| Hillsong Church UK | |
|---|---|
 Hillsong Church London logo | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Hillsong Church |
| Website | hillsong |
| History | |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Phil and Lucinda Dooley |
| Pastor(s) | Tim and Nicola Douglass |
Hillsong Church UK is a charismatic Christian Non-denominational megachurch in the United Kingdom which is a part of Hillsong Church global. Hillsong London, founded as London Christian Life Centre, was the first church planted in the UK by the Sydney-based church, in 1992.
The church was planted out of the Hills Christian Life Centre (in Greater Western Sydney, Australia) by Gerard and Sue Keehan in 1992 as the London Christian Life Centre, [1] becoming Hillsong Church London in 2000. [2]
From 2000 to 2002 Hillsong London met in various West End theatres and university halls around London. [1] Towards the end of 2004, it ended a two-year residency in the Mermaid Conference and Events Centre, holding seven services a weekend. It then moved to four services on a Sunday at the Dominion Theatre, which seats around 2,200 people.[ citation needed ]
In August 2005, Hillsong London began holding services in Leatherhead, Surrey (southwest of London), and in 2011 services commenced in Tonbridge, Kent (southeast of London).[ citation needed ]
In 2006 Hillsong London drew 3,000 people to the Excel Centre in East London, for the first Hillsong Conference Europe. [3]
On 13 September 2009 Hillsong London held a service at The O2 Arena, to celebrate ten years of the church in London. In 2013, Hillsong London formed the Warehouse Project just outside Millwall FC's stadium, The Den.[ citation needed ]
Hillsong London has hosted their special Christmas event called "Carols at Wembley Arena" at the SSE Arena, Wembley, with the event sold out in 2015. [4]
In 2019, a new congregation started in Croydon, attracting around 600 attendees. [5]
In February 2021 the pastors of Hillsong London are Tim and Nicola Douglass, formerly of the Melbourne Hillsong church, were appointed as pastors to Hillsong London. They took over from Gary and Cathy Clarke, who were being moved into an international leadership role after the Australian senior pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston were stepping down from their international responsibilities. [6]
In 2017, the Church had an annual gross income of over £18 million, and is registered as a charitable institution with the Charity Commission. [2] The Church has 12 locations in the UK, [5] all in England apart from Edinburgh in Scotland. [7] The services are held in rented accommodation. [2] In 2016, the attendance at the Dominion Theatre was 2,000 people. [8]
 | This article's "criticism" or "controversy" section may compromise the article's neutrality .(April 2024) |
In June 2020, pastor Gary Clarke was criticised for refusing to comment on the murder of George Floyd in the US, saying "For me, I don’t live in the United States. For me to be railing as a pastor about something that's going on in another country, I’m not really sure that’s going to help anyone". Both Clarke and global founding pastor Brian Houston subsequently apologised for the comments. [9] The global church has been embroiled in a number of other controversies and has been subjected to various criticisms, for example its position on LGBTQI issues. [2]
In December 2022, Hillsong London was criticised for charging £10 per ticket for its Christmas carol service. Carl Beech wrote in Premier Christianity:
The gospel is supposed to be good news to the poor. Therefore, it would seem abhorrent to exclude anyone who can’t afford to attend. The incarnation and sacrifice of Christ is mind-blowingly generous and undeserved. Christmas is our chance to communicate this in word and deed. If ever there was a time to throw the doors open and welcome everyone in, this is it." [10]
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Protestant, and particularly Evangelical, although the word denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church that draws 2,000 or more people in a weekend.
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor.
William Francis "Frank" Houston was a Pentecostal Christian pastor in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and Australia. Frank Houston founded Sydney Christian Life Centre, which would eventually come under the leadership of his son Pastor Brian Houston before merging into Hillsong Church. In the last years of his life, Frank Houston faced multiple allegations of child sexual abuse.
Joel Timothy Houston is an Australian musician, songwriter, pastor, and leader in the Sydney-based band Hillsong United, a worship band of Hillsong Church.
Hillsong United is a worship collective that originated as a part of Hillsong Church. Formed in 1998 as part of Hillsong's youth ministry, the band consists of several rotating worship leaders from the church, including Joel Houston, Matt Crocker, Jonathon Douglass, Jad Gillies and Benjamin Hastings. Since then, the group has released fourteen live albums, as well as five studio albums. The band composes songs and performs in church services as well as concerts on worldwide tours.
Hillsong Brisbane Campus is an interstate campus of Sydney based Hillsong Church, a Pentecostal Christian church in Australia.
Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches 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 Houston, in 1983. Hillsong was a member of the Australian Christian Churches – the Australian branch of the US-based Assemblies of God – until 2018, when it 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 and a series of scandals and criticisms.
Hillsong Conference is a mid-year week-long annual Christian conference hosted in Sydney, Australia, with a smaller three-day event held in London later each year. It is the largest annual conference in Australia of any kind. The event is hosted by Hillsong Church at the Qudos Bank Arena and surrounding Olympic Park precinct.
TBN Inspire is an American Christian broadcast television network owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). It is carried on the digital subchannels of TBN's stations.
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.
Hillsong Ukraine, also known as Hillsong Church Kyiv is an offshoot of Hillsong Church from Sydney, Australia, based in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Christian Life Centre is or was a name given to a number of Pentecostal churches in Australia, many of them affiliated with the Australian Christian Churches network. Hills Christian Life Centre, which has since changed its name to Hillsong Church, was one of these, and spawned other churches in Australia and around the globe.
Larry Stevens Furtick Jr. is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor, author, and composer of Elevation Worship. He is the founder and senior pastor of Elevation Church, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Brian Charles Houston is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president of Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, from 1997 to 2009.
Roberta Lee Houston, better known as Bobbie Houston, is a New Zealand-born Australian of Tongan descent and a Pentecostal pastor in the Australian Christian Churches. Houston and her husband, Brian were the Senior Pastors of the Hillsong Church in Baulkham Hills, Sydney, Australia prior to the latter's departure in 2022.
Born Is the King is the third Christmas worship album of Christian Contemporary music composed of Christmas music led by the Hillsong Church. The album includes two original songs composed by Hillsong as well as a selection of traditional Christmas Carols featuring Darlene Zschech, Matt Crocker, and other members of the Hillsong Team.
Glorious Ruins is the 22nd live worship album by Hillsong Church. It was recorded live in London, England, and Sydney, Australia by the Hillsong Worship team from around the world including Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Ben Fielding, Hillsong United, and international teams from London, Stockholm, and Cape Town. The album includes 12 songs including "Man of Sorrows", "Glorious Ruins", "Christ Is Enough", "Anchor", and "You Crown the Year". It was released on 28 June 2013 in Australia and New Zealand and on 2 July 2013 internationally. The album reached No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Stephen Carl Lentz is an American former celebrity pastor who was also a spiritual advisor to celebrities such as Justin Bieber. He was the lead pastor of Hillsong NYC until November 4, 2020, when he was fired by Hillsong Global Pastor Brian Houston for "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures."
Chad Veach is an American evangelical pastor and the founder of Zoe Church, a youth-oriented Christian congregation that is based in Los Angeles, California. Veach has been the subject of significant mainstream press coverage, which often focuses on Veach’s taste in streetwear and sneakers and his links to celebrities like actor Chris Pratt, the Kardashians and singer Justin Bieber, which have been chronicled on Veach’s Instagram.
The International Network of Churches (INC), formerly Christian Outreach Centre (COC), is an Australian network of Pentecostal churches, most of them based in Queensland. It was established in 1974 what is now Citipointe Church in Brisbane. It is committed to biblical Christianity, with both the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed as its foundational beliefs.
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