19 Apr 2022

David Farrier on breaking Arise Church story

From Morning Report, 8:21 am on 19 April 2022

They say the glitter and freebies are all designed to attract young people - many of whom were then mistreated.

John Cameron, the founding pastor of Arise, has stepped back after interns claimed they were overworked and overwhelmed.

A few years ago, when Ashleigh was a teenager, she attended Arise - and thought about becoming an intern.

But the price of admission to the role - $2500 - was too steep.

Ashleigh says her first impressions of Arise were great - but she soon began to think that money was the church's main focus especially with the expectation members would donate 10 percent of their earnings as a tithe.

David Farrier is the journalist who broke the story of on his website.

He spoke to Susie Ferguson.

We approached Arise Church for comment, and they said they could only make the following statement while the reviews are taking place.

"The Arise Board continues to acknowledge the hurt and the pain that has been expressed.

"We reaffirm our earlier statements made in regard to changes to the board and the independent review that is currently underway. We await its findings. Due to sensitivity and privacy reasons, we are unable to comment on specific allegations or individual employment circumstances.

"We want to strongly encourage anyone who has a complaint or negative experience to engage with the independent reviewer. It is important we hear and understand these stories in order to help bring relief and healing to those who are in pain and put into place any corrective action that may be needed."