Hello My Dear Great Ones,
Last week from Tuesday night to Friday Celia and I went to the most phenomenal Christian conference in the World. Hillsongs Conference in Sydney, Australia. It is run by the phenomenal Hillsongs Church. Phenomenal because....well let the numbers speak for itself.
As of 2016, the church has 27 affiliated churches, a weekly attendance of 100,000 (37,000 in Australia) and is present in the major cities of 17 countries of the world.[18] [19] In its network, it counts the following megachurches; Johannesburg (12,000), London (8,000), Kiev (3,000), Tokyo (2,500), Stockholm (2,000).[20] In 2016, there are two affiliated megachurches in the United States: New York City with 7,000 attendees and Los Angeles with 2,500.[21]
Wow!
Here are some facts:
Hillsong is affiliated with Australian Christian Churches (the Assemblies of God in Australia), which belongs within the Pentecostal tradition of Christianity. The church's beliefs are Evangelical and Pentecostal in that it holds the Bible as the truth and authoritative in matters of faith. They believe that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate, and the only begotten Son of the Father, who reconciled humanity to God through his death and resurrection. The church believes that to live a fruitful Christian life a person should, among other things, seek salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking with other tongues, and that the Holy Spirit enables the use of spiritual gifts, which includes, and is not limited to, speaking in tongues.[22]
Hillsong's stand on many topical issues in contemporary Christianity is in keeping with mainstream Pentecostalism opposing embryonic stem cell research and abortion on the basis that human life commences at conception.[23] Hillsong has also declared support for Creationism and Intelligent Design and believes this should be taught in schools.[24][25][26][27] It also believes that homosexuality is contrary to biblical teaching but emphasises that it does not condemn homosexuals.[28]
Hillsong's prosperity teachings have been criticised by Christian leaders Tim Costello[29] and George Pell.[30] Subsequent statements by Tim Costello indicated that he was satisfied with changes made by Brian Houston to Hillsong's teaching in response to criticism,[31] a change which has been noted by the media.[32] Hillsong's teachings have been commented on favourably by Peter Costello, Tim Costello's brother, also a Baptist and a former Treasurer of Australia who has defended the church against accusations of unorthodoxy.[33]
Cool I am on board!
The major things I learned about Hillsong and why I think the church is so successful are:
1. Christ like love. There were people from all over the world at the conference representing literally every Christian denomination in the World. Good on Hillsongs to not make their church an exclusive club and demand that people join them. They are very welcoming and hospitable. A big reason for their phenomenal success. I am sure there were also many unbelievers at the conference, curious to see what all the fuss was about.
2. Rocking worship music. Music is powerful to draw people together. Hillsongs is famous for its music. There is a stat that 15% of all worship songs sung in churches around the world on a Sunday are Hillsongs worship songs. The song "Shout to the Lord," is considered one of the greatest worship songs ever and it propelled the Hillsongs Church into world wide prominence.
3. Youthful energy. Hillsongs is filled with heaps of young 20-40 year olds. Most are energetic, proactive, wonderful people with a strong belief in Jesus Christ. Their zest and willingness to support, encourage, and welcome newcomers to the church is a huge reason for Hillsongs phenomenal growth. The church is loaded with leaders in all spheres of life: teachers, lawyers, doctors, government officials, entertainers (there was a Justin Bieber sighting at the conference; ) you name it, every profession on earth seems to be represented at Hillsongs. They are all dynamic, leader types. Encouragers. People feel cared for.
4. Charismatic Leadership. Brian Houston is the Senior Global Pastor and his incredible charisma and leadership skills are astounding. You want a 5 star example of a LEADER who puts people at ease with his charm and humour, provides a clear idea of the mission of the church, and knows how to inspire people, well Brian Houston is the guy. His ability to preach in an interesting, informative, captivating, and Biblical solid way is outstanding.
5. Doing things well. Outstanding sound system, special effects, use of videos, is all done world class. The production on stage is slick and moves along. Yet ultimately the Word of God is not lost in all this flash and color.
6. God's favour. I believe God is pleased with Hillsongs love for Him. There is barely any mention about Hillsongs church during a Hillsongs service. The focus is on worshipping Him and making him known through Scripture, preaching, encouragement, and exhortation. I appreciate that a lot and I think so do many others.
Finally for me the most interesting session at the Hillsongs conference was when several different people from different walks of life came up and shared their testimony of how God had blessed them. There was a professional athlete thanking God for healing an injury and giving him patience; a teacher talking about how she and a few others started a breakfast program at their school for their underprivileged kids;
a Christian comedian talking about how his crazy humour brought joy to senior citizens; and a former police commissioner who with God's help cleaned up a corrupt and poorly respected police force back to its rightful place in society. He did it so well that he was given a standing ovation by the congregation at Hillsongs. Those people and others showed us that God loves us.
Praise God.
Here are some visuals:
Cool I am on board!
The major things I learned about Hillsong and why I think the church is so successful are:
1. Christ like love. There were people from all over the world at the conference representing literally every Christian denomination in the World. Good on Hillsongs to not make their church an exclusive club and demand that people join them. They are very welcoming and hospitable. A big reason for their phenomenal success. I am sure there were also many unbelievers at the conference, curious to see what all the fuss was about.
2. Rocking worship music. Music is powerful to draw people together. Hillsongs is famous for its music. There is a stat that 15% of all worship songs sung in churches around the world on a Sunday are Hillsongs worship songs. The song "Shout to the Lord," is considered one of the greatest worship songs ever and it propelled the Hillsongs Church into world wide prominence.
3. Youthful energy. Hillsongs is filled with heaps of young 20-40 year olds. Most are energetic, proactive, wonderful people with a strong belief in Jesus Christ. Their zest and willingness to support, encourage, and welcome newcomers to the church is a huge reason for Hillsongs phenomenal growth. The church is loaded with leaders in all spheres of life: teachers, lawyers, doctors, government officials, entertainers (there was a Justin Bieber sighting at the conference; ) you name it, every profession on earth seems to be represented at Hillsongs. They are all dynamic, leader types. Encouragers. People feel cared for.
4. Charismatic Leadership. Brian Houston is the Senior Global Pastor and his incredible charisma and leadership skills are astounding. You want a 5 star example of a LEADER who puts people at ease with his charm and humour, provides a clear idea of the mission of the church, and knows how to inspire people, well Brian Houston is the guy. His ability to preach in an interesting, informative, captivating, and Biblical solid way is outstanding.
5. Doing things well. Outstanding sound system, special effects, use of videos, is all done world class. The production on stage is slick and moves along. Yet ultimately the Word of God is not lost in all this flash and color.
6. God's favour. I believe God is pleased with Hillsongs love for Him. There is barely any mention about Hillsongs church during a Hillsongs service. The focus is on worshipping Him and making him known through Scripture, preaching, encouragement, and exhortation. I appreciate that a lot and I think so do many others.
Finally for me the most interesting session at the Hillsongs conference was when several different people from different walks of life came up and shared their testimony of how God had blessed them. There was a professional athlete thanking God for healing an injury and giving him patience; a teacher talking about how she and a few others started a breakfast program at their school for their underprivileged kids;
a Christian comedian talking about how his crazy humour brought joy to senior citizens; and a former police commissioner who with God's help cleaned up a corrupt and poorly respected police force back to its rightful place in society. He did it so well that he was given a standing ovation by the congregation at Hillsongs. Those people and others showed us that God loves us.
Praise God.
Here are some visuals:
The conference took place at the Sydney Olympic park basketball arena. Over 30 000 people packed themselves into the arena for the conference.
Celia and I are about to go in.
Believing in Jesus Christ is wonderful and it was great to be with believers from around the World. Very encouraging and inspiring.
God bless you. Have a great week.
Love adios and ping on!
Dirk
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