Joel Houston

Last updated

Joel Houston
Joel Houston UNITED LIVE.jpg
Background information
Birth nameJoel Timothy Houston
Born (1979-09-19) 19 September 1979 (age 44)
Brisbane, Queensland
Origin Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres Contemporary worship music, Christian rock
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)
  • Bass guitar
  • vocals
  • acoustic guitar
  • electric guitar
  • piano
Years active1999–present
Labels Hillsong, Sparrow, Capitol

Joel Timothy Houston (born 19 September 1979) is an Australian musician, songwriter, pastor, and leader in the Sydney-based band Hillsong United, a worship band of Hillsong Church.

Contents

He was co-pastor at Hillsong NYC between 2010 and 2017. [1] He is the head of the Christian worship band Hillsong United, for which he sings, plays guitar, and writes songs. In 2008, he became the creative director at Hillsong Church. He is the oldest son of the church's Founding Pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston and grandson of Frank Houston. He has two siblings. [2] Houston was also the bass player for the band Able, which was composed of Marty Sampson, Michael Guy Chislett and Luke Munns, which won the Channel V Leg Up competition in 2001. [3] [4] [5]

Biography

Early life

Joel is the oldest child of the former Hillsong Church's founding pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston and grandson of pastor Frank Houston.

Joel has two siblings, Ben Houston (lead pastor of Hillsong Los Angeles) and Laura Toggs (pastor of the Hillsong youth ministry in Australia and also member of Hillsong Young & Free). [6] [7] [8] [9]

Houston wanted to play the piano at the age of seven. However he found an inclination to play bass and this led him to play the bass guitar for a number of Hillsong Worship albums instead. [10]

Hillsong United and Hillsong

Houston's debut with the Hillsong United as a vocalist was in 2002, however he had been playing bass guitar with the band for several years prior to this, and contributing various songs, including the title track from the group's debut full-length live album, Everyday . As part of Hillsong United music team, Joel Houston has helped lead worship conferences in North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. He has also contributed to the main Hillsong album recordings as well, which are led by worship pastor Reuben Morgan. Many of the songs he has written or co-written are sung in churches worldwide and have been translated into 32 languages.[ citation needed ] His music has been featured on Hillsong albums that have quickly risen on both the Australian and American Christian music charts. [11] [12] In March 2007, Hillsong United's eighth album All of the Above debuted at No. 6 on the ARIA charts. [13] Joel Houston has been the creative director of Hillsong since 2008. Joel was co-pastor of Hillsong NYC with Carl Lentz until Lentz's employment was terminated by Brian Houston for unnamed "moral failings". [14]

Personal life

Joel married Brazilian model Esther Lima in 2012, and they had a son in 2013. [15] [16] [17]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hope</i> (Hillsong album) 2003 live album by Hillsong Church

Hope is the twelfth album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music by Hillsong Church. The album reached No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

<i>Blessed</i> (Hillsong album) 2002 live album by Hillsong Church

Blessed is the eleventh album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music by Hillsong Church. It was recorded live at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 3 March 2002 by Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong Worship Team. Blessed saw Marty Sampson step up to lead worship alongside Darlene Zschech and Reuben Morgan for the night. Over 10,000 people from Hillsong Church attended the recording. The album reached No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

<i>Look to You</i> 2005 live album by Hillsong United

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Martin W "Marty" Sampson is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and former worship leader at the Hillsong Church in Sydney. From the late 1990s until 2019 he featured on the United Live albums and was one of the original Hillsong United band's worship leaders. Sampson's main instrument is the guitar although he also plays the piano, flute and drums. Aside from work for Youth Alive and Hillsong United, Sampson has issued solo albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsong United</span> Australian worship band

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, Taya Smith-Gaukrodger, Matt Crocker, Jonathon Douglass, Brooke Fraser, Jad Gillies and Benjamin Hastings. Due to several songs written by the youth ministry, Hillsong Worship leader Darlene Zschech recommended that they record an album, which resulted in their debut extended play, One, which was released alongside the Hillsong Worship album Touching Heaven Changing Earth. 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.

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

<i>Mighty to Save</i> (Hillsong album) 2006 live album by Hillsong Worship

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<i>Saviour King</i> 2007 live album by Hillsong Worship

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<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.

Luke Andrew Munns is an Australian musician and the original drummer of Hillsong United, one of several worship bands to come out of Sydney's Hillsong Church's youth group. Munns is also a recording producer and songwriter. Munns was a member of Hillsong United from 1999 to 2006 but left to start the rock/indie/folk band LUKAS as lead singer/songwriter. He is a member of Hillsong Church, Australia. Munns was also the drummer for many Hillsong Church albums, and the band Able, which was composed of Marty Sampson, Michael Guy Chislett and Joel Houston, which won the Channel V Leg Up competition in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Houston</span> Australian pastor and evangelist

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.

<i>Cornerstone</i> (Hillsong Worship album) 2012 live album by Hillsong Worship

Cornerstone is the twenty-first album in the live praise and worship series of contemporary worship music by Hillsong Live. It reached No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 chart, and became the No. 1 album on the Billboard Christian Albums chart.

<i>Glorious Ruins</i> 2013 live album by Hillsong Worship

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.

<i>Open Heaven / River Wild</i> 2015 live album and Video album by Hillsong Worship

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<i>Let There Be Light</i> (album) 2016 live album by Hillsong Worship

Let There Be Light is the 25th live album of Hillsong Worship, which consists of several worship pastors from Australian church Hillsong Church. The album was recorded during the 2016 Hillsong Conference at the Qudos Bank Arena from 4 July until 7 July 2016 and was released on 14 October 2016, under Hillsong Music, Sparrow Records and Capitol Christian Music Group.

<i>The Peace Project</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Hillsong Worship

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<i>There Is More</i>

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Hillsong NYC or Hillsong Church NYC is a Manhattan-based Christian church that is part of Hillsong Church based in Australia.

References

  1. Houston, Brian (14 April 2010). "Update #2: HILLSONG NEW YORK CITY" . Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  2. Jones, Caroline (1 August 2005). "The Life of Brian - Transcript". Australian Story. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  3. "Last night as a single man..... Bring on the future.. God is faithful". Twitter. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  4. "Welcome to Twitter - Login or Sign up" . Twitter. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. http://www.facebook.com/joelhouston/posts/135456309910784%5B%5D
  6. "Joel Houston on Instagram: "My bro and my son - winning on both fronts! Love them both"". Instagram. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  7. "Joel Houston on Instagram: "My sister is far cooler than I am. She also loves cows. These 2 qualities would be at the bottom of a list longer than the collective scroll of our insta feeds to describe just how awesome she is. Happy birthday @lauratoggs love you xoxo"". Instagram. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  8. "Ben Houston". Hillsong Official Website.
  9. "Laura Toggs". Hillsong Official Website.
  10. Blessed. Special features. Hillsong Music. 2002.
  11. Archived 12 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Archived 12 July 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "He's on a musical mission for God". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  14. Houston, Brian. "Announcement from Hillsong Church Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston. Re: Hillsong East Coast (USA)". Hillsong Church. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  15. Mackinnon, Olivia (1 July 2015). "Meet Hillsong's Power Couple, Draped In Tattoos and Designer Clothing". kiis1065.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018. Hillsong Church's Global Director, Joel Houston and his very glamorous wife, Esther Lima are Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin's spiritual guides - and the unofficial face of Hillsong church.
  16. "Esther Houston". Hillsong.
  17. "Joel Houston". Hillsong.