Hillsong: Religion flavoured with business

The first thing that many people notice about Hillsong is that it operates within the framework of a business. It makes no secret of this and has adopted of large corporations governance structure with a board and a CEO.

Hillsong promotes a culture of financial entrepreneurialism and Senior Pastor Brian Houston release a book in 1999 entitled, You Need More Money: Discovering God's Financial Plan for Your Life.

It has also borrowed heavily from the world of corporate management to promote models of success-based leadership.

What God has given us is great, and great means big, great is powerful. I tell you, the devil likes to contain and give the church a small mentality ... I want you to buckle up your seat-belt and get ready for a big year. (Hillsong Senior Pastor Brian Houston)

Typical of large corporations Hillsong has a marketing vision at its heart. When asked about the birth of the church in an interview on ABC's Australian Story last year, Hillsong Senior Pastor Brian Houston reached for marketing imagery.

"[I]n those days there used to be a guy who was famous or infamous, whatever, on TV, who many people might remember who used to be on the TV and sell Holdens, sell General Motors, and apparently he was the biggest Holden dealer in Australia.

"And I thought to myself, if you can build a Holden dealer like that, the largest Holden dealership in Australia, surely it must be somewhere where you could build a church. Between those things and me sensing a spiritual pull, we went and started in a little school hall."

Hillsong has been very successful in its endeavour. It is the biggest church in Australia, with over 20 000 people attending each weekend and its presence runs deeper than weekend congregations with a host of conferences, special events, school programs, business networks, welfare, and counselling services.

Financially it is also thriving, with a total annual income that has now reached $60 million, $16 million of which comes through sales of books, CDs, DVDs, t-shirts and other merchandise.

It has become part of the national psyche and, as one of the largest megachurches in the Western world, it has a big international profile that surpasses all but the top American megachurches.

Hillsong is not unique. Many other 'megachurches' around the country shares a similar business model – including the Christian Outreach Centre in Brisbane, Christian City Church in Sydney, Paradise in Adelaide, CityLife, Crossways and Careforce in Melbourne, and Christian Life Centre in Perth.

Although there are many differences between megachurches and traditional churches in terms of size, music, culture, theology, style and evangelical focus, the fundamental difference is that megachurches are built around a business model.