Inspire Church, founded as Liverpool Christian Life Centre, is a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Australian Christian Churches 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 w ...

, the Assemblies of God in Australia. It is located in

Hoxton Park Hoxton Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hoxton Park is located 38 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and is part of the Greater We ...

, in the City of Liverpool, in the Greater Western Sydney region, Australia.

History

The church was founded in 1982, with Pastors John and Carol McMartin as Liverpool Christian Life Centre (one of several Christian Life Centres). In 2007, the attendance was 4,500 people. On 31 August 2008 Liverpool Christian Life Centre changed its name to Inspire Church. The church was registered as Inspire Church in January 2010. In 2012, the attendance was 5,000 people, making Inspire Church one of the largest ACC Churches in Australia at the time. In late 2020, John McMartin stepped aside from his role after being charged with sexual assault. His son, Brendan McMartin, is the pastor of the church's

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

campus with his wife Melissa.

Description

The church is located in

, in the City of Liverpool, in the Greater Western Sydney region, Australia. The main building consists of an auditorium which can seat approximately 1,000 people. The senior pastors, Chairperson and joint CEOs are Brendan and Melissa McMartin, who were appointed after the

NSW Police The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

charged Senior Pastor John McMartin with Assault with an Act of Indecency in November 2020. It is linked to other churches of the same name in Ingleburn, and

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

, and is a member of

Inspire College

Inspire College, ''(formerly Sydney Training Institute)'' is an initiative of Inspire Church, located 40 minutes from Sydney CBD. The aim of the institute is to equip leaders for service in the church through an intern program. The College is registered with VETAB and its courses are nationally accredited. The colleges longstanding principal is Adam Boyse.

Indecent assault allegations

On 26 November 2020,

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

from the Liverpool Area Command of the

arrested former pastor John McMartin, and charged him with indecent assault. It was alleged that McMartin sexually assaulted a then 19-year old parishioner at his Pleasure Point home in January 2013. McMartin appeared before Liverpool Local Court on 16 December. McMartin faced court again on 27 January 2021 and the case was rescheduled for October 2021. He has pleaded "Not Guilty". In 2014, McMartin had given a deposition and testimony to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse in his role as the NSW State President of the

, in relation to the denomination's responses to the

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

of ministers.Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse - document
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References

External links

*{{official, https://www.inspirechurch.com/ Pentecostal churches in Sydney Pentecostal churches in Australia Australian Christian Churches Christian organizations established in 1952 Evangelical megachurches in Australia 1952 establishments in Australia