Evangelist Haggard starting church at home

COLORADO SPRINGS, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Evangelical preacher Ted Haggard said he is planning to start a new church at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The New Life Church founder said he would hold a "prayer meeting" at his Colorado Springs home on Nov. 17 as part of his efforts to form a new church focused on helping others, The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette reported Wednesday.

"For this prayer meeting, I have no goals," Haggard said. "I have no secret hope that more people will come. I am not driven as I was."

Haggard, who formed New Life in his basement in 1985, once enjoyed a church membership of 14,000 people before a prostitution scandal forced his 2006 resignation.

This time, the former National Association of Evangelicals head expects 10 to 20 people to attend the formation of his new church.

Haggard, 53, told the Gazette both he and his faith have changed since the scandal.

"I am much more compassionate, more kind, more patient," he said. "I've learned that God is sovereign, and the number one thing we should do is trust him."