By Jonty Dine of RNZ

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.

RNZ obtained a leaked copy of the independent report into the Pentecostal church by Pathfinding on 12 August.

Included in the 545 submissions received by Pathfinding were reports of the church leadership sexually harassing members, interns being overworked to the point of exhaustion, pastors pushing their own politics, making racists remarks from stage, members being forced to leave their culture at the door, a lack of financial transparency, cult-like behaviours and actively discouraging taking complaints to police.

Earlier this year, US-based journalist David Farrier broke the allegations of severe mistreatment of Arise interns and employees.

Sexual misconduct

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."

Those who came forward spoke about not being believed or judged.

Often their stories were shared widely within the church.

Victims spoke of a desire for no one else to face the unnecessary hurts they experienced from their church at a time of such vulnerability and need.

The team heard of ongoing and targeted sexual harassment of a staff member including getting naked in front of them.

There was also a lack of action preventing subsequent incidents.

There was also a failure to report matters to police on some occasions, and also that in a number of situations people were actively encouraged not to engage with police.

Racism

The report said Arise staff were told to focus on "white kids".

"We have heard that tangata whenua experienced a lack of understanding around their culture and values."

Māori felt there weren't opportunities to succeed as Māori within the church.

Any efforts made were tokenistic and Pākehā-led.

"People of Pasifika, Filipino and Māori identity have felt saddened knowing that people 'like them' are seldom represented in leadership."

Racist remarks during services were made by senior leadership and heard privately from guest speakers and former board members.

Homophobia

Many raised concerns about Arise's teaching on marriage and sexuality, and people feeling undue pressure to conform to Arise's views.

"We heard from people who identify as belonging to the LGBTQI+ community who have had a strong desire to also belong as members of Arise, who have faced great difficulty finding their place."

Members were subjected to conversion therapy, and being denied opportunities to serve because of their "'sin".

Body shaming

"We have heard from people who have felt not good enough in light of the pressure they experienced from Arise around personal image and appearance."

People were told they needed new clothes to fit Arise's image, and to change their clothing choices if they were "on stage" on a Sunday.

Members described feeling heartbroken knowing they never appeared in Arise photographs, or were edited out of shots, which they related to their size or appearance.

People experienced eating disorders, anxiety and mood issues due to the pressure to conform to their perception of Arise's standards around physical appearance.

A Sunday service at Arise Church. Photo / RNZ

Sexism

Some women felt there were limits on what and how they could contribute to the church, because they were female.

"We have also heard from single people that they struggled to find their place within the life of Arise."

Pastor influence

Many who submitted made comments on their discomfort that pastors used their role to encourage people towards their own political views.

"We have heard people's concerns around what they perceive as cult-like behaviour within Arise - iconic and unquestionable leadership, people's social circles being limited to Arise, experiences of control, and being shunned upon leaving the Arise community."

Former members spoke about a "culture of honour" which went too far and led to exhaustion.

"We have heard from different people a sense of favouritism and the pressure people felt to say yes and to please senior leaders."

Mental health stigma

People spoke of significant gaps in how Arise responded to people in times of mental and emotional distress, and that many leaders appeared to be poorly equipped to respond helpfully.

This included giving advice around the use of medication, and advising that people "pray harder" for healing.

"People have also shared that they felt it was unfair for Arise to simplify their experiences of distress as being spiritual issues."

Members also said they felt deeply betrayed by Arise's lack of protection of their privacy.

"The significant breaches of confidentiality when people have faced personal difficulty have led to people feeling judged and isolated."

People who submitted spoke of the devastating consequences this has had on their physical and mental health, and their sense of place within their community of faith.

Bullying

Former and current members spoke of their moral outrage that bullying had been accepted within Arise.

Staff and volunteers were also subjected to anger and being physically handled by management, often in front of others.

Individuals were also given derogatory nicknames that were used over a period of months.

Ageism

Church members faced difficulty trying to find their place within the church if they were older.

"We heard how saddening it was for these people to see younger generations overworked while they sat with capacity, struggling to find meaningful places to engage and serve."

Older members felt disrespected, undervalued and disengaged.

They were looked to for financial giving but other opportunities were scarce.

Intern pressure

Ministry School students lived in impoverished conditions and struggled to make ends meet.

"We also heard of Ministry School students who did not receive the support agreed by Arise."

There were countless stories of exhaustion, burnout, and mental and physical breakdown both during and following people's experience of Ministry School.

"We also heard from people who were pressured to continue working despite illness or serious injuries - broken bones, concussion etc."

People felt they had to be available to leadership 24/7, and were overwhelmed by unrealistic expectations.

Relationships outside of Arise were to be "limited to 20 per cent" of a person's life.

Financial mismanagement

Members felt disillusioned and deeply disappointed by the way their financial offerings had been used by Arise.

They spoke of a deep discomfort around extravagant spending by senior leadership.

"We have heard of a strong desire for greater financial accountability. and full transparency around the use of church finances."

Members also spoke of pressure around giving money to Arise, despite personal hardships.

Recommendations

Among the 72 recommendations for Arise are for them to make a genuine apology for the hurt caused and redact the most recent public apology as well comments that the abuse was confined to ministry school.

They were asked to report all illegal behaviour to authorities and follow up accusations, pay for the counselling of former members, engage a restorative justice expert and demonstrate public accountability for what had taken place.

It was recommended Arise sign a statement confirming they did not engage in conversion therapy practices, establish a group of tangata whenua to identify, lead, and champion the inclusion and engagement of tangata whenua in the future of Arise Church.

Also recommended was for Arise to increase gender and racial diversity on the board, establish a pastoral pay standard, end the practice of standing people down for mental health struggles, ensure groceries and personal lunches were not paid for by the church, implement transparency around donations and disallow tithing for anyone under 18-years-old.

Arise was being asked to cease the practice of having clothing expectations for people on or off stage, develop a clear sexual harassment policy and abolish VIP seating.

One religious expert, Emeritus Professor of religious history at Massey University Dr Peter Lineham, said the senior leadership had to go in the wake of the report.

"There is as far as I can see no room for John Cameron, Brent Cameron and the board members after their massive level of failures."

The survival of Arise would depend on its willingness to change, Lineham said.

"It appears to be a pretty large operation with a lot of money so it seems to me that to fail in these areas could cost the survival of the movement."

A former youth pastor said he was shocked by the extent of the abuse within the church but was relieved the allegations were in writing.

"There have been a lot of people who have experienced abuse from Arise and for that to be coming to light is really reassuring."

The former Arise member said he saw first-hand how little Arise cared for the vulnerable after overseeing the child protection policy.

"Unfortunately this wasn't taken seriously at all by leadership, anything that doesn't advance the church takes a back seat."

An apology would not heal the hurt caused, he said.

"There are so many layers to the abuse and why it can be justified so I think the best thing for Arise would to be for them to cease to exist."