Hillsong Church UK is a charismatic Christian Non-denominational megachurch in the United Kingdom which is a part of

Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global Evangelical charismatic movement, charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. The original church was established in 1983 as Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New ...

global. Hillsong London, founded as London Christian Life Centre, was the first church planted in the UK by the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

-based church, in 1992.

History

The church was planted out of the Hills Christian Life Centre (in

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropoli ...

, Australia) by Gerard and Sue Keehan in 1992 as the London Christian Life Centre, becoming Hillsong Church London in 2000. From 2000 to 2002 Hillsong London met in various West End theatres and university halls around London. 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. In August 2005, Hillsong London began holding services in Leatherhead,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

(southwest of London), and in 2011 services commenced in Tonbridge, Kent (southeast of London). In 2006 Hillsong London drew 3,000 people to the

Excel Centre ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

in East London, for the first Hillsong Conference Europe. 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 The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which it ...

. 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. In 2019, a new congregation started in Croydon, attracting around 600 attendees.

Today

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. In 2017, it had an annual gross income of over £18 million, and is registered as a

charitable institution A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

with the

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

. The Church has 12 locations in the UK,Joshua Statter
600 worshippers flock to megachurch Hillsong's new weekly service in Croydon
eastlondonlines.co.uk, UK, 7 October 2019 all in England apart from Edinburgh in Scotland. The services are held in rented accommodation. In 2016, the attendance at the Dominion Theatre was 2,000 people.

Controversies

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. 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. In December 2022, Hillsong London was criticised for charging £10 per ticket for its Christmas carol service. Carl Beech, writing in Premier Christianity, remarked that "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."

Discography

Shout God's Fame (2004)

Jesus is (Live) (2006) Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

Jesus is (Remix) (2008) Hail to the King (2008)

References

External links