Carl Lentz

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A CGI-Jesus Christ is projected, while Hillsong's performance As Christian churches in the United States, face the widespread decline of a Church, against the trend. But Hillsong is a triumph of marketing-or the faith?

to choreograph When someone, an ideal concert audience, it would look Something like this.

Everyone has their hands in the air, and everyone is swaying. The first bars of each song are met with a roar of raging recognition. For The Few who still don't know them by heart, the lyrics blasting down from the massive projection screens flanking the stage.

The songs are expertly designed and produced an emotional reaction call. The melodies rise, fall, then rise again, like a dramatic version of Mumford and Sons. The Band , Hillsong United , sold, had, favorite hymn, under Washington's locations.

The collective style of the 10 members on the stage to be mirrored by your audience: skinny jeans, oversized T-shirts and tattoos. This uniformity makes the fans look less like a lot more like a gathering.

Hillsong United in Washington, waterfront place, There are a couple of hints that The Members of Hillsong are not your average rock band, to a musician like Billie Eilish , in the same Phase, only a few days earlier.

first, there is to be no alcohol sold anywhere in the hall. Related branding was hidden. Secondly, there are the volunteers in blue vests slowly circles The Concert -ground, is looking for donations for a Christian institution, the group. And thirdly, there is a massive CGI recreation of Jesus Christ on The Cross , shone up on the stage.

This is not just a concert, this is The Church .

celebrity followingThe band, Hillsong United , is an important part of the Hillsong Church. Founded by husband and wife duo of Brian and Bobbie Houston in Sydney, Australia, in 1983, has expanded the Ministry to a worldwide Protestant phenomenon.

it extends over six continents and claims of the churches in 23 cities. Every Sunday, an average of 130,000 worshippers at a Hillsong service anywhere in The World .

Hillsong congregation now has a celebrity following: Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey Baldwin Bieber, famous members. NBA player Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been known to the leadership of Hillsong New York , the head pastor Carl Lentz . Chris Pratt , Kylie Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian was also tied to The Church .

Hillsong rejected repeated requests for an Interview .

Hillsong a star-studded following, including Kevin Durant , Hailey Baldwin, and Chris Pratt has attracted "they are a massively effective Ministry now," says Mack Brock , who opened for Hillsong during his North America tour this year, after More Than ten years as a Worship leader in height, a megachurch based in North Carolina .

Hillsong called a "modern" Christian Church ", on a mission to see the Kingdom of God on earth". This is the task, is evident in his Ministry and his extended fire. Hillsong lays claim to two universities (one in Sydney And One in Phoenix, Arizona), annual conferences, a 24-hour TV channel, community service initiatives and a music label.

for this, Hillsong United is arguably The Most visible and, of course, The Most accessible to the mainstream.

The Band has More Than 2 million followers on Instagram, with an additional 1. 5 million in combination of 10 members. Their songs have almost 3. 5 million weekly listens on Spotify. Your trailer is almost twice as high as that of the platform-Top-Christian-channel.

His Most popular Songs was played to date, the oceans, More Than 155 million times on Spotify alone. For context, this is More Than playing twice as Billie Eilish , the recent collaboration with Justin Bieber is.

Getty Images

2 million followers on Instagram

3. 5 million weekly listens on Spotify

155 million Spotify plays in The Band ' s hit single "

Instagram/SpotifyThe Band between Christianity and rock Music Is new, but the vastness of Hillsong s can reach. The North American leg of their people tour, including stops in More Than 30 cities in the United States and Canada. In November you will be covering in Latin America , Brazil, Argentina and Peru.

Hillsong is says "at the top of The Church -music," Brock. "They are The Ones that I think do it best. "

The meteoric rise of Hillsong, in all its various forms is particularly striking given some of the recent pattern of decline of religiosity in The World . For years, The Christian percentage of the population in the United States, an increase in those who do not identify with any religion at all has fallen, in parallel.

Over a period of seven years - 2007 to 2014 - the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christian points fell by almost eight percent. This decline is particularly graphic pronounced among Young People , a demo, and is particularly fond of Hillsong.

Mack Brock opened for Hillsong More Than 30 stops in the North America tour, 'I'm going to cry, to sing my eyes Out ' At The Anthem , the formed line to enter, about an hour before The Doors opened to The Venue , More Than two, before someone began.

"We have been waiting our whole life to see you," says Danielle Caputo, 27, as she waited to see The Band In July . "On earth, it is the easiest way to see God's love In Person . "Your friend, Kristin Maghamez adds: "Hillsong concerts are a place where you can truly Worship . "

Most of the people I spoke with responded with some version of this: Hillsong Music Is an embodiment of faith, and their concerts are a Good opportunity to share it with others. "You feel like sometimes there is No One who says our views," Maghamez. "[Christianity] is almost down. "

in Many have a visceral connection to Hillsong or, as Caputo put it: "I'm going to cry my eyes Out . "And there were a lot of tears, especially if Hillsong, The Band , leaning more in the direction of Hillsong, The Church .

"God is already doing Something ," says lead singer Joel Houston - the Son of Bobbie and Brian - on the amount, resting his hands on his guitar. "I think there's not a person here by chance. ""I believe, God will meet you where you are. "

This idea - meeting supporters where they are - is Central to the mission and to its appeal in the case.

Jonathon Douglass , Matt Crocker , Taya Smith , Joel Houston of Hillsong United to discuss their multi-platinum album, "people" in Build Studio in April in New York , Hillsong is located directly in the thoroughfare, the young and hip. Hillsong band sold Out arenas, their services to fill Manhattan, Hammerstein Ballroom, its pastors sit courtside at NBA games.

Brock and other supporters of the respondents reject the idea that Hillsong designer's aesthetic is either a conscious decision on the part of their leaders, or a calculated marketing System. But for an outsider, Hillsong, the initial appeal lies in the optics. His brand looks and feels like your cool friend on Instagram.

"are you relevant," says Joe Adevai visited the Hillsong College in Sydney, before he as a Worship leader in New Jersey . "You keep up with the culture," he said. "How do you Stay Cool and be a Christian?"

'We do not confirm, a gay-lifestyle", What the packaging is also always Hillsong, basically, a religious institution. More precisely, it is a Protestant Church, one that sees The Bible as an "accurate, Authoritative and applicable in our daily life".

To some, this represents a contradiction in itself: a Church, the markets in General, with contemporary branding, which remains extremely conservative.

Josh Canfield knows this tension closely. He worked for the first time, Hillsong in the year 2008, soon to be a vocalist on your Worship team. In comparison to The Church of his youth, Hillsong edgy seemed to "".

Hillsong's Taya Smith performs, When Canfield, who is gay, joined Hillsong, he was still in the confrontation with his sexuality in the context of his faith. While his parents, The Church was expressly in your stance, homosexuality is a Sin - Hillsong was less transparent.

"It felt like a "don't ask don't tell" type of situation," Canfield says. "No One asks, because No One wants to ask. "

sermons have been consistently positive, Canfield told me, calling members of the congregation To Love , the marginalized, immigrants and the poor. "But it seems like they just forget about the LGBTQ group," he says.

2014, Canfield appeared in the reality show Survivor, speaks openly about his sexuality and his role at Hillsong. Canfield had told, the leadership at Hillsong New York of his plans, which "gave the starting shot".

began, But after the episodes in the air and Canfield storyline the attention of the media won, head-pastor Brian Houston clarified to the public "" Hillsong's stance on homosexuality.

In Houston wrote that "the word of God is clear" on homosexuality.

Moral teaching is strongest when it is removed from the earthly markers of success such as wealth and popularity, he continued.

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Source of news: bbc.com