Our Leaders

Senior Leaders

Ben & Amy have been part of Arise since 2003. Since the beginning, they have been integral members of the Arise family. In 2008 Ben and Amy moved from Wellington to Christchurch to be part of the fledgling Arise campus in that city. In 2020, they became Christchurch campus pastors. During their time as volunteers and staff, they have been involved in many areas of church life. In 2022, they became Interim Lead Pastors of Arise before being selected to officially lead the church in 2023.

Ben & Amy have a deep love for people and a heart to see every person become fully alive in Christ. It is their commitment to build a church that has a hunger for the presence of God, that brings reconciliation and unity, both within Arise and the wider church. Their desire is to faithfully serve people and partner with God in his great plan for His Church. Ben & Amy live in Christchurch, New Zealand with their three children.

Leadership Team

Ben Kendrew

Ben Kendrew
Lead Pastor

Amy Kendrew

Amy Kendrew
Head of Life Groups and Pastoral Care

Shehan Joseph

Shehan Joseph
Head of Services

Joe Bundy-Cooke

Joe Bundy-Cooke
Hamilton Campus Pastor
Head of Hub 2 Campuses

Jess Bundy-Cooke

Jess Bundy-Cooke
Hamilton Campus Pastor
Head of Arise Kids

Chris White

Chris White
Wellington Campus Pastor

Donovan Stevens

Donovan Stevens
General Manager

Our Board

Rick Teal

Rick Teal
Chair Person

Rick is passionate about building God's house and seeing people grow a healthy relationship with their maker. Rick comes to the Arise board bringing experience in governance in many fields. Rick has worked as a business consultant and entrepreneur. He has previously served on non-profit boards in other community environments as well as having been involved on several corporate governance boards. Rick has been a member within the community of Arise for 19 years and has 4 children together with his wife Kellee.

Joe Bundy-Cooke

Joe Bundy-Cooke
Trustee

Joe Bundy-Cooke is our current Hamilton Campus Pastor and was part of the original team that planted the campus in 2010. He and his wife Jess also pastored the Whangarei campus between 2016-2019. Supplementary to his role as a campus pastor, Joe also works with other pastors across Arise to provide support and leadership. He has a diploma in Christian ministry with BCNZ and has been on staff at Arise for almost 12 years. The Bundy-Cooke's have 3 precious children and have been in ministry for 16 years.

Stephen Woolley

Stephen Woolley
Trustee

Stephen is a member of Arise Wellington campus. Stephen has worked as an accountant for many years in a variety of industries and sectors of the economy. He has previously been a director of a NZ membership company and has worked in management in the not-for-profit sector. Stephen has been a member of Arise since the very early days of the church, and his 2 daughers have grown up in the church. Along with his wife Carleen, Stephen has taken part in many of the activities of Arise over the years including Life Groups, and serving on teams.

Amber Moore

Amber Moore
Trustee

Amber has been coming to Arise since 2009. In 2012, she did a year as an Arise intern and also volunteered for 4 years. Amber has been a Life group leader, coach, and served on a number of teams. In her professional capacity, she has worked as a Property Manager for 17 years, including running her own portfolio for 9 years. In 2020, she took on the role of Administration and Development Manager for two local Hutt Valley charities (serving on the board for one), working in the Transitional Housing, Family Violence Prevention, and Community Development spheres. Amber and her husband run pre-marriage mentoring courses and are trained Marriage Mentors through FamilyLife NZ. Amber is married to Mike and they have a beautiful 4-year-old daughter, Laney.

Dean Halvorson

Dean Halvorson
Trustee

Dean has over 30 years of exeprience within the construction industry, both as an architect and a specialised designer. Currently, he is the director of a company that provides fire safety design consultancy. He has also both previously served on a church board, and been employed within a church in an executive role, with responsibilites for financial management, property, and project delivery. Dean and his wife, Dale, love being a part of the Arise Church whanau, where they have attended and served in the Whangarei campus since its launch. Together, they serve in a variety of roles within the life of Arise. They are passionate about seeing people living financially free through the Finance Life Group grow courses that they lead.

Leadership Structure

We are in the process of outworking a new leadership structure. This structure is based on biblical principles and recommendations from our Review Advisory Committee (an internal review committee made up of congregation and campus pastors, commissioned by the Board).

This project is ongoing. More information about this can be found here.