Editing Gloriavale Christian Community (section)

==== Investigation into Gloriavale Christian School ====
On 11 August 2021, the New Zealand Police, Oranga Tamariki and the Teaching Council confirmed that they were investigating allegations of physical and sexual abuse of students at Gloriavale's school, which has 204 students ranging from Year 1 to Year 11. Several staff had also been stood down for unspecified reasons.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naish |first1=Joanne |date=11 August 2021 |title=Gloriavale School under investigation for allegations about child safety |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126038234/gloriavale-school-under-investigation-for-allegations-about-child-safety |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809214723/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-ashley-bloomfield-apologises-to-mps-for-giving-wrong-information-on-infected-un-staffer/OC22N33XBF26GCD5OAC5KCFMWI/ |archive-date=9 August 2021 |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bolger |first1=Devon |date=11 August 2021 |title=Gloriavale School focus of police investigation into Christian community |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gloriavale-school-focus-of-police-investigation-into-christian-community/2S33DKRB77H6CAFLV6KP4XOMIQ/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810223800/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gloriavale-school-focus-of-police-investigation-into-christian-community/2S33DKRB77H6CAFLV6KP4XOMIQ/ |archive-date=10 August 2021 |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]}}</ref> Police claimed that at least 60 people in Gloriavale had been involved in "harmful sexual behaviour".<ref name=":0" />

On 26 May 2022, the New Zealand Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal suspended the teaching license of former Gloriavale Christian School principal Faithful Pilgrim for three years. Pilgrim had endorsed the teaching license of a teacher named Just Standfast, who had sexually abused a child on two occasions in 2012 and 2016. The Tribunal had investigated Pilgrim after receiving a complaint from the Gloriavale Leaders' Trust that he had endangered children by covering up the teacher's offending. Standfast pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual contact with a child in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naish |first1=Joanne |date=26 May 2022 |title=Gloriavale principal knew of sexual offending but allowed teacher to continue working |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128773719/gloriavale-principal-knew-of-sexual-offending-but-allowed-teacher-to-continue-working |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526180139/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128773719/gloriavale-principal-knew-of-sexual-offending-but-allowed-teacher-to-continue-working |archive-date=26 May 2022 |access-date=28 May 2022 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Jean |date=27 May 2022 |title=Sanction of former Gloriavale school principal 'a little soft', trust says |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/467957/sanction-of-former-gloriavale-school-principal-a-little-soft-trust-says |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526220815/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/467957/sanction-of-former-gloriavale-school-principal-a-little-soft-trust-says |archive-date=26 May 2022 |access-date=28 May 2022 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]]}}</ref>

In mid September 2022, Gloriavale Christian School principal Rachel Stedfast claimed that a small group of people had made a coordinated campaign to close down the school by filing complaints against most of its teachers. As a result of the complaints, the affected teachers had been suspended from their teaching duties while the complaints were being investigated. Stedfast stated that none of the suspended teachers had been accused of physical sexual abuse.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Jean |date=15 September 2022 |title=Gloriavale Christian School principal hits out at critics |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/474846/gloriavale-christian-school-principal-hits-out-at-critics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915082055/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/474846/gloriavale-christian-school-principal-hits-out-at-critics |archive-date=15 September 2022 |access-date=21 September 2022 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]]}}</ref>

===== Abuse in Care inquiry =====
{{Expand section|date=December 2025}}
On 16 October 2025, [[New Zealand Police|Police]] and [[Oranga Tamariki]] revealed they conducted an investigation into the practice of silencing babies and children by covering their mouths and noses. During the Abuse in Care inquiry, they heard from ex Gloriavale members that the group's founder, Hopeful Christian, taught parents to cover children's mouths and noses to stop them crying, until the child was struggling to breathe. As a result of the investigation, two unnamed Gloriavale members were given formal warnings. The Police and Oranga Tamariki conducted a meeting at Gloriavale to educate the community on the physical, emotional and legal ramifications of the practice.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 October 2025 |title=Formal warnings issued to members of Glorivale who silenced babies and children by covering their mouths and noses |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/576127/formal-warnings-issued-to-members-of-glorivale-who-silenced-babies-and-children-by-covering-their-mouths-and-noses |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251016213841/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/576127/formal-warnings-issued-to-members-of-glorivale-who-silenced-babies-and-children-by-covering-their-mouths-and-noses |archive-date=16 October 2025 |access-date=17 October 2025 |work=Radio New Zealand}}</ref>