| Hillsong Conference | |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Sydney, Australia |
| Years active | 1986 - present day |
| Genre | Christian |
| Website | http://www.hillsongconference.com/ |
The Hillsong Conference is an annual Christian conference held each July in Sydney, Australia, London, Europe, and Kiev, Ukraine and hosted by the Hillsong Church. It features worship artists like singers, musicians, bands and church-groups and draws delegates from around the world. It is the largest annual conference in Australia.[1] The conference is hosted by Hillsong Church and Senior Pastor's Brian and Bobbie Houston with worship led by Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong Worship Team Australia including Reuben Morgan and Hillsong United.
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".[2]
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The first Hillsong Conference was held in 1986 in Baulkham Hills.[1] The conference was initiated by Geoff Bullock and Mark Zschech, and was originally worship and creative arts focused. 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.
From 1995, night rallies were held at the State Sports Centre in Sydney Olympic Park, to accommodate the growth in numbers. The amount of international delegates grew significantly at this time. To accommodate the growth, two identical conferences were held in 1999 and 2000 across two weeks. By 2000, the conference had grown to 10,000 delegates.
Hillsong Conference was first held in the Acer Arena (formerly Sydney SuperDome) and various venues throughout Sydney Olympic Park from 2001. To date, Hillsong Conference 2006 was the largest conference.
The Hillsong Conference was held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour, in the heart of the city of Sydney for one year only in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Hillsong Conferences. One-day pre-conferences were held in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane in May with Brian, Bobbie Houston and special guest Casey Treat, with worship led by Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong Team.
| Year | Dates | Delegates | Night Meetings | Special Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | ? | 150 | ? | ? | The first Hillsong Conference. |
| 1987 | ? | 200 | ? | ? | ? |
| 1988 | 12–15 July 1988 | 350 | ? | ? | ? |
| 1989 | ? | 400 | ? | ? | ? |
| 1990 | ? | 500 | ? | ? | ? |
| 1991 | ? | 750[3] | Hills Entertainment Centre | ? | ? |
| 1992 | 6–10 July 1992 | 1,000[3] | Hills Entertainment Centre | ? | ? |
| 1993 | ? | 1,000 | Hills Entertainment Centre | ? | ? |
| 1994 | ? | 1,000+ | Hills Entertainment Centre | ? | ? |
| 1995 | ? | ? | State Sports Centre | ? | Celebrated 10th Anniversary. |
| 1996 | ? | ? | State Sports Centre | ? | ? |
| 1997 | ? | 5,000+ | State Sports Centre | ? | Opening of new Hillsong Church Building in Baulkham Hills |
| 1998 | 6–19 July 1998[4] | 8,500[5] | State Sports Centre | Alvin Slaughter, Ron Kenoly, Rick Godwin, Ray McCauley | Album recorded with Integrity Music: "Shout to the Lord 2000" led by Darlene Zschech & special musical guests Alvin Slaughter & Ron Kenoly. |
| 1999 | 6-9 & 12–15 July 1999[6] | 10,000 | State Sports Centre | Tommy Barnett, Charles Nieman, Abraham Laboriel, Ray McCauley | Conference is held over 2 weeks. First United recording: "Everyday" |
| 2000 | 4-7 & 11–14 July 2000 | 10,000 | State Sports Centre | Phil Driscoll, Cathy Lechter, Paul Scanlon | Conference is held over 2 weeks. |
| 2001 | 2–6 July 2001 | 12,500 | Sydney SuperDome | Jentezen Franklin, Delirious? | First year at Sydney Superdome. |
| 2002 | 8–12 July 2002 | 16,000 | Sydney SuperDome | Tommy Barnett, Casey Treat, Paul Scanlon, Paul Baloche, Graham Kendrick | 'Worldwide worship' night on the Thursday, featured several worship teams from around the world. Theme: Forward Together. |
| 2003 | 7–11 July 2003 | 18,000 | Sydney SuperDome | AR Bernard, Kong Hee, Delirious?, Frank Damazio, The Katinas, John Maxwell, Jentezen Franklin | Album recorded with Delirious?: "UP – Unified: Praise". Theme: Shout God's Fame. |
| 2004 | 5–9 July 2004 | 21,600 | Sydney SuperDome | Joyce Meyer, Frank Damazio, Paul Scanlon, Planetshakers | Theme: Passionate. |
| 2005 | 4–8 July 2005 | 29,000 | Sydney SuperDome | Joyce Meyer, Reinhard Bonnke, Jack Hayford, CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith | 10 night meetings held. Theme: Strength. |
| 2006 | 3–7 July 2006 | 30,000 | Acer Arena | Reinhard Bonnke, Jentezen Franklin, Delirious?, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Alvin Slaughter, Israel Houghton and New Breed, Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, Matthew Barnett, Frank Damazio, Rick Godwin, Bill Hybels, Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill | 10 night meetings held. Celebrating 20 years of Hillsong Conference. |
| 2007 | 2–6 July 2007 | 26,000 | Acer Arena | TD Jakes, Joseph Prince, Jentezen Franklin, John Bevere, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton and New Breed, Ed Young Jr., Ron Luce, Brooke Fraser, Watoto Children's Choir | 10 night meetings held. |
| 2008 | 7–11 July 2008 | 24,000 | Acer Arena | Joyce Meyer, Joseph Prince, Judah Smith, Leeland, Michael Gungor, Marcos Witt, Israel Houghton, Alfred Kua | 10 night meetings held. |
| 2009[7] | 7–10 July 2009 | 22,000 | Acer Arena | Joel Osteen, Victoria Osteen, Jentezen Franklin, Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, Craig Groeschel, Israel Houghton | Major program changes include capping conference for the first time. |
| 2010[8] | 5–9 July 2010 | 21,000 | Acer Arena | Judah Smith, TD Jakes, Andy Stanley, Ed Young, Nancy Beach, Nathan and Christy Nockels, Tim Hughes & Israel Houghton | Theme: An Unshakable Kingdom |
| 2011 | 5–8 July 2011 | Sydney Entertainment Centre & Darling Harbour (Change of Location is a Special event only for 2011) | John Maxwell, Priscilla Shirer, Nicky Gumbel, Jentezen Franklin, Israel Houghton, Sidney Mohede, Jesus Culture & Hillsong Team | 25th Anniversary Celebrations | |
| 2012 | 2–6 July 2012 | Allphones Arena | Joyce Meyer, Louie Giglio, Steven Furtick, Joseph Prince, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman |
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 conference is capped for the first time. This conference also featured major program changes that include a shorter conference (-1 day), only 1 night meeting and revised streams and electives. There is an appearance on the Thursday night by Joel and Victoria Osteen of Lakewood Church.
Changes were made since the 2009 conference to reflect previous conferences, most notably, the conference is once again 5 nights and 4 days and is not capped. The Night Rallies are also not ticketed.
Hillsong Conference has had a wide range people on the platform. Below are the contributors in years gone by:
A.R Bernard, Adrian Ross, Alvin Slaughter, Bayless Conley, Bill Hybels, T.D Jakes, Casey Treat, Cece Winans, Charlotte Scanlon Gambill, Chris Tomlin, Cindy Cruse Ratcliff, Craig Groeschel, Delirious?, Ed Young Jnr, Frank Damazio, Gary and Marilyn Skinner, Graham Kendrick, Israel Houghton, Jack Hayford, Jentezen Franklin, Joel and Victoria Osteen & the Lakewood Team, John Bevere, John Maxwell, Joseph Prince,Joyce Meyer, Judah Smith, Kevin Gerald, Kong Hee, Leeland, Louie Giglio, Marcos Witt, Matt Redman, Matthew Barnett, Michael Gungor, Michael W. Smith, Mike Pilavachi, Nancy Alcorn, Nancy Beach, Paul Baloche, Paul De Jong, Paul Scanlon, Phil Driscoll, Ray Bevan, Ray McCauley, Reinhard Bonnke, Rick Godwin, Rick Warren, Robert Barriger, Ron Kenoly, Steven Curtis Chapman, Tommy Barnett, Watoto Children's Choir, Wayne Alcorn.
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