Destiny Church & Affiliates – Religious Advocacy and Political Activism

Destiny Church, as mentioned under Brian Tamaki’s profile, is a fundamentalist Christian church known for its muscular style of religio-political engagement. Through Destiny, Tamaki has launched or inspired several entities relevant to this network. One is the Freedoms & Rights Coalition (FRC) – essentially Destiny’s activist wing formed in 2021 to protest COVID-19 mandates and broader government policies. The FRC organized large demonstrations, including a 23-day occupation at Parliament in 2022 which Tamaki supported (parallel to but distinct from the main convoy protest). Another affiliate is ManUp/Legacy, Destiny’s men’s and women’s programs, which Tamaki often cites as rehabilitative services for communities. Politically, Destiny Church members have attempted to influence elections: Tamaki had the Vision NZ party (led by his wife Hannah Tamaki) and later teamed up in 2022 with smaller parties to form a “Freedoms NZ” coalition. While these efforts didn’t yield seats, they show Destiny’s ambition in politics. In the context of IPNZ’s campaign, Destiny Church’s role is chiefly via Tamaki’s involvement and the crowd he brings. At the Unsilenced summit, a noticeable contingent of the audience were “Destiny Church faithful” (identifiable in black shirts and ManUp caps) acting as de facto security and support. Destiny’s presence ensures any anti-trans movement in NZ has a core of passionate followers. However, Destiny’s reputation is double-edged: it adds loud support but can deter more moderate folks. In terms of controversies, Destiny Church has many: opposition to homosexuality (Tamaki infamously blamed gays for earthquakes), financial scandals over tithing and a lavish lifestyle for the Tamakis, and charges for breaching lockdown rules. Yet the church persists, and with the election of 2023 yielding a government more sympathetic to Destiny’s law-and-order and socially conservative agenda, Tamaki’s influence may be on the rise. Destiny Church thus functions as both a key organization and a constituency within this network – mobilizing Christian conservatives who bolster campaigns like IPNZ’s with numbers and zeal.