Thousands to gather in London for Hillsong Conference Europe

Thousands of Christians from 42 nations representing 29 denominations will gather at the Excel Conference Centre in London for three and a half days as part of the annual Hillsong Conference Europe.

|PIC1|In its second year in Europe, the Hillsong Conference is hoping to again attract pastors, worship leaders, musicians, community workers and individual believers representing hundreds of churches.

The Conference is an extension of Australia's largest annual conference, which just celebrated its 21st year, in July with over 26,000 delegates.

"The mandate of the conference is, and has always been, to champion the cause of the local church," Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, Brian Houston said.

"It is this cause that attracts people from around the world, and it's a message that transcends geography, culture and denominations."

More than 70 per cent of delegates are expected to come from the United Kingdom, however people will make the journey from nations as far as Egypt and Thailand, with a significant number coming from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway.

Some of the most celebrated Church leaders and Christian musicians will join the Hillsong team this year, including one of the World's leading Bible Teachers and New York Times' bestselling author, Joyce Meyer. Others confirmed to attend include acclaimed singers and songwriters Michael W Smith and Israel Houghton.

"We never take for granted the commitment and effort it takes for people to position themselves here," Houston said. "Our aim is to equip, inspire and empower people and churches to make a positive difference in their communities."

The conference will focus on 'justice' and the responsibility it infers.

Delegates are scheduled to hear from the Watoto Choir about the plight of AIDS orphans and child soldiers in Africa, and child sponsorship organisation, Compassion, will encourage people to change a child's life.

"God tells us that standing against injustice and speaking up for the disenfranchised is the responsibility of every Christian. The conference will help highlight the impact we can make if collectively we decide to take this responsibility seriously."

The conference will cover areas such as Pastors & Church Leadership, Worship & Creative Arts and Evangelism & Community Action, and this year there will also be a Kids Programme for children to join.