Hillsong: Let Hope Rise

One, two; two, two...

That's not gonna be the...

the word, though.

Just give me another 30 minutes

and then we'll come out and we'll try and do a run-through.

I just feel like we should do all the big stuff,

even if you don't sing proper lyrics.

I won't get it done, man. I'm telling you.

We won't have any new songs.

Like, because that's where it's at.

How long have we got?

We cut "Touch the Sky"?

That's what someone was saying,

but that doesn't make sense.

Oh, my goodness, man.

We have never been more disorganized in our entire life

and this may be one of the biggest things we've ever done.

It is funny hearing songs for the first time in an arena.

Yeah.

I don't know what we're playing tonight.

I know that we're playing four new songs.

- But I don't know what else. - Yeah...

- Are we definitely, though? - No.

Is it four now?

Sometimes we get really good

at attaching our thoughts and ideas

to these moments of inspiration and calling them God's.

I don't want to do that.

I really want to get Heaven's thoughts on these songs.

There's probably a lot of people

who'll hear this and be like, "You're out of your mind."

But I believe that

God created music

for the sole purpose

of it being used to... to worship Him,

to connect people,

the human heart, our soul, with Heaven.

We're doing all of this so that...

one person, somewhere, that I might never meet,

actually gets to experience

God in a new way.

And a... a true way.

You know, you see people around all the time,

and they are searching, people are searching.

Because I have friends, and they'll do

a nine-to-five job.

And then they go out on the weekends, get smashed.

They've actually said, "There's got to be more than this."

And I'm like, "There is."

Jesus loves you!

- UNITED, baby! - It's like you have

the most valuable thing and you know people need it.

But they don't know they need it.

It sounds really weird, right?

It sounds like this...

like... whatever.

You need Avon, but you just don't know you need it.

But...

I'm feeling stressed out, so it's great.

It's the best place to be.

Do you want to flip "No Other Name"

- and "Broken Vessels"? - Yep.

Lord Jesus, we just thank you so much for your grace, Lord...

God's love is so great

that you can't fully understand it.

Yeah, sure, it doesn't make sense,

but trying to make the most un-normal thing

become normal is, like,

I guess, the... the adventure.

Everybody dance!

Come on, if you're grateful for His love,

lift up some prayer!

Come on. Louder!

Come on, from the front to the back,

I want to see everyone jumping. Come on.

Jump, jump, jump!

Here we go! One... two...

I've always felt that Hillsong worship

is just the sound of a healthy, vibrant, local church.

When I started a church, I wanted

to have a church that wrote songs

that-that influenced the way people worship.

Good morning, Gale.

We recently got a first-hand look

at how one wildly popular megachurch from Australia

is making its mark here in the United States.

And despite sharp declines in more traditional organizations,

Hillsong has continued to thrive like never before.

Hillsong Church started in 1983

with just under 100 worshippers,

but has now grown into a congregation

of over 30,000 in Australia.

Now their brand of rock and roll religion is going global.

The services have lines around the block.

Some 75,000 members in 12 countries.

There are satellite churches today

from London to Paris, Kiev to Capetown.

You don't feel judged at all when you walk in.

- I found love here. -I was using heroin for 12 years.

I walked away from it Monday morning.

I just felt this hard shell

around my heart just begin to crack open.

Hillsong Church is drawing in the crowds.

Their Christian rock band, Hillsong UNITED.

Hillsong has such a life-giving culture

that, wherever they go, people that

maybe normally wouldn't connect with God do,

and their lives are transformed in such a powerful way

that really, it's sweeping across the world.

Everything starts with humble beginnings,

and we sure did.

You know, the very first

music inside our church

literally was an old guy on a piano accordion,

um, a keyboard player

playing a piano which was out of tune

and some of the... some of the keys didn't even work.

There was a drummer who...

I don't think, to be honest, he could really even play.

And one of the first people to come into the church

to-to be born again was a bass player.

And his wife was a nightclub singer.

So that was the start. It was extremely humble.

No one would have said,

"Oh, this is gonna really go somewhere."

Haven't been here for so long, baby.

It's like a library, huh?

Can we go in?

It does not look the same.

There's the stage.

Oh, my gosh, it is, too.

Far out!

Yeah.

Oh, my goodness.

It truly is the stage.

Yeah, take it away, babe.

This is where I stood.

I stood here as a young, uh, 25-year-old.

And... I was preaching

for one of the very first times of my life,

certainly first time here in Australia.

And, uh, at the end of that service...

Uh, you know, we give people always an opportunity

to connect with Jesus, to come to faith.

And so I did that, really raw.

Didn't know what I was doing. But three people responded.

I can still remember three people.

Interestingly, two of those people

I still know to this day, today.

Well, actually, it looked exactly like it looks now,

without all the books and the...

and the history center and so on.

It was just a little public community hall.

The very first time we walked into the place,

I think Bobbie and I were probably a little discouraged,

because it was very raw.

There wasn't a lot that was too compelling about it,

to be honest.

But we came back that night,

and that night we sort of sensed

that there was just a great life and energy in the place,

which, to me, is still one of the great,

great things about church life today,

is the energy, the excitement, the... you know, the zeal.

Back in the early days,

there was this sort of mission statement:

"Our city and beyond."

So our focus was our city,

and then there was this "beyond" factor.

And I don't think, in all truthfulness,

any of us had any comprehension

what that "beyond" might mean.

It's funny, because my dad is, like,

the least likely guy.

You know, he's kind of super awkward...

Which, you know, thanks, I got that from him, as well.

He-he lives a life where all he's ever done

is push other people forward. That's why we're here.

Because so many leaders would be, like, so insecure

about other people having a platform

or being promoted or, like...

He's the opposite. He's like, "Go, guys, go."

Like, you know, we're all in this together,

and I think that's what is phenomenal about who he is.

The guy who discovered New Zealand,

Mauritius and Tasmania

was a Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman,

and he missed Australia.

But he pioneered again,

and the second time, he found the west coast of Australia.

So to me, you never know what big things you may miss

if you don't have a pioneering spirit.

You know, I just think it's great

if people feel like they're part of the vision.

Then the more powerful a force we become.

And if someone could quickly pass me my Bible...

I've been thinking a lot, since last weekend,

when I finished my message talking about

the church in Revelation...

which is called the faithful church.