Church spokeswoman Anne Williamson told the New Zealand Herald that Destiny had no intention of inserting itself into this year's election contest, despite its "Enough is Enough" march on Parliament in 2004 in protest against civil unions.

The new headquarters has been developed on a 3.1ha site of an old pillow factory in Druces Rd, Wiri, valued for rating purposes in 2011 for $7.65 million.

Destiny is not disclosing how much it cost to outfit the facilities which includes a school, early childhood centre, gym, recording studio and function rooms as well as an 864-seat auditorium called The Sanctuary.

The church asked each church to donate $1000 to supplement the proceeds from the sale of its previous base in Mt Wellington, valued at $4.9 million.

The complex boasts what is said to be New Zealand's biggest permanent LED wall, a 24-metre-wide screen.

Giant photographs of founders Bishop Brian Tamaki and his wife Hannah hang in several public spaces in between the various buildings.

In his main sermon, Tamaki warned his congregation to watch out for false prophets and to maintain regular church attendance so Destiny elders could help them to detect wolves in their midst in sheep's clothing.

Pastor Hannah Tamaki is the wife of Destiny Church's founder Bishop Brian Tamaki. She denies the complex is "a gated community" and calls it a "gift to the community".

"You don't have to be a [Destiny Church] member to come along to the events here," she says.
"You don't have to be a giving type to come along here. It's just part of what we want to give to our community."Watch interview

10 things you may not know about Destiny Church

Source

• New Zealand Herald
• 3 News
• New Zealand Herald
• Image: 3News

At the church's annual conference in Rotorua on Friday night, Tamaki talked about how God had told him to build the city and why his followers had to lose their "parochialism" towards their home areas, even if it meant leaving behind loved ones.

In 2003 Destiny had 19 churches and attracted more than 10,000 church members and other supporters to a march on Parliament.

However a former senior church member claims that the Destiny Church has never had much more than 5000 members. Today the Destiny Church is estimated to have fewer than 3000 regulars in its 11 remaining congregations.

Source

• The Sunday Times
• The New Zealand Herald
• Image: TVNZ