Mr Lewis addressed around 80 people at the Dream Centre in Manukau.

He told them he was there because he was "compelled to be here" and to spread the word of God.

His Grace Global Church will operate from the centre until the end of next year - less than 2km from the Destiny Church, school and gym that Mr Lewis helped to build. Continue reading

Lewis spent 13 years as Tamaki's right-hand man before resigning from the controversial church three months ago.

"I resigned from Destiny in September. I came to an end of that journey," Lewis said yesterday. "I served that vision with all my heart and am very thankful to have had that opportunity." Continue reading

His departure is the latest in string of high profile members leaving Destiny Church. Janine Cardno, the church's media spokeswoman for many years, and Paul and Michelle Hubble, who had been with Destiny leader Brian Tamaki since 1990, quit Destiny last year

Lewis, a former police detective and political candidate, is believed to be starting his own church and will this Sunday start preaching at the Dream Centre, a community facility in Manukau City from which seven other churches operate.

Associate Professor Peter Lineham of Massey University, who was granted access to the inner workings of the church when he wrote the book Destiny says, "I think very few of the church's achievements would have been possible without the firm hand of Richie Lewis behind because Brian [Tamaki] is a dreamer, an inspirational type of person."

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• TVNZ

Lewis said an inquiry he made, many months ago, to the Associate Education Minister John Banks, "was simply to gather information about charter schooling and the Government's plans in that direction, particularly for South Auckland."

Destiny already operates a bilingual pre-school and a composite primary and secondary school of 190 pupils at Mt Wellington. It has been running for 8 years.

The School says that in 2011 there were 21 pupils in its senior class. All the students entered five subjects each for Cambridge International Examinations and there was a 71% percent pass rate.

Lewis said that school would be moving to Wiri at the end of the year when the church shifted its operations there.

Destiny's plan was to expand the school, particularly for Maori and Pacific children in South Auckland.

The Green Party has expressed concern that so many religious organisations are interested in setting up charter schools.

The party says it has been told by Banks that 18 groups have consulted him about setting up the schools. That number included the Destiny Church, a United States-based profit-making school chain, the New Zealand chapter of the Maharishi Foundation, which practises transcendental meditation, trustees of the former Maori schools St Stephen's and Queen Victoria.

Charter schools would get government funding and be free from many of the rules that bind state schools.

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• Radio New Zealand
• Image: Destiny church