Horizon Church
Horizon Church, founded as Sutherland AOG, and formerly more recently Shirelive, is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God denomination. The church's main campus is in the commercial district of Sutherland, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The church's senior pastors are Brad and Alison Bonhomme, and the former Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, is a member of the congregation.
| Horizon Church | |
|---|---|
| Horizon Church | |
 Worship service in 2010 | |
  Horizon Church | |
| 34°01′50″S 151°03′37″E | |
| Location | Sutherland, NSW
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| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Australian Christian Churches |
| Churchmanship | Pentecostal |
| Website | hz |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Brad and Alison Bonhomme |
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Apart from the original church in Sutherland, Horizon also has satellite churches in St Andrews, a south-western suburb of Sydney; Dunsborough, Western Australia; and Rote Island in Indonesia, and as of March 2022 is planning another campus in Western Sydney.
History
Horizon Church was created by the Assemblies of God in Australia in 1949, under Pastor Norm Armstrong. The first meeting was in the Sutherland School of Arts Hall. In the early 1950s the church was built at its current location at 7-9 Stapleton Avenue, Sutherland.[1]
The church was founded as Sutherland AOG, being renamed the Christian Growth Centre. In 2000 it became a company limited by guarantee, changing its name to Shire Christian Centre. In May 2006 the church was again rebranded, this time as Shirelive.[1]
In 2007,[2] the church undertook a building project which consisted of stage one, major demolition of existing auditorium, youth centre with the construction of a new 1090-seat convention centre.
On 20 October 2013, pastors Brad and Alison Bonhomme were appointed as the senior pastors of Shirelive, and in 2018 the church changed its name to Horizon Church.[1]
Governance
The church, as a limited company, provides reports to ASIC and the ACNC, and is governed by a board of directors.[1]
Beliefs and practices
As a Pentecostal and evangelical church, Horizon is not a mainstream church in Australia. Some members believe in divine healing, and practise "speaking in tongues", which is seen as a miraculous gift from God.[3]
Locations
Apart from the "mother church" in Sutherland, Horizon also has churches in Dunsborough, Western Australia and St Andrews, New South Wales,[4] with a new campus launched on Rote Island, Indonesia, in 2022,[5] and a new one planned for Western Sydney in 2022.[6] Services are also held online.[7]
People
The former Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, and his family are members of the Horizon congregation.[8][9]
References
- "Our story". Horizon Church. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020.
- "Street party". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Molloy, Shannon (28 August 2018). "From talking in tongues to 'divine faith', could Scott Morrison's religion be a liability?". news.com.au. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- "Home". Horizon Church. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- "Rote Island". Horizon Church. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- "West Sydney". Horizon Church. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- "Watch Church Online - Horizon At Home". Horizon Church. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- Maley, Jacqueline (19 April 2019). "Inside our Pentecostal PM's church". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "Scott Morrison: bio and family life". Scott Morrison MP. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2009.