Brian Houston, a former pastor and evangelist hailing from New Zealand and Australia, established himself as the founder and leading pastor of Hillsong Church. This church, headquartered in Sydney but with a global presence, saw Houston at its helm. In addition to this role, he held the position of national president within the Australian Christian Churches, representing the Australian segment of the Assemblies of God, spanning from 1997 to 2009.
Bio/Wiki
Age- 69 years
Height- 6 feet tall
Weight- 180 pounds
Born- 17 February 1954
Birthplace – Auckland, New Zealand
Full name – Brian Charles Houston
Profession-Actor, Evangelist
Spouse – Bobbie Houston (m. 1977)
Nationality- New Zealand
Parents
Charles Houston entered this world as the child of Frank and Hazel Houston, both Salvation Army officers. When he was just three years old, his parents transitioned to the Assemblies of God in New Zealand, becoming pastors at a church near Wellington, particularly in Lower Hutt. It was in this community that Charles, alongside his brother and three sisters—Maureen Bradshaw, Graeme Houston, and Beverly Houston—spent their formative years.
Wife
Once he finished college, he met his future wife, Bobbie, on a beach called Papamoa Beach in New Zealand, where they were both attending a Christian event. They got married in the year 1977. They have three children, Joel, Ben, and Laura. All are married and involved in the leadership of Hillsong Church.
Net Worth
Brian Houston’s net worth is estimated to be around $12 million.
Career
After moving to Sydney, Australia, in 1978, Brian Houston took on a role at the Sydney Christian Life Centre in Darlinghurst, where he became the assistant pastor to his father, Frank. In the following years, he established a church on the Central Coast in 1980 and worked at a church in Liverpool in 1981. By 1983, he set up the Hills Christian Life Centre by renting the Baulkham Hills Public School hall in Sydney’s north-western suburbs. The inaugural service took place on August 14, 1983.
In May 1997, Houston was elected as the president of the Assemblies of God in Australia, later renamed Australian Christian Churches, after Andrew Evans retired. In February 2000, he played a key role in forming the Australian Christian Churches network, a collective of Pentecostal churches representing around 200,000 attendees in affiliated churches. He also held membership in the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship.
Houston also founded Hillsong Music Australia (HMA), the music ministry of Hillsong Church. This ministry achieved success over the years, producing top-charting albums by Hillsong United and Hillsong Worship. The church regularly recorded live albums, with songs from these recordings becoming popular among congregations worldwide.
In September 2018, Hillsong transitioned from the Australian Christian Churches to an independent denomination, positioning itself more as a global and charismatic church.
However, in August 2021, a warrant for Houston’s arrest was issued by the New South Wales Police, alleging that he had concealed child sexual abuse perpetrated by his father, Frank. He resigned from the church’s board due to these charges.
Then, in March 2022, Houston stepped down from his position as senior global pastor following an internal investigation into his conduct involving two women connected to the church. It was revealed that he had engaged in inappropriate behavior with both women in 2013 and 2019.
In August 2023, he was found not guilty of concealing a serious indictable offense.
