Former New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard says the prayer group started in his basement last week could ultimately turn into a new church. The pastor, who was forced out of New Life Church in 2006 after admitting that he paid a man in exchange for sexual acts and drugs, recently moved back to Colorado Springs after spending time away from the city in accordance with the terms of his departure from New Life. Last week he started a widely attended prayer service at his house.
From the AP:
Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard isn't ruling out the possibility that a new church could form out of prayer meetings he will begin hosting at his Colorado Springs home.
But Haggard said outside his home before the first meeting Thursday evening that founding a new church is not his intention, and that loneliness was one of his motivations in beginning the meetings.
The gatherings are reminiscent of the meetings Haggard held in his basement in 1985 with a few dozen people when he was starting New Life Church. The church eventually expanded to 14,000 followers.
Haggard also opened up to 9News about his sexual orientation, telling reporter Torres "Once in a while I'll have a thought. But I never have a temptation."