Brian Houston

Brian Charles Houston (born 17 February 1954, Auckland, New Zealand) is the co-founder and former Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, one of the world's largest megachurch networks. He founded Hills Christian Life Centre in 1983 in Sydney's Baulkham Hills with a small group in a rented school hall. In 1999, after his father Frank Houston was exposed as a serial child sex abuser, Brian took over Frank's Sydney Christian Life Centre and merged the two congregations, rebranding as Hillsong Church.

At its peak, Hillsong operated in 23 countries with 30+ locations, an average global weekly attendance of 150,000, generating approximately $100 million annually — largely untaxed. The empire included Hillsong Music (Hillsong United, Hillsong Worship, Hillsong Young & Free), Hillsong College, and the Hillsong Channel television network. Houston also served as National President of the Australian Christian Churches (Assemblies of God in Australia) from 1997 to 2009.

Houston's ministry has been defined by three interlocking controversies: his handling of his father's abuse of children, building a prosperity-driven entertainment empire that critics say avoided preaching sin and repentance, and presiding over a culture of celebrity exceptionalism and financial opacity.

The abuse disclosures: In 1999, Houston learned that his father Frank Houston had sexually abused a boy, Brett Sengstock, from the age of seven. As National President of the AOG, Houston did not report the matter to police. The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Case Study 18, 2014) found that Houston failed to report the allegations and had a conflict of interest as both National President and the perpetrator's son. Sengstock testified under oath that when he called Houston about a promised $10,000 payment, Houston told him: 'You know this is all your fault. You tempted my father' — a statement Houston has denied. In 2021 Houston was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence; in August 2023 an Australian court acquitted him, with the magistrate finding he had a reasonable excuse for not going to police because he believed the victim, then an adult, did not want the matter reported.

The theology: Houston wrote the book 'You Need More Money' (1999), openly teaching prosperity doctrine while later claiming 'there is no such thing as a prosperity gospel.' He publicly condemned rugby star Israel Folau for calling sinners to repentance, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald: 'The world doesn't need more judgmental Christians.' Cameron Buettel documented that across all Hillsong services, books, CDs, and videos he examined, repentance was never mentioned. Hillsong's 'Mighty to Save' CD printed 2 Chronicles 7:14 with the phrase 'and turn from their wicked ways' deliberately removed. Houston once preached 'Jesus became you, so that you could become Him' — a Word of Faith adjacent statement — then had the video scrubbed from the internet when criticized. He also claimed that Christians and Muslims 'actually serve the same God.'

The collapse: Carl Lentz, Houston's handpicked pastor for Hillsong NYC, was fired in November 2020 for an extramarital affair and later accused of sexual abuse by a former nanny. Houston himself admitted: 'We did allow a culture to develop where it was one rule for celebrities and a different rule for other people.' In March 2022, Houston resigned after the Hillsong board found he had breached the pastoral code of conduct — sending inappropriate texts to a female staff member and entering a woman's hotel room while intoxicated, spending 40 minutes there. Whistleblower documents presented in Australian Parliament alleged fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion, with $80 million more in annual income than declared. The combined Houston salary was approximately $1 million, plus a $350,000 cash payment, $200,000/year retirement, $100,000 travel allowance, and $50,000/year car allowance each.

Since his departure, Hillsong has lost 10 of 16 US locations, seen revenue drop 20%, cut 153 staff, and faced forensic audits and government investigations. Houston announced plans for a new online ministry in December 2023.