Christian Life Centre (commonly abbreviated to CLC) is or was a name given to a number of

Pentecostal churches in Australia Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived f ...

, many of them affiliated with the

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 ...

(formerly Assemblies of God, or AOG) network. ''Hills Christian Life Centre'', which has since changed its name to

Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centr ...

, was one of these, and spawned other churches in Australia and around the globe.

Australia

Queensland

Christian Life Centre Brisbane was founded in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1972 by

Trevor Chandler Trevor ( Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', meaning "large, big". The Cornish langu ...

and Clark Taylor. The latter left at the end of the year, but this CLC grew into one of the first

mega church A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2,0 ...

es in Brisbane under Chandler, and later into a national and international organisation. Chandler later rejected the teachings of the earlier Pentacostalist movements, and in 2000 Brian Andrew took over as leader. However he fell out with the CLC International denomination, and the Brisbane CLC flagship mother church left that movement and joined the AOG network, which was larger. In 2007, the church merged with Metro Church Brisbane, under Paul Geerling, and from that point the CLC movement slowed its growth. (Metro Church Brisbane changed its name to iSEE Church in April 2012), and is still run by Geerling and his wife Jo. It has six locations in Australia as well as one each in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

New South Wales

Hillsong origins

The Sydney Christian Life Centre, described by scholar Sam Hey as "a neo-Pentecostal megachurch", was founded in 1977 by New Zealander

Frank Houston William Francis "Frank" Houston (22 April 1922 – 8 November 2004) was a Pentecostal Christian pastor in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and Australia. Frank Houston founded Sydney Christian Life Centre, which would eventually come und ...

,PDF
/ref> "considered the father of Sydney's Pentecostal churches". He built the church at 188 Young St,

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

. The church joined AOG in the 1980s,PDF
/ref> and over time Houston became the most senior AOG person in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. In his later life he faced multiple allegations of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

. The Sydney CLC founded a college under David Johnston in 1983, located at Arncliffe and known as the

International Institute for Creative Ministries Excelsia University College, formerly Wesley Institute, is a tertiary education provider in Sydney, Australia, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in counselling, creative and performing arts, education, social work and business. H ...

(IICM); however, in 1989 Johnston parted ways with the IICM and founded the Wesleyan college which became

Wesley Institute Excelsia University College, formerly Wesley Institute, is a tertiary education provider in Sydney, Australia, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in counselling, creative and performing arts, education, social work and business. H ...

, today Excelsia College. The

Hills Christian Life Centre Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a Evangelical charismatic movement, charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christianity, Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, ...

, was founded by Houston's son,

Brian Houston Brian Charles Houston ( ; born 17 February 1954) is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president o ...

, and his wife Bobbie, at

Baulkham Hills Baulkham Hills (;) is a suburb in the Hills District, New South Wales, Hills District of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located within north-west of the Sydney central business district mostly within the Loca ...

, New South Wales, in 1983, as an AOG church. (Websit
here
Frank Houston's Waterloo church merged with the Hills CLC in May 1999, after he had been exposed as a

paedophile 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 ...

, and the church was renamed Hillsong Church in 2001. the city church is called the "Sydney Waterloo" or "Sydney City Campus" of

. The college which had, after the 1989 split, moved back to the Sydney CLC church, eventually grew into Hillsong College, which initially had two Sydney campuses. Hillsong College retains the official trading name of Sydney Christian Life Centre Pty Ltd.

Others

The Liverpool Christian Life Centre was founded by John and Carol McMartin in 1982, and renamed Inspire Church in 2010. In late 2020 John McMartin stepped down from his role, which was taken up by his son, after being charged with

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

of a 19-year-old woman at his home, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Others include: *

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 ...

Mona Vale, New South Wales Mona Vale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 28 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in an area known as the Northern Beaches. Formerly the administrative centre of Pittwater Cou ...

Christian Life Centre,

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area, it is also a regional centre in the Northern River ...

, was pastored by Garnet Budge in the early 1980s. Later that same decade Pastor Terry Boyle took over the role. The church operated a school called "Summerland Christian Academy" which included all grades from Kindergarten to year 12. Christian Life Centre,

Kyogle Kyogle () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It falls within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Kyogle Council. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Kyogle had a popu ...

, New South Wales, was initially pastored by Pastor John Carrothers and his wife, Janet. Pastor Barry Winton and his wife, Joan, pastored this church from the mid-1980s.

In other countries

* Christian Life Centre

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand * Christian Life Centre Oxford, founded in 1996 by Pastor Grady Reid, still pastor, with his wife Cindy * The

London Christian Life Centre Hillsong Church UK is a Evangelical charismatic movement, charismatic Christian Non-denominational megachurch in the United Kingdom which is a part of Hillsong Church global. Hillsong London, founded as London Christian Life Centre, was the firs ...

was planted by Hillsong Church pastors Gerard and Sue Keehan in 1992, becoming Hillsong Church London in 2000, and spawning 11 other branches in the UK, run out of rented premises. * Kyiv Christian Life Centre, now

Hillsong Church Kyiv Hillsong Ukraine, also known as Hillsong Church Kyiv (formerly Kyiv Christian Life Centre) is an offshoot of Hillsong Church from Sydney, Australia, based in Kyiv, Ukraine. History Hills Christian Life Centre was founded by Brian Houston in 19 ...

CLC today

As of 2010 CLC International had 27 churches in its CLC denomination in Australia, and around 2005 churches overseas, and was being led by Phillip Mutzelburg in Brassal, Queensland.

References

{{reflist Australian Christian Churches