Influencers Church

Last updated

Influencers Church
Assembly of God Paradise Inc
Influencers Church
Location Paradise, Adelaide city, Salisbury, Marion, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, (South Australia)
Gwinnett, Kennesaw, Alpharetta (US)
CountryAustralia, United States
Denomination Australian Christian Churches
Website influencers.church
History
Former namesAdelaide Assembly of God

Klemzig Assembly of God Paradise Assembly of God

Paradise Community Church
Founded1922
Founder(s)Smith Wigglesworth crusade
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Ashley and Jane Evans

Influencers Church, formerly Paradise Community Church, is a Pentecostal church affiliated to the Assemblies of God, with congregations in the state of South Australia, Australia, and in the southern United States. It was founded in Adelaide in 1922. On Easter Sunday of 2023, Influencers Church officially changed their name to Futures Church. [1]

Contents

History

The church was founded in 1922 by British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth.[ citation needed ], becoming known as Adelaide Assembly of God (AOG) when a property on Franklin Street, Adelaide was purchased in 1944. [2] In 1951 Tom Evans, a British missionary from India, became senior pastor. [3] Pastors John and Beryl Jobe commenced as senior pastors in 1959. Their vision was to move into the suburbs where the people lived, so the Franklin Street property was sold, and the church relocated to Payneham, before it shifted to Main North East Road Klemzig. [2]

In 1970, Andrew Evans, the oldest son of Tom Evans, became the first non-founding senior pastor of Klemzig Assembly of God. [2] Under his ministry the church grew from weekly church attendance of 150 to over 2,000 people. [4]

In 1982, the church moved to its current location in Paradise, becoming known as Paradise Assembly of God, and later changing its name to Paradise Community Church. At this time, Paradise AOG also set up Paradise (later Adelaide) College of Ministries, as an accredited bible college in South Australia. In 1994, members from the Paradise church formed a sister church, originally called Southside Christian Church, but later renamed Edge Church. The church also fostered the formation of Youth Alive Australia.[ citation needed ]

In 1997 the contemporary worship music band Planetshakers was created out of the first Planetshakers Conference. [5] In 2000, Andrew Evans's youngest son Ashley and his wife Jane took over as senior pastors at Paradise, and the Planetshakers youth movement grew. [6] In 2004, his eldest son[ citation needed ] Russell and wife Sam Evans moved to Melbourne to form Planetshakers Church. [5]

In the 2000s, Paradise's church attendance grew to over 6,000 people, and it expanded to three other locations (Elizabeth, West, and City), introduced a Friday night service, and had become the fifth-largest church in Australia.[ citation needed ]

In 2012, Paradise Community Church changed its name to Influencers Church (Global) to reflect that the church is expanding internationally. As part of the change in structure, Ashley and Jane Evans appointed Josh and Sjhana[ who? ] as the Australian lead pastors as the Evans family moved to Atlanta, Georgia.[ citation needed ]

In November 2022, Influencers Church celebrated their 100th anniversary year since foundation, and announced that as of February 2023, the church will be renamed Futures Church. [7]

Influence

Some political figures have connections with the church, including Andrew Evans who is father of current pastor Ashley Evans, a pastor at the prior Paradise Church for 30 years and was leader of the conservative Family First political party. Liberal Party of Australia foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer commented positively on the church's focus on God, the Bible and the message of Christ. [8] Famous persons who have attended Paradise include Channel 9 journalist Kate Collins and actress Debra Byrne. [9] The church was also featured on A Current Affair, Compass, The Australian , and The Age . Peter Goers has commonly cited the church in rhetoric light. [10] Apart from media interest, the church also has a television program which screens in different countries and recently started airing each Sunday on Channel 9. Paradise also utilises regular television and radio advertisement for marketing communications, particularly during the Christmas [11] and Easter [12] seasons.

Ashley Evans has held the office of State President of Australian Christian Churches of South Australia and a previous member of the National Executive of the Australian Christian Churches. His wife Jane Evans has been influential as the national board member of charity Compassion Australia. [13]

Music

The profile of Paradise was boosted after the inaugural Australian Idol , singer Guy Sebastian [14] [15] [16] [17] publicly announced his connection with the church as a singer. As a result of market perception of the church, the church launched its Paradise School of Music. [18]

Influencers Church worship band Futures' first single "Imaginations", released on 8 September 2017, hit first place on the iTunes "Inspirational" charts on date of release. [19] They subsequently released an EP called Imagine on in 2017 and their first album, Just the Cross in 2019.[ citation needed ]

In 2021, Influencers Youth, the youth ministry of the church, went on to form a musical group called Dreamers, with the first EP "Land of the Living" being released on 13 August 2021, and first album self-titled Dreamers on 21 October 2022. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Advertiser</i> (Adelaide) Australian newspaper

The Advertiser is a daily tabloid format newspaper based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. First published as a broadsheet named The South Australian Advertiser on 12 July 1858, it is currently a tabloid printed from Monday to Saturday. The Advertiser came under the ownership of Keith Murdoch in the 1950s, and the full ownership of Rupert Murdoch in 1987. It is a publication of Advertiser Newspapers Pty Ltd (ADV), a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of News Corp. Through much of the 20th century, The Advertiser was Adelaide's morning broadsheet, The News the afternoon tabloid, with The Sunday Mail covering weekend sport, and Messenger Newspapers community news. The head office was relocated from a former premises in King William Street, to a new News Corp office complex, known as Keith Murdoch House at 31 Waymouth Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Evans (pastor)</span> Australian politician

Andrew Lee Evans OAM is a Pentecostal Christian pastor in the Assemblies of God and a former politician in the South Australian Legislative Council. Evans is most notable as pastor of the then Paradise Community Church for 30 years and co-founding the conservative Family First Party.

Jane Diane Lomax-Smith, AM is an Australian politician and histopathologist who has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide since 14 November 2022. She was previously in local government for nine years, as a councillor for three terms and Lord Mayor of Adelaide for two terms. She was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Adelaide representing the Labor Party from 2002 to 2010, and throughout this time was a Minister of Education and Tourism and a range of other portfolios. In 2010–2011, she was the Interim Director of the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus). Since 2011, she has been the chair of the Board of the South Australian Museum.

Barry Mostyn Chant is an Australian academic, pentecostal pastor and author. His most significant contribution to the Pentecostal movement in Australia was as its primary historian. Heart of Fire: The story of Australian Pentecostalism was published by the House of Tabor in 1973, a publishing company attached to Tabor College Australia, in Adelaide, which Chant founded and led as principal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetshakers</span> Australian contemporary worship music band

Planetshakers is a contemporary worship music band, a central part of Planetshakers Church in Melbourne, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Kavel</span>

August Ludwig Christian Kavel was a founder of Lutheranism in Australia.

Edge Church, registered as Edge Church International, formerly Southside Christian Church, is a multi-campus and non-denominational Australian church established in 1994. It is based in Adelaide, South Australia and is currently pastored by Jonathan and Rebeka Fontanarosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsong Church</span> Global megachurch network headquartered in Australia

Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. 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 was a member of the Australian Christian Churches until 2018, where they separated to form a new denomination. 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.

The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.

A praisepit is a colloquial name given to a mosh pit which occurs at a pentecostal Christian church service.

<i>This Is Our God</i> 2008 live album by Hillsong Worship

This Is Our God is the seventeenth album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music by Hillsong Church. It was recorded live at the Acer Arena on 9 March 2008 by Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Darlene Zschech, and the Hillsong Live Worship team with a crowd of over 10,000 worshippers. The album opened at No. 2 on the ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horizon Church</span> Church in Australia

Horizon Church, founded as Sutherland AOG, and formerly more recently Shirelive, is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God denomination. The church's main campus is in the commercial district of Sutherland, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The church's senior pastors are Brad and Alison Bonhomme, and the former Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, is a member of the congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentecostalism in Australia</span>

Pentecostalism in Australia is a large and growing Christian movement. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, Pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organisations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organisation in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organisation in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayton Wesley Uniting Church</span>

Clayton Wesley Uniting Church, formerly Clayton Congregational Church, is a church building in the Adelaide suburb of Beulah Park, located on Portrush Road, in a commanding position at the eastern end of The Parade, Norwood, in South Australia. The current building with its tall spire was built was built in 1883, although an earlier building was built in 1856.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetshakers Church</span> Pentacostal megachurch based in Melbourne, Australia

Planetshakers Church is an evangelical Christian Pentecostal megachurch adult and youth movement based in Melbourne, Australia, with several church campuses around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joth Hunt</span> Musical artist

Jonathan Hunt, known professionally as Joth Hunt, is an Australian Pentecostal Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter, producer and music director who primarily writes praise and worship songs. He grew up in the Planetshakers Church, and is a member of the Planetshakers band. Hunt has released two solo albums, titled To Exist (2002) and Make a Stand (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Evans (pastor)</span>

Russell Evans, on the mission field in Papua New Guinea and raised, in Adelaide, Australia. Evans is an Australian pastor, he is the son of Pastor Andrew Evans. Russell is the founder and Senior pastor and minister at Planetshakers Church in Melbourne, Victoria, alongside his wife Samantha Evans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Evans (Planetshakers singer)</span> Australian singer and pastor

Samantha Evans is an Australian Pentecostal Christian worship leader and singer-songwriter who primarily writes praise and worship songs. She is the founder and Senior pastor at Planetshakers Church, alongside her husband Russell Evans.

References

  1. ↑ "Influencers Church". Influencers Church. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Accessed 2014-04-15
  3. ↑ My Father – Thomas Lever Evans 1901 – 1996 Accessed 2014-04-16
  4. ↑ Building of Paradise Assembly of God - Part 1 Accessed 2014-04-16
  5. 1 2 "About Planetshakers". Daystar Television. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Planetshakers Music". Planetshakers. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  7. ↑ 100 Year Celebration Re-Broadcast, Influencers Church, retrieved 17 November 2022– via YouTube
  8. ↑ Alexander Downer (27 July 2008). "Pope's visit had a deep impact on Australia". The Advertiser.
  9. ↑ "The last temptation of Debra". The Advertiser. 3 April 2009.
  10. ↑ Peter Goers (11 November 2006). "Just a phone's throw away". Sunday Mail.
  11. ↑ Ashley Evans (24 December 2010). "A life of great joy within reach of all". The Advertiser.
  12. ↑ Shepherd, T (8 April 2007). "Many more flock to church". The Advertiser.
  13. ↑ Jane Evans intro for Paradise Community Church Influencers Conference 15–17 January 2008 Archived 21 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 23 January 2008)
  14. ↑ "Paradise Community Church". New Release Today. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Paradise Community Church Online. Paradise Live: Adore. Retrieved 4 March 2009". Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  16. ↑ Gold Records USA. Featured Release. Retrieved 4 March 2009 Archived 8 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Anne Johnson (21 October 2006). "What's Guy done to deserve this?". Sunday Mail.
  18. ↑ Genevieve Meegan (6 January 2007). "James' toast to fitness". Sunday Mail.
  19. ↑ "Futures". DREAMLABELGROUP.COM. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  20. ↑ Clarks, Jessie (21 October 2022). "Dreamers Releases Self-Titled Project". TCB. Retrieved 17 November 2022.

Coordinates: 34°52′12″S138°40′06″E / 34.870053°S 138.668331°E / -34.870053; 138.668331

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.