Charisma Magazine: Hillsong Church is ‘much more than the media portrays’

Hillsong Church has always supported responsible and fact-based reporting. A recent cover story by Chris Friend in US-based Charisma Magazine provides a good example of this kind of journalism. The well-researched article tells the fascinating story of how Australian-based Hillsong has impacted the global church. While the article does not shy away from discussing the phenomenon of Hillsong music, celebrities and even controversies, it paints a balanced and honest portrait of the opportunities and challenges Hillsong Church currently faces:

What’s behind the bad press about Hillsong?

by Chris Friend | Jul 21, 2022 | July August 2022

Hillsong. For years, what most people outside Australia thought of when they heard that word was music—and small wonder. Hillsong isn’t just big in terms of Christian music. As one of Australia’s biggest music exporters, it’s big in terms of all music. According to Christian Copyright Licensing International, more than 50 million people per week sing songs by Hillsong. That’s a lot of music.

And a lot of scandal, you may be thinking. The news that has rocked the megachurch and the Christian world over the past weeks and months has highlighted long-standing concerns. But as we examine the problems, let’s also look at what Hillsong is, where the Hillsong movement came from and how we can respond as it seeks to move forward in redemptive faith.

This is the fascinating story of how one church impacted the global church. The story of how that church spread from one location to dozens as it brought the hope of Jesus Christ to community upon community. And typical of all stories this side of heaven, it’s a story filled with joy and sorrow, sin, repentance and forgiveness. But by the grace of God, it will also be a story of grace and restoration.