![]() ![]() ![]() The whistleblower alleged that Hillsong made "large cash gifts" to Houston and his family using tax-free money. In August 2022, Hillsong was sued by an Australian whistleblower in federal court there, alleging that the megachurch had moved millions of dollars overseas to avoid the charities regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). In March 2022, he stepped down as the global senior pastor of the church after he was found to have breached the moral code of the church in his behaviour with two women. īrian Houston stepped aside from his senior roles as global senior pastor and chair of the board in January 2022, owing to the pressures of a court case relating to his alleged failure to report sexual abuse of a child by his father, of which he became aware in the 1990s. In October 2021, Hillsong bought the Golders Green Hippodrome in London, England, with the intention of holding Sunday services there. In October 2020, they purchased the Festival Hall venue in Melbourne to become the home of Hillsong Church Melbourne City's weekly church services after undergoing renovations to better suit the new uses. Houston added that they had not shifted doctrinally, and that the ACC was still their "tribe". We are a denomination purely for practical reasons related to having the ability to ordain our pastors in Australia to legally conduct weddings as marriage celebrants operating under the rites of Hillsong Church". Of the decision to spin itself off into its own denomination, Houston wrote, "We do not intend to function as a denomination in the traditional sense of the word. According to both Hillsong and ACC, the parting was amicable. In September 2018, Hillsong left the Australian Christian Churches – of which Brian Houston had been national superintendent/president from 1997 to 2009 – to become an autonomous denomination, identifying itself more as a global and charismatic church. Hillsong also branched out into the United States, establishing sixteen locations by 2022. 21st century īetween 20, Hillsong Church planted more churches in Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Israel, Canada and Mexico. ![]() The multi-campus church was renamed Hillsong Church in 2001. Brian Houston became senior pastor of both churches for eighteen months. The church merged with Sydney CLC in May 1999, after Frank Houston had been exposed as a paedophile. In 1997, Hills CLC moved into a new building at Baulkham Hills' Norwest Business Park. Kiev Christian Life Centre, now Hillsong Kiev, was also planted in post-Soviet Ukraine 1992. In 1992, Hills CLC planted London Christian Life Centre as an independent church, with Gerard and Sue Keehan as pastors it was renamed Hillsong London in 2000 and gradually grew to twelve locations across the United Kingdom. Hills CLC's growth into a megachurch through the 1980s and 1990s was largely driven by young people attracted by its contemporary worship music, and by its practice of planting churches internationally. Both Sydney CLC and Hills CLC were affiliated with the Australian Christian Churches (ACC), the Australian branch of the US-based Assemblies of God. In 1977, seven years before the establishment of what would become Hillsong Church, Brian Houston's father Frank founded the Sydney Christian Life Centre (Sydney CLC) in Waterloo, New South Wales, an inner-city Sydney, in what was described by scholar Sam Hey as "a neo- Pentecostal megachurch." Brian and his wife, Bobbie, started holding services at a school hall in nearby Baulkham Hills, establishing Hills Christian Life Centre (Hills CLC) in 1983. Phil and Lucinda Dooley, who had been acting in the position since January 2022, took over the position as senior global pastor.Įarly Hills Christian Life Centre logo Beginnings: 1977–1999 ![]() In March 2022, Houston stepped down as global senior pastor after an internal investigation found that he had breached the church's moral code of conduct for pastors by engaging in inappropriate behaviour with women on two occasions in the 2010s. Hillsong and its music have been highly successful globally, with its presence described as a global corporate brand, but a series of scandals and criticisms have negatively affected its image in recent years. The church is known for its contemporary worship music, with groups such as Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Young & Free with many musical credits and hits to their names. Until separating from the Christian Life Centre (CLC) denomination in 2018, Hillsong was a member of the Australian Christian Churches (the Australian branch of the US-based Assemblies of God). The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centre by Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie in 1983. Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. Hillsong Global Board, Hillsong Eldershipīaulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia ![]()
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