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What lies ahead for Hillsong after scandals rock the megachurch

Published April 21, 2022 at 12:40 PM EDT
In this July 14, 2013 photo, Pastor Carl Lentz, foreground, leads a Hillsong NYC Church service at Irving Plaza in New York. With his half-shaved head, jeans and tattoos, Lentz doesn't look like the typical religious leader. But with its concert-like atmosphere and appeal to a younger demographic, his congregation, Hillsong NYC, is one of the fastest growing evangelical churches in the city. (Tina Fineberg/AP)
In this July 14, 2013 photo, Pastor Carl Lentz, foreground, leads a Hillsong NYC Church service at Irving Plaza in New York. With his half-shaved head, jeans and tattoos, Lentz doesn't look like the typical religious leader. But with its concert-like atmosphere and appeal to a younger demographic, his congregation, Hillsong NYC, is one of the fastest growing evangelical churches in the city. (Tina Fineberg/AP)

Hillsong — the global megachurch that started in Australia in 1983 and attracted celebrities and athletes — is in crisis. Scandals, secrecy, and the resignation of Hillsong’s founder and global pastor Brian Houston last month have led to more than half of its American campuses breaking away from the church.

Mike Cosper, a reporter and the director of podcasting at Christianity Today, tells host Scott Tong about Hillsong’s problems and its future.

Watch on YouTube.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.