(CP) The number of Hillsong Church campuses in America has now fallen to just five after leaders in the global Australia-based megachurch announced Sunday that Hillsong San Francisco — led by pastors Brenden and Jacqui Brown — is separating from the Hillsong brand and will be independently run under a new name.
Hillsong Church Global Senior Pastor Phil Dooley joined Hillsong California Lead Pastor Sam Lopez in making the announcement to their followers on Sunday.
"After much prayer and thoughtful consideration, we're announcing that Brenden and Jacqui Brown will be taking on the leadership of our church community in San Francisco as a separate church, so separating from what has been part of Hillsong California," Dooley told the Hillsong California community in a remote broadcast.
"We believe the time is right for this. This is an exciting season for the Browns and for our church in San Francisco, and we want to say how much we love Brenden and Jacqui, and we value their dedication, their sacrifice, and their commitment to pastoring and leading the Hillsong San Francisco community," he added.
Dooley's announcement marks the loss of the 11th of the church's 16 campuses that previously operated in the U.S. since a series of scandals erupted amid the pandemic, such as the firing of former Hillsong NYC Lead Pastor Carl Lentz in November 2020 over "leadership issues" and moral failures, including being unfaithful to his wife, Laura.
Some of the abuses were the subject of a documentary called "Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed" on Discovery Plus.
The Christian Post also published details from a leaked report highlighting accusations of abuses at Hillsong NYC under Lentz's reign. The allegations included, among other things, the alleged mishandling of incidents of consensual or non-consensual sexual interaction between church leaders and congregants, staff volunteers or non-churchgoers.
In his remarks to members of Hillsong California, Pastor Lopez said the San Francisco church's separation had been under discussion for about two years, and the Browns are simply following God's call on their life with a "fresh vision" with Hillsong's blessing.
Come next week, Lopez and the Browns said Hillsong San Francisco's new name will be revealed.
"In my conversations with a couple of people in our church, I'm starting to realize that this isn't very normal. ... The tone I keep getting is like, 'So what happened?' And let me tell you, nothing happened," Lopez insisted.
"We have an incredible couple there. They have a vision for it. God has called them. God has asked them to take a step of faith. We're backing it 100% and going absolutely, let's do it. That is the extent of it," he said.
"And then the response is usually like, 'That's too good to be true. What really happened.' And I go, 'That's actually what happened.' That's genuinely the full truth. We're just excited. And part of my job is not to keep and to hoard and to try to build a little empire. My job is to see especially our staff step into the call of God on their life."
In a statement on Instagram Monday, the Hillsong San Francisco leaders, who have served the Evangelical megachurch network for 24 years, acknowledged that they will be pursuing "something fresh and full of purpose."
"God has been faithful in every step of our journey, and we believe He's leading us into something fresh and full of purpose. While our name is changing, our heart remains the same — to love people and connect them to Jesus," they wrote.
"We are so grateful for our @hillsong Church family, whose faith and investment have laid the foundation for this next season. A special thank you to our Global Senior pastors @philldooley_ and @lucindadooley , California Lead Pastors @samlopez and @courtneylopez , and the Global Board for their leadership, love, and support. Join us next Sunday as we reveal the new name of our church and unpack the vision for what's ahead! We can't wait to step into this new season together."
