previously had insufficient policies and practices in place to support effective governance and to ensure compliance with the Act, including compliance with your financial management, health and safety and governance obligations. The remainder of this letter sets out Charities Services’ expectations of the steps that your charity must take and maintain to ensure its ongoing compliance with the Act and its trust deed. Charities Services expects these issues to be addressed within six months from the date of this letter.
It is interesting to note in the letter that only two of the steps remained outstanding but were completed before this letter was received.
Charities Services did ask for policies and procedures to be put in place around financial management, health and safety and governance obligations – policies which it would be good for all churches and charities to be aware of.
But after an investigation over more than a year, there was NO evidence of criminal offending, misuse of funds or gross mismanagement.
It is important to note that these were serious allegations made against the Arise church – but only allegations. And many of the allegations were made in the media – which we should always be wary of.
FURTHER DOCUMENTATION FROM CHARITIES BOARD
A further OIA request to the Charities Board exposed this further (& significant) commentary. It is important to read this in light of some of the very serious claims that were made in the Pathfinding Report that were never corroborated or substantiated:
4.11. We considered that if the facts of these allegations were upheld in an investigation, it may amount to serious wrongdoing under the Act. This was primarily due to the lack of effective policies and procedures to ensure compliant management of charitable funds and the workforce at the Trust. We therefore decided to investigate each of the above allegations.
4.12. Charities Services managers and senior investigators held an urgent triage meeting on 18 August 2022 and determined the case met the threshold to proceed directly to an investigation.
Unlawful or corrupt use of funds
6.9 The Pathfinding report included discussion of concerns raised by anonymous complainants that the Trusts funds were used to pay for lunches, groceries, clothing and landscaping for some staff or trustees.
6.10. Webworm stories about the Trust include descriptions of concerning spending by the Trust’s management, including dining out and accommodating visitors in expensive hotel suites.
6.11. Charities Services has not received or discovered evidence that directly shows unlawful or corrupt use of funds by officers of the Trust which amounts to serious wrongdoing as defined in the Act.
Conclusion serious wrongdoing: unlawful or a corrupt use of funds
6.24. Charities Services have not found conclusive evidence of the unlawful or corrupt use of funds (as defined in the Act) which is material to the Trust’s finances.
6.62. The evidence has established conduct that likely amounts to wrongdoing in relation to the mismanagement of the Trust and unlawful or corrupt use of funds may have occurred. However, none of the evidence Charities Services has access to meets an evidential standard to prove serious wrongdoing.
6.82. Given the lack of available evidence about criminal offending at the Trust and the departure of senior leaders and Board members, Charities Services is unable to conclude that offenses by Trust officers or staff amount to serious wrongdoing as defined in the Act.
Conclusion serious wrongdoing: offences
6.83. Charities Services did not find evidence indicating offenses resulting in convictions were committed in relation to the operation of the Trust.
Conclusion on Serious Wrongdoing
7.2. Charities Services did not find evidence of current or ongoing serious wrongdoing in the course of our investigation
7.3. Charities Services was unable to verify clear and specific transactions amounting to private pecuniary profit in the finances of the Trust. We consider is possible some transactions of that nature did occur, but in light of the findings in the Pathfinding Report, we consider that past transactions amounting to private pecuniary profit were almost certainly not material to the finances of the Trust.
REVIEW INTO EMPLOYMENT LAW & HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES – DUNCAN COTTERILL (SEP 2022)
This was commissioned by John Cameron before Arise hit the media. In the previous few years there had been significant reflection on and changes made to the Leadership expectation on staff, ministry school attendees and volunteers. In 2021 the Board was made aware of some non-verifiable allegations. In December 2021, the Arise Board approached a New Zealand law firm to conduct an independent HR review, including the Executive and Board practices for dealing with complaints. The Terms of Reference and Engagement was agreed on March 16 2022.
The independent and thorough review by Duncan Cotterill was of
(a) Current workplace culture;
(b) Employment policies and practices;
(c) Post-employment practices (such as exit interviews);
(d) Management of volunteers (including in the context of ARISES’S internship programme and the historic operations of that programme and also the operations of the ARISE ministry school specifically with regard to the handling of students/interns, the culture of the ministry school and its policies and procedures);
(e) Handling of external complaints (including but not exclusive to complaints from members of the congregation, previous employees or the general public against employees or volunteers); and
(f) Compliance with its duties and obligations under the health and safety legislation.
The review found the following
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Current workplace culture
2.1.1 Most people spoke positively about the current culture of the organisation
2.1 .2 The culture of the organisation has changed significantly for the better over the last five years but there are still improvements that can be made.
2.2 Employment policies and practices
2.2.1 We have found that the organisation is showing some clear signs of an organisation that has grown rapidly without having the appropriate resourcing. structures and policies and procedures in place.
2.2.2 There are some policies in place but they need to be reviewed and there are a large number of additional policies required which are listed within the report. lt is clear that policies are not up to date and are not regularly reviewed and there are a number of policy gaps. Additionally, it is not clear as to which role has overall ownership of policies.
2.2.3 There is no one role which is taking ownership of the policies and this should be addressed. There are the expected human resource practices in place such as on-boarding, recruitment, training and development and performance appraisals however they are still in somewhat oi a development phase and there are areas of improvement which we have outline further in the report.
2.2.5 There are some particular human resource challenges due to the unique characteristics of the organisation (these are outlined within the report). The organisation needs to ensure that these are addressed by implementing appropriate structures and policies to ensure compliance with best practice and to strengthen the organisation and address power imbalances.
2.2.6 The organisation is aware of its failings but needs to continue to provide focus and specialist resources into the human resources function and build robust human resource practices in order to serve the needs of the organisation and meet its legal obligations.
2.3 Post employment practices
2.3.1 There is an exit interview survey and process which was implemented a few years ago, which is currently in use.
2.3.2 There is a need to develop an Exit lnterview Policy, and ensure that the policy addresses any power imbalances that may impede full disclosure.
2.3.3 Due to the fact that employees who leave often remain as members of the congregation, departing employees need to be treated in a manner that is positive and preserves the ongoing relationship.
2.3.4 Continue to implement measures to ensure that staff are treated well on their departure as they remain members of the congregation.
2.4 Management of volunteers
2.4.1 The organisation is heavily reliant on volunteers and this is an area which poses the greatest risk from an operational and legal point of view.
2.4.2 Employees, interns and congregation members all have the opportunity to undertake volunteer roles and there is an expectation by the organisation that they will do so. The overlap of the roles of employee/volunteer leads to blurred lines.
2.4.3 The Ministry School oversees the interns and there are paid and unpaid internships. A student may be an unpaid and paid intern at the same time, for the same role and this leads to blurred lines.
2.4.4 The general view was that the culture of the Ministry School had improved for the better over the years and that the current culture of the Ministry School was viewed positively.
2.4.5 The leadership of the Ministry School has changed three times over the last five years and while there are systems and processes in place there appeared to be a lack of clear policy in place.
2.4.6 There is currently no overarching policy dealing with volunteers and there is no volunteer agreement.
2.4.7 There needs to be a Volunteer Policy developed as well as a Volunteer Agreement. The organisation needs to ensure a clear demarcation between when someone is an employee and when they are volunteering. ln addition, the organisation needs to ensure that there is no compulsion on employees to volunteer.
2.5 Complaints
2.5.1 There is currently no internal or external complaints policy
2.5.2 There is a need to ensure that a complaint policy and procedure is put in place that provides a clear pathway for external and internal complaints. The policy will need to ensure it addresses the fact that there are a large number of relaled people in the organisation, complex organisational dynamics and the honouring culture which may impede the complaints process.
2.5.3 Ensure that appropriate channels are created for feedback from employees and congregation so that matters can be raised at a low level.
2.6 Health and safety
2.6.1 There were a number of health and safety policies and procedures put in place around 2015 in an attempt to comply with the organisations health and safety obligations – These policies focus on physical health and safety. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, health is defined as physical and mental health.
2.6.2 There are a number of health and safety polices and a framework for risk management and incident reporting which go a considerable way to meeting the organisations health and safety obligations, There is also evidence that these policies are largely being followed although there may be a lack of consistency across the campuses.
2.6.3 However, there is no system or checks in place to review follow-up for incidents, as well as to ascertain what corrective actions have been put in place. There is currently no formal system/registers in place to track what incidents have required corrective action, what follow-up ARISE has taken to serious incidents, and this is also currently not yet reflected in the board reports. There is work underway to implement this and this should be prioritised.
2.6.4 There does not appear to be one role which has oversight of the health and safety portfolio at a management level, and it appears that the health and safety committee does not regularly meet.
2.6.5 The Board needs to ensure they receive regular reporting on health and safety that satisfies the governance requirements and that includes mental health. The Board should request regular reporting on staff wellbeing, including initiatives and measures.
2.6.6 We would recommend that the Board ensures that ownership of health and safety is taken by someone in the senior leadership team and that responsibilities for health and safety in the organisation are clarified.
You will note that there are no active complaints, no previous complaints, no bullying accusations against anyone in the leadership.
The main issue appears to be rapid growth that did lead to gaps in management and a lack of clarity, culminating in 2016.
But overall, it is very positive about the culture of the Arise staff. “Most people spoke positively about the current culture of the organisation… The culture of the organisation has changed significantly for the better over the last five years but there are still improvements that can be made.”
As with any exponentially growing organisation.
ORANGA TAMARIKI
On July 17 2024 we asked Oranga Tamariki (OT) to provide ALL correspondence, complaints received, investigations done and outcomes related to ARISE CHURCH. Their response:
“Following a thorough search of our records, including our Feedback and Complaint records and our case management system (CYRAS) records, we have been unable to locate any correspondence, complaints, or investigations related to Arise Church.”
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
On July 17 2024 we asked the Human Rights Commission whether they had received any enquiries or complaints between January 2022 and July 2024 regarding Arise Church. Their response
“In response to your request, we confirm that the Commission has not received any enquiries or complaints between 1 January 2022 and 19 July 2024 (being the date of your updated request) which mention the term “Arise Church”. We also confirm that the Commission does not hold any reports which mention Arise Church during this period.
MINISTER FOR THE COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR / SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT / ANY MINISTER OF THE CROWN
We asked the Minister for all correspondence received and sent, (and related documentation), to and by the sitting Minister of Justice and the office regarding Arise Church from January 2022, including any reports / updates from MBIE. Her response:
Your request for this information is refused… as this document does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
MINISTER OF JUSTICE
We asked for any correspondence to the Minister of Justice – given the serious allegations made against the church and John Cameron. Their response
The Ministry has undertaken a search for correspondence within the scope of your request and has not identified any information.
ANY MINISTER OF THE CROWN
We expanded the request to ask for any correspondence to ANY Minister of the Crown.
…the requested documents do not exist…
WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND
We asked for all correspondence, complaints received, investigations done and outcomes related to ARISE CHURCH. Their response by letter and chart below
A Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) is a written notice requiring a person (the duty holder) to address a health and safety matter that is contravening, or is likely to contravene, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) or regulations.
This “Improvement Notice… was complied with” in just four months.
There were no penalties for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act e.g. fines. Restoration orders, project orders, Infringement notices.
Further documentation was received from Worksafe – the Improvement Notice and the Investigation Report.
The Improvement Notice said:
Conclusion after inquires that Kylie Fletcher, Chairperson of the Board and officer of Arise, is not exercising due diligence as an officer to ensure that Arise is complying with its duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. In particular adequate steps were not taken to acquire and keep up to date with health and safety matters and ensure the business has processes, and also implements processes for complying with its duties under HSWA. Inquiries included meeting with Arise Board members Graeme Kirkwood, Israel Cooper, Alice Hunt; operational manager Abby Ayling; receiving health & safety documentation as requested from Israel Cooper and assessing board meeting minutes since 2018.
Recommended prevention or remedial measures:
Establish and implement an effective process to exercise due diligence obligations as an officer to ensure the business has and implements processes for Chairperson of the Board Kylie Fletcher to ensure she:
acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of work health and safety matters
gain an understanding of the nature of the operations of the business and generally of the hazards and risks associated with those operations
ensure the business has available for use, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety
ensure the business has appropriate processes for receiving, considering, and responding in a timely way to information regarding incidents, hazards, and risks
ensure the business has, and implements processes for complying with its duties under HSWA
verify the provision and use of resources and processes.
Of interest in this documentation is
3 complaints about bullying, physical & sexual assault, exploitation of staff – on the same day! Was this coordinated by David Farrier?
One alleged physical & sexual assault. The other two simply pointed to media reports!
Despite the serious allegation and complaint, NZ Police had no resulting notification. No further evidence was provided by complainants when asked for it. No further investigation was done of the allegations.
The review found what they would find at many charities. Lax H&S policy. No training. No controls. Little reporting to board.
The conclusion was that Arise needed to fix up the processes, and the Board needed to show due diligence.
But no serious breaches or crimes were committed.
BDO FINANCIAL AUDIT
No issues discovered. 10 years of John Cameron’s expense claims were reviewed, and no issues were found. This report was not published by the Arise Board after John Cameron’s departure.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (due to Arise Ministry School)
We asked for all correspondence, complaints received, investigations done and outcomes related to ARISE CHURCH. Their response (via email):
An email search has been undertaken, and we have not identified any information in scope of your request.
MBIE
This is the only outstanding issue.
According to MBIE
“The Labour Inspectorate currently has an active case in the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) who directed the parties to mediation last year. While resolution was not achieved at mediation, discussions with a view to resolution have been ongoing since then. The process is taking time due to the number of interns involved and the complexity of the facts and legal issues.”
Our understand is around the definition of “internships”.
To clarify, the Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘Internship” as:
a period of time during which someone works for a company or organisation in order to get experience of a particular type of work
So the intern is generally unpaid, but gets some experience in a particular type of work.
As mentioned, many organisations and industries use interns, including our media.
There is benefit there for the intern, so long as they are gaining relevant work experience and they’re not taken advantage of (i.e. being used purely as free labour to perform menial tasks totally unrelated to the job or industry they seek. Mowing the boss’ lawn and trimming hedges is not part of gaining relevant work experience in a Christian church).
The organisation must ensure that working conditions meet standards set by New Zealand law (particularly those to do with NZ employment law, plus health & safety in the workplace). The intern is making a sacrifice (of not being paid) in return for gaining valuable experience.
Ultimately it’s for them to decide if they are gaining enough valuable experience to compensate for their lack of income. They must also consider the workplace and culture, whether it’s fit for purpose.
To be clear – reviewing an organisation’s approach to worker / volunteer wellbeing is not a bad thing IF there is exploitation and unrealistic expectations of workers.
Volunteers are also essential for churches and charities. But Arise wasn’t the leader in all of this. In fact the number of hours offered by their volunteers (5.68 hours) was just above the average of 5.08 hours).
CONCLUSION
Very serious allegations were made against the Arise Church which troubled us all – but they were only ever ‘allegations’.
And many of the allegations were made in the media – which we should always be very wary of.
After reading the official documentation above, has it changed your perception or understanding of what actually occurred?
I finish where I started:
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” – Proverbs 18:17
IN FUTURE POSTS:
The ‘rocky’ Pathfinding Report
The underlying agenda