CRC Churches International, formerly known as the Christian Revival Crusade, is a Finished Work Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in New Zealand and Australia by Leo Harris in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, with assistance from Thomas Foster in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria.

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 The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

. Harris was influenced by the British-Israel views of Thomas Foster, whose identification of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

nations with the

ten lost tribes The Ten Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. They were the following ...

of Israel prompted him to adopt a historicist

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

. 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 Commonwealth Revival Crusade was launched organisationally in Adelaide and Melbourne in 1945. The movement later became known as the National Revival Crusade after rejection from the Australian Government for the use of the word "Commonwealth". The movement then 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 to cleanse people of demons and evil spirits. These groups attribute certain people's physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional problems to the activities of the ...

, 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 an activity or 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 voc ...

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

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. 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, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and in

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

under Barry Silverback, recognised with an

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

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 (6 June 1933 – 24 September 2024) was an Australian Pentecostal pastor with CRC Churches International. He was ordained in 1952 in the CRC. He was the elder brother of Barry Chant, who is the founder (with the Reverend D ...

, founder of

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

in Sydney, and Barry Chant, 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 is called ''Pomberuk'' b ...

Churches in Victoria include: * Grace Fellowship, two locations * GROW church, two locations * , nine 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