Recently, I was visiting one of our Hillsong Churches and had the privilege of meeting a man whose story stayed with me. Born and raised in India in a Hindu home, he hadn’t grown up in the church.
Christianity was new to him—but after encountering Jesus, his life changed.

He had visited two Hillsong locations in two different countries. What moved him most wasn’t the size of the rooms or the music—it was the heart he sensed in the people.

“I felt like I belonged,” he told me. “Even though I didn’t know what went on behind the scenes, I could feel it in the details.”

That stirred me deeply. In a world often marked by division, here was someone experiencing the unity and belonging we pray for—simply by walking through our doors.

With that moment in my heart, I sat down with Chanelle Murray, one of our campus pastors at the Hills Campus in Australia. From the very beginning, I’ve seen her passionate conviction for building churches that look like heaven—where every culture, age, and background can find a place to belong.

This is part of our conversation.

Becoming Aware: The Lifelong Call to Belong

When I asked Chanelle what stirred her passion for unity and belonging, her answer came from her lived experience of a woman of color growing up in suburban Australia.

“It wasn’t something that started one day. It’s something I’ve always had to be aware of—in school, at university, in the workplace. It’s just… always been part of life.”

She spoke candidly about often feeling like an outsider. And yet when she came to Hillsong Church at age sixteen, something shifted.

“It was the first space I saw the beauty of diversity reflected in worship, in community. I thought—this must be what the Kingdom of God looks like.”

That initial sense of belonging ignited something deeper in her heart—a desire to see that Kingdom diversity cultivated, protected, and championed.

Listening First: Leading with Humility

I asked her about some of the challenges she has experienced in this space, and what she shared was a story from when she was a young adult—and how it is still impacting her today.

As a young youth leader, Chanelle was tasked with ministering to teens from difficult backgrounds. “I had to learn quickly,” she shared.

“What I’d experienced in life was completely different than what they had. My advice didn’t always connect.”

That experience shaped her pastoral approach today:

“Ask questions first. Then ask more.”

Her words reminded me of James 1:19 (NIV):
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…”

Humility is at the heart of unity.

A Biblical Vision for the Body

When I asked what Scripture grounds her conviction, Chanelle pointed to 1 Corinthians 12—the passage about the Body of Christ:

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many… If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?” (v.12-14,17 NIV)

Her takeaway:
“We need each other. Different voices. Different backgrounds. Different thinking. Great minds don’t all think alike. “

In the Kingdom, differences are essential.

Jesus: The Model of Radical Belonging

Chanelle described Jesus as the ultimate example of embracing the outsider.

“Sometimes we complicate things,” she reflected–
“but Jesus lived simply:

He saw people. He walked with people. He welcomed the ones no one else would.”

One bold example is found in Luke 17, when Jesus healed ten men with leprosy. These men lived on the margins of society, physically isolated and relationally forgotten. But Jesus stopped, saw them, and healed them. What happened next is deeply telling:

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’”—Luke 17:15–18 (NIV)

It’s no accident that Jesus highlights the one who returned—the outsider, the Samaritan. It’s another glimpse of Jesus’ ministry: calling the unseen seen and restoring dignity.

A Church That Sees You

One of the most beautiful moments in our conversation was when Chanelle shared a recent experience at Sisterhood United Night. A video played showing a woman styling another woman’s textured hair. “It was just a few seconds,” she said, “but I texted someone straight away and said, ‘If I had seen that kind of image in high school, I would’ve felt so seen.’”

Little things matter.

It’s in the little choices—the image on the screen, the word spoken on stage, the face that greets you at the door—that people experience belonging.

Generations Together

Chanelle also lit up when speaking of the older generation at Hills Campus:

“There are pillars of prayer in our church—men and women who lift us up weekly. We are not just a young church. And that’s something we should be proud of.”

This is the beauty of a multi-generational church.

Psalm 145:4 says, “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”
Unity is richer when the generations walk together.

On Being a Woman in Leadership

When I asked Chanelle what it’s like leading as a woman, she got honest: “I think many women disqualify themselves before they even begin. They think they have to have it all together. But you don’t.”

She dreams of a church where more women step in boldly—not after they’ve figured everything out, but while they’re still trusting Jesus to guide the way.

One Church, One Prayer

As our conversation drew to a close, I asked her about Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20b-21(NIV):

“…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”

Her voice softened:

“I love that verse. It reminds me that in Christ, we are not ‘us and them.’ We are one. That oneness breaks down barriers—cultural, generational, relational.”

Unity calls us forward, together.

A Seat at the Table

Chanelle described her favorite image at the Hills Campus: banquet tables in the foyer, especially at the 6pm service.

“It’s not just ‘Welcome Home’ on a screen. It’s a real invitation: Come sit. Tell us your story. Your voice matters here.”

That, she said, is what home really looks like—not just an open door, but a seat at the table.

The Dream: A Church That Doesn’t Need to Say It

When I asked Chanelle what dream God’s placed on her heart for Hillsong, her response was simple and profound:

“That no one would ever have to ask if we value unity and belonging. That they’d see it everywhere. In every room. In every detail.”

May we be that kind of church. One where unity and belonging don’t need to be explained—they’re simply experienced.

Just like the man I met that day.
Just like Chanelle.
Just like Jesus prayed for. That we may be one. (John 17:21 NIV)

Written by:
Unity & Belonging Program Manager
Maria Hansen-Quine