A pastor accused of mistreating interns in the process of building the biggest church in New Zealand is now starting what he hopes to be a “large” church in Australia.

Three years ago, John Cameron, founder of New Zealand’s Arise Church, resigned amid allegations that he worked staff to the bone. But questions recently surfaced that Cameron hasn’t done enough to change for the better, The Roys Report (TRR) reported.

Despite this, Cameron and his wife, Gillian, are launching Riverland Church in Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, sometime this year. Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, the site of the 2032 Summer Olympics and Australia’s third-largest city with about 2.7 million residents.

The Camerons plan to build a “large, life-giving church,” the church’s website states. The church also hopes to launch “a movement of hope and transformation through Jesus Christ.”

“Our goals are to win souls to the Lord, equip the body of Christ through fresh and inspirational teaching, form a vibrant community, raise leaders and ministers, and plant many other churches,” the website states.

But Riverland Church’s website doesn’t include safeguarding measures or an accountability structure for the Camerons, such as listing board members. The Camerons didn’t immediately respond to TRR’s request for this information.

When Cameron resigned from Arise in 2022, he apologized for unspecified “wrong cultures and wrong actions.”

Three months later, an external review  of allegations made by church members, staff and interns at Arise Church found systemic leadership failures and a “lack of meaningful oversight.” The review received more than 500 submissions, which included allegations of sexual harassment, racist remarks, bullying, assault and senior leaders’ extravagant spending under Cameron’s leadership.

A statement by Arise following the review praised the Camerons’ ministry without mentioning the allegations. In 2024, Cameron seemed to place blame on people who were “hurt” by an “imperfect experience” at church for bringing down the congregation, TRR previously reported.

Arise Church, the Pentecostal church they started in 2002 in New Zealand’s capital city Wellington, now has 10 locations on the South Pacific island nation. Its current website has a feedback page to report safety concerns, child abuse matters and other complaints.

Meanwhile, last year, the Camerons started a pastoral mentoring ministry they hope will have 10 times the impact of their New Zealand church. The Camerons has claimed on their pastoral coaching website that they brought 50,000 people to Christ in the past decade. They now hope to evangelize 500,000 people.

On Instagram in September, the Camerons stated that their decision to launch a church in Brisbane was confirmed by trusted, unnamed friends.

In the last few months, the Camerons have been meeting with people, building a launch team, searching for a church location and raising money. They’ve also been holding “Scripture and Social” evening gatherings and pop-up worship nights. Their next evening gathering is Jan. 20.

“So many wonderful things have taken place here already, and there’s more to come,” the church’s Facebook page states. “It’s clear to us that we are partnering with the plans of heaven as we build here!”

Riverland Church is listed under Distinction Ministries on both the Australian Business Registerand with Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Its constitution states the church will have a board of directors with at least three members, of which the senior pastor is its chairperson.

According to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), boards should have at least five members “to avoid a very small group from controlling the organization.” The ECFA also advises that at least half of the board should be independent, meaning they are not employees or staff members of the organization or related to staff or other board members.

Distinction Ministries list three director names with no further descriptions or associations: Nathan McDonald, Christopher Campbell and Daniel Tiati.

The directors cannot remove one another, the constitution states. However, church members can decide to remove directors, including the senior pastor, by a resolution at a general meeting. The other directors can also determine that a director has failed to meet guidelines laid out in Timothy 3 and Titus 1, which explain biblical qualifications for overseers and deacons.

Cameron was also the chair of Arise Church before his 2022 resignation.

Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado.