Inspire Church, founded as Liverpool Christian Life Centre, is a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Christian church affiliated with

Australian Christian Churches The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomina ...

, 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 ...

in Australia. It is located in Hoxton Park, in the City of Liverpool, in the

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...

region, Australia.

History

The church was founded in 1982, with Pastors John and Carol McMartin as Liverpool Christian Life Centre (one of several

Christian Life Centre Christian Life Centre (commonly abbreviated to CLC) is or was a name given to a number of Pentecostalism in Australia, Pentecostal churches in Australia, many of them affiliated with the Australian Christian Churches (formerly Assemblies of God, o ...

s). In 2007, the attendance was 4,500 people. On 31 August 2008 Liverpool Christian Life Centre changed its name to Inspire Church. The church was registered as Inspire Church in January 2010. In 2012, the attendance was 5,000 people, making Inspire Church one of the largest ACC Churches in Australia at the time. In late 2020, John McMartin stepped aside from his role after being charged with sexual assault. His son, Brendan McMartin, is the pastor of the church's

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

campus with his wife Melissa.

Description

The church is located in Hoxton Park, in the City of Liverpool, in the

region, Australia. The main building consists of an auditorium which can seat approximately 1,000 people. The senior pastors, chairperson and joint

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

s are Brendan and Melissa McMartin, who were appointed after the

NSW Police The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

charged Senior Pastor John McMartin with Assault with an Act of Indecency in November 2020. It is linked to other churches of the same name in Ingleburn, and

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, and is a member of

Inspire College

Inspire College, ''(formerly Sydney Training Institute)'' is an initiative of Inspire Church, located 40 minutes from Sydney CBD. The aim of the institute is to equip leaders for service in the church through an intern program. The college is registered with VETAB and its courses are nationally accredited. The colleges longstanding principal is Adam Boyse.

Indecent assault allegations

On 26 November 2020,

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

from the Liverpool Area Command of the

arrested former pastor John McMartin, and charged him with indecent assault. It was alleged that McMartin sexually assaulted a then 19-year old parishioner at his Pleasure Point home in January 2013. McMartin appeared before Liverpool Local Court on 16 December. McMartin faced court again on 27 January 2021 and the case was rescheduled for October 2021. He has pleaded "Not Guilty". In 2014, McMartin had given a deposition and testimony to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse in his role as the NSW State President of the

, in relation to the denomination's responses to the

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

of ministers.Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse - document
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References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.inspirechurch.com/ Pentecostal churches in Sydney Pentecostal churches in Australia Australian Christian Churches Christian organizations established in 1952 Evangelical megachurches in Australia 1952 establishments in Australia