Hillsong United is known for its powerful worship hits, such as "Mighty to Save" and "Oceans." The Pentecostal church's music ministry has earned an impressive 10 GMA Dove Award nominations this year alone and is the subject of a new documentary titled "Let Hope Rise."
But according to Hillsong's worship leaders, the secret to the Church's success isn't money or fame-rather, it is simply putting God first.
"Our aim as a church is simple - to lift up the name of Jesus. It's as simple as that. The worship music of our House has always been an expression of that," said Autumn Hardman, who oversees worship for 12 Hillsong Church campuses in Australia.
"Over the years, the genre and the sound (have) evolved, but the message has stayed the same. We always have been, and always will be about lifting up the name of Jesus."
The church recently displayed their dedication to Christ in a very public way, holding a campaign in Times Square, New York City where two dozen digital screens played in a video loop for one hour the name and phrase, "Jesus" and "No Other Name." The campaign took place at the same time Hillsong Worship's latest album "No Other Name" was released.
"Our motivation as a worship team is first and foremost our love for Jesus, and our desire to make His name great, and our desire to see the Gospel spread and shared throughout the earth with the tools of creativity that have been placed in our hands," continues Hardman.
"Our hope would be that we would serve Jesus and others with every breath we take, and that we would be good stewards of the responsibility and gifts placed within our hands."
Hillsong Church was founded in 1983 by Pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston and welcomes about 30,000 worshipers every weekend at 12 campuses placed around the world. The Church also has a Bible College, which focuses on church leadership and music ministry.
Hillsong United, along with Lecrae, Mandisa and Matt Maher, lead the 45th annual Dove Awards nominations for artists for gospel and Christian music excellence. Hillsong is nominated for song of the year ("Oceans"), artist of the year, new artist of the year and several others.
The awards will be held Oct. 7 at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee and will be broadcasted live across the nation.
