CRC Churches International, formerly known as the Christian Revival Crusade, is a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Protestant Christian denomination founded in New Zealand and Australia by Leo Harris in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, with assistance from Thomas Foster in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

History

Converted under the itinerant ministry of South African, Frederick Van Eyck, Harris' father became an Apostolic Church pastor before they both assumed ministry within the Assemblies of God. Harris was influenced by the British-Israel views of Thomas Foster, whose identification of Anglo-Saxon nations with the

ten lost tribes The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ash ...

of Israel prompted him to adopt a historicist

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

. With the subsequent cancellation of his ministry credential and the increasing post-war popularity of his pro-British views throughout parts of Australia and New Zealand, the National Revival Crusade was launched organisationally in Adelaide in 1945 and was active in Melbourne as well. The movement later became known as the Christian Revival Crusade before finally taking its current name. With a strong focus on classical Pentecostal distinctives such as

baptism in the Holy Spirit In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctr ...

, faith healing and

deliverance ministry In Christianity, deliverance ministry refers to groups that perform practices and rituals to cleanse people of demons and evil spirits. This is done in order to address problems in their life deemed to be manifesting as a result of demonic presenc ...

, the CRC grew and sought to establish a new constitution in 1958, which triggered the departure of churches, forming the Revival Centres International (which viewed spirit baptism with the evidence of

speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

as essential for salvation). Nevertheless, growth continued, including a significant influence in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Later departures of churches, some of which saw new movements emerge, were all unrelated to the declining popularity of the British-Israel teaching, which has not appeared in official publications since the early 1970s. International growth (principally in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and in

South-East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

under Barry Silverback, recognised with an

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

medal for his services) saw some 600 churches globally and 120 in Australia under the leadership of Bill Vasilakis by around 2009, with the stated goal of having a presence in every nation by the CRC's centenary in 2045. In 2012 the CRC reported that it had a presence in some 50 nations.

People

Other influential ministers in the CRC include

Ken Chant Kenneth David Chant (born 6 June 1933) is an Australian Pentecostal pastor with CRC Churches International. He was ordained in 1952 in the CRC. He is the elder brother of Barry Chant, who is the founder (with the Reverend Dennis Slape) and for ...

, founder of

Vision International College Vision International College was founded in 1974 in Launceston, Tasmania by Ken Chant, an Australian theologian and author. Now located outside of Sydney, Australia in Minto, New South Wales, the college provides vocational ministry training by ...

in Sydney, and

Barry Chant Barry Mostyn Chant (born 1938) is an Australian academic, pentecostal pastor and author. His most significant contribution to the Pentecostal movement in Australia was as its primary historian. ''Heart of Fire: The story of Australian Pentecost ...

, a popular author and the founder of

Tabor College Australia Tabor College is an Australian Christian tertiary college offering a range of liberal arts courses from certificate to post-graduate studies in the areas of counselling, education, ministry, performing arts, mission, youth studies and humanitie ...

which has had campuses in several capital cities.

Locations

The majority of CRC churches in Australia are in South Australia and Victoria. In South Australia they include: * Adelaide Christian Centre, Adelaide * Christian Family Centre, several locations * Hope Central, several locations * Lifehouse,

Murray Bridge, South Australia Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie. The city had an urban population of a ...

Churches in Victoria include: * Grace Fellowship, two locations * GROW church, two locations * turningpoint, several locations Internationally, there are several churches in Canada and New Zealand, two in Uganda, and single churches in Brazil, Cambodia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, UK, US, and Vanuatu.

History

People

Locations

References

External links