Good afternoon,

Today I’d like to announce that we have assembled a team of volunteers across Australia to assist anyone who wants to provide a statement to be included in our complaints to the ACNC and Office of Fair Trading.

Complaints to these authorities do not involve cross-examination of the person making the complaint and do not cost anything. Once a complaint is received, the authorities investigate on behalf of the complainant.

We aim to lodge 100 of these statements in our first round of complaints scheduled for late March 2025. We have 32 people already indicating they will provide their statement. Some of these have already been received by Samson Rising.

We have provided an example statement below to show you what a short, well-written statement looks like. We’ve received permission from the person concerned to post this statement, and the Samson Rising team wishes to express our gratitude for this person’s assistance.

The allegations contained in the statement are shocking, and reader discretion is advised. We are calling for an investigation to confirm or dispel these distressing reports of alleged abuse.

This particular statement is being posted because it:

1. refers to historical events only, to avoid interference with criminal investigations of more contemporary events.
2. it is representative of a large number of other statements being prepared, involving similar patterns of behaviour and similar people responsible for the events.
3. shows an alleged disregard by the CFO for family relationships, community standards of propriety, the role of leaders in a registered charity, and the laws of Australia.
4. it is indicative of alleged failures by many responsible people to understand and observe their duty of care to a cross-section of congregants within the CFO.
5. details how the direct and indirect benefits of such practices are skewed towards some individuals to the detriment of others and appears inconsistent with the conduct of a Christian Church registered with the ACNC for the ‘Advancement of Religion.’

The collective value of lodging 100 short statements with the ACNC and Office of Fair Trading is incalculable and is highly likely to commence an investigation into the CFO.

This week I received confirmation that another group had previously been successful in getting an investigation into one of the CFO’s major outreaches in 2011. In that instance, the ACNC and the ATO investigated and reported back to the group. 

While those investigations were inconclusive, it shows the authorities are listening and are aware of the CFO. The complaints made in 2011 were on the right track but were far more limited in scope than the complaints now being prepared by the Samson Rising team. We have good reason for confidence in relation to the more extensive complaints now being compiled. 

If you have ever wondered how you can help Samson Rising without risk to yourself, this is your opportunity. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STATEMENT

Statement writing volunteers

Short statements benefit investigators by being succinct. The example statement provided covers 30 years of events in less than 1,300 words.

These short statements don’t take long to prepare.

It is the consistency of alleged behaviours which make these statements so powerful.

All statements are retained confidentially by Samson Rising and only selected Samson Rising team members are allowed to read your statement.

I am hoping with everything I have that the community of damaged and disaffected former and current members of the CFO will recognize the opportunity presented by this statement-writing initiative.

Please help us get the job done and stop another generation of young people and children from having to face the kind of abuse alleged in our example statement.

On behalf of the Team.

Samson

Please also encourage others to sign our petition –

https://www.change.org/p/support-investigations-into-child-abuse-corruption-in-the-christian-fellowship-org