Haggard to continue weekly church meetings

COLORADO SPRINGS - Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard says he was so inspired by the number of people who attended a prayer meeting at his house this past week, that he's going to make it a weekly tradition.

"Each chapter takes courage," Haggard says.

Most of the chapters from Ted Haggard's life took place at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

"I've been here (In Colorado Springs) for 22 years of very good days and then we had that horrific experience three years ago," Haggard says.

Three years and more than 1,100 days later, Haggard says he's finally ready for his "comeback story".

"Everyone loves those stories," he says.

The first part will likely focus on this past week, when a lot of people showed up at his house for a prayer service.

"I thought we would have between 10-20 and we ended up with 150!" Haggard says.

The support he received convinced him to make it a weekly gathering. He figured those who want to come will come and those who don't, won't.

"The people that were uncomfortable with us wouldn't come. Obviously and so we discovered that those 150 people are comfortable".

They're comfortable enough with Haggard to forget about his past. In 2006, a male prostitute from Denver announced Haggard paid him for sex over a period of three years. After denying the allegations, Haggard eventually admitted to "sexual immorality."

At that point, he stepped away from his post as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and was asked to leave the New Life Church, which he founded.

Eventually, Haggard also admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a 22-year old man, who belonged to his church. The relationship was not physical, Haggard said.

"Do you still have homosexual thoughts?" 9NEWS Reporter Kevin Torres asked Haggard.

"Once in a while I'll have a thought. But I never have a temptation," Haggard responded.

"Don't thoughts and temptations go hand in hand, though?" Torres asked.

"They can...but they don't always. A person can have a thought: I hate someone, but reject it and choose to love them," Haggard said.

Haggard says the love he's receiving from his family and supports is helping him feel "healthy".

His next prayer meeting is this Thursday at 7pm at his home in Colorado Springs.