Hillsong Conference

Infobox festival
festival_name = Hillsong Conference



caption =
location = Sydney, Australia flagicon|Australia
years_active = 1986 - present day
dates =
genre = Christian
website = http://www.hillsong.com/

Hillsong Conference is an annual Christian conference held mid-yearly in Sydney, Australia, and hosted by Hillsong Church. It features prominent international Christian speakers and worship bands, and draws delegates from all around the world. According to Hillsong, it is the largest annual conference in Australia.cite press release |publisher=Hillsong Church |date=2005-07-01 |accessdate=2006-07-28 |title=Australia's largest annual conference draws 30,000 |url=http://www2.hillsong.com/media/default.asp?pid=204 ]

Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston claims, "The vision and heartbeat has never changed. The Conference exists to 'champion the cause of the local church' and make [God's] name known around the earth".cite press release |publisher=Hillsong Church |date=2006-06-27 |accessdate=2006-07-28 |title=Hillsong conference less than one week away |url=http://www2.hillsong.com/media/default.asp?pid=1015 ]

History

1986–1994: The early years

The first Hillsong Conference was held in 1986 in Baulkham Hills, with a humble 150 delegates in attendance. The conference was initiated by Geoff Bullock and Mark Zschech, and was originally worship and creative arts focused. Brian Houston began running a leadership stream that was added to the conference program in the early years. By 1990, the conference grew to over 500 delegates and expanded to several venues across the Hills district of Sydney. In the early 1990s, night rallies were held in the Hills Centre where Hillsong Church was holding services. By 1994, the conference had expanded to over 1,000 delegates.

1995–2000: Rapid growth

From 1995, night rallies were held at the State Sports Centre in Sydney Olympic Park, to accommodate the large growth in numbers. The amount of internaional delegates grew significantly at this time due to the influence of Hillsong albums and teaching around the world. To accommodate the large growth, two identical conferences were held in 1999 and 2000 across two weeks. By 2000, the conference had grown to 10,000 delegates.

2001–present: Sydney Olympic Park

Hillsong Conference was first held in the Acer Arena (formerly Sydney SuperDome) and various venues throughout Sydney Olympic Park from 2001. Since the Acer Arena is the Sydney's largest auditorium, Hillsong Conference has had to cap recent Conferences as there is no room to grow. To date, Hillsong Conference 2006 was the largest conference, with 30,000 delegates. The 2009 conference will feature changes including a shorter conference, capped seating and revised streams and electives.

Conferences

2005 Conference

Hillsong Conference 2005 was held from July 4-8. It had the theme "strength" and drew 29,000 delegates from 79 nations and 22 denominations. The key speakers and worship leaders were Joyce Meyer, Jack Hayford, Darlene Zschech, Reinhard Bonnke, CeCe Winans and Michael W. Smith.

2006 Conference

Hillsong Conference 2006 was held during the week July 3-7. There were 30,000 delegates from 71 nations and 21 different denominations. This was the 20th anniversary of Hillsong Conference. For the first time, ticked seating was implemented for the night programs, guaranteeing seats and reducing the frustrating queues experienced during the 2005 conference. The key speakers were Rick Warren, Matthew Barnett, Frank Damazio, Rick Godwin, Bill Hybels, Jentezen Franklin, Charlotte Scanlon, Reinhard Bonnke and Brian Houston. The key worship leaders were the Hillsong team, Alvin Slaughter, Delirious?, Israel Houghton and New Breed, and Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff.

2007 Conference

Hillsong Conference 2007 was held from July 2–6. It featured prominent and well known music artists and speakers such as Brooke Fraser, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton and New Breed, Watoto Children's Choir, Darlene Zschech, T. D. Jakes, Ed Young Jr., Ron Luce, John Bevere, Jentezen Franklin, Joseph Prince, the Hillsong music team, Hillsong United band and many more.

2008 Conference

Hillsong Conference 2008 was held in July 2008 at the Acer Arena. The conference was attended by 24,000 people from 21 denominations and 70 different countries. It featured special guests Joyce Meyer, Joseph Prince, Judah Smith and artists Leeland, Marcos Witt, Michael Gungor, Israel Houghton, Michael Guglielmucci & New Breed and Alfred Kua.

See also

* Hillsong Church
* Hillsong Conference 2006
* Charismatic movement
* Pentecostalism

References

External links

* [http://www.hillsong.com/ Hillsong Church website]
* [http://www2.hillsong.com/conferences/hillsong/default.asp?pid=1013&hidetitle=yes Hillsong Conference webpage]