Statement on Taranaki Standdown

Statement on Taranaki Standdown

Lee and Robyn Edmonds have stood down from their roles as pastors of the Taranaki branch of Destiny Church.

The pastors deemed a stand down from their roles as appropriate and necessary in light of allegations of sexual misconduct against two of their adult children. One case involves an allegation of indecency against Joshua Edmonds, which is currently before the courts. The other case involves their adult daughter Rebekah.

Richard Lewis on behalf of church management accepted their offer to stand down and has met with the Edmonds and the leadership of the Taranaki church to work through the stand-down transition. He will also be looking into the full circumstances of each case on behalf of the church.

Robyn Edmonds confirmed in her capacity as then manager of OHF Taranaki, that in each of the cases she notified the Open Home Foundation National Office for thorough independent assessment and action. Contrary to the Campbell Live report, Bishop Tamaki did not counsel the Edmond’s daughter, nor was he notified or involved in the process of either case. These matters were formally handled within the perimeters of Robyn Edmonds employers, the Open Home Foundation, and the relevant agencies.

Destiny Churches New Zealand does not have a formal relationship with Open Home Foundation in Taranaki. Families that volunteered their service who were members of the Taranaki church were subject to the same criteria, selection and monitoring as any other family in the Taranaki area that provides care.

Whilst the matters giving rise to these two incidents in Taranaki are of great concern to us I believe it in no way reflects on the integrity and professionalism of the wider Destiny Church movement. The stand down of pastors Lee and Robyn Edmonds will give us time to make a thorough assessment.

Richard Lewis

ENDS

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