One, two; two, two...
That's not gonna be the...
the word, though.
Just give me another 30 minutes
and then we'll come out and we'll try and do a run-through.
I just feel like we should do all the big stuff,
even if you don't sing proper lyrics.
I won't get it done, man. I'm telling you.
We won't have any new songs.
Like, because that's where it's at.
How long have we got?
We cut "Touch the Sky"?
That's what someone was saying,
but that doesn't make sense.
Oh, my goodness, man.
We have never been more disorganized in our entire life
and this may be one of the biggest things we've ever done.
It is funny hearing songs for the first time in an arena.
Yeah.
I don't know what we're playing tonight.
I know that we're playing four new songs.
- But I don't know what else. - Yeah...
- Are we definitely, though? - No.
Is it four now?
Sometimes we get really good
at attaching our thoughts and ideas
to these moments of inspiration and calling them God's.
I don't want to do that.
I really want to get Heaven's thoughts on these songs.
There's probably a lot of people
who'll hear this and be like, "You're out of your mind."
But I believe that
God created music
for the sole purpose
of it being used to... to worship Him,
to connect people,
the human heart, our soul, with Heaven.
We're doing all of this so that...
one person, somewhere, that I might never meet,
actually gets to experience
God in a new way.
And a... a true way.
You know, you see people around all the time,
and they are searching, people are searching.
Because I have friends, and they'll do
a nine-to-five job.
And then they go out on the weekends, get smashed.
They've actually said, "There's got to be more than this."
And I'm like, "There is."
Jesus loves you!
- UNITED, baby! - It's like you have
the most valuable thing and you know people need it.
But they don't know they need it.
It sounds really weird, right?
It sounds like this...
like... whatever.
You need Avon, but you just don't know you need it.
But...
I'm feeling stressed out, so it's great.
It's the best place to be.
Do you want to flip "No Other Name"
- and "Broken Vessels"? - Yep.
Lord Jesus, we just thank you so much for your grace, Lord...
God's love is so great
that you can't fully understand it.
Yeah, sure, it doesn't make sense,
but trying to make the most un-normal thing
become normal is, like,
I guess, the... the adventure.
♪ Your love is relentless ♪
Everybody dance!
♪ Your love is relentless ♪
Come on, if you're grateful for His love,
lift up some prayer!
Come on. Louder!
Come on, from the front to the back,
I want to see everyone jumping. Come on.
Jump, jump, jump!
Here we go! One... two...
♪ Your love is relentless ♪
♪ Your love is relentless. ♪
I've always felt that Hillsong worship
is just the sound of a healthy, vibrant, local church.
When I started a church, I wanted
to have a church that wrote songs
that-that influenced the way people worship.
Good morning, Gale.
We recently got a first-hand look
at how one wildly popular megachurch from Australia
is making its mark here in the United States.
And despite sharp declines in more traditional organizations,
Hillsong has continued to thrive like never before.
Hillsong Church started in 1983
with just under 100 worshippers,
but has now grown into a congregation
of over 30,000 in Australia.
Now their brand of rock and roll religion is going global.
The services have lines around the block.
Some 75,000 members in 12 countries.
There are satellite churches today
from London to Paris, Kiev to Capetown.
You don't feel judged at all when you walk in.
- I found love here. -I was using heroin for 12 years.
I walked away from it Monday morning.
I just felt this hard shell
around my heart just begin to crack open.
Hillsong Church is drawing in the crowds.
Their Christian rock band, Hillsong UNITED.
Hillsong has such a life-giving culture
that, wherever they go, people that
maybe normally wouldn't connect with God do,
and their lives are transformed in such a powerful way
that really, it's sweeping across the world.
♪ Your love ♪
♪ We believe Your love... ♪
Everything starts with humble beginnings,
and we sure did.
You know, the very first
music inside our church
literally was an old guy on a piano accordion,
um, a keyboard player
playing a piano which was out of tune
and some of the... some of the keys didn't even work.
There was a drummer who...
I don't think, to be honest, he could really even play.
And one of the first people to come into the church
to-to be born again was a bass player.
And his wife was a nightclub singer.
So that was the start. It was extremely humble.
No one would have said,
"Oh, this is gonna really go somewhere."
Haven't been here for so long, baby.
It's like a library, huh?
Can we go in?
It does not look the same.
There's the stage.
Oh, my gosh, it is, too.
Far out!
Yeah.
Oh, my goodness.
It truly is the stage.
Yeah, take it away, babe.
This is where I stood.
I stood here as a young, uh, 25-year-old.
And... I was preaching
for one of the very first times of my life,
certainly first time here in Australia.
And, uh, at the end of that service...
Uh, you know, we give people always an opportunity
to connect with Jesus, to come to faith.
And so I did that, really raw.
Didn't know what I was doing. But three people responded.
I can still remember three people.
Interestingly, two of those people
I still know to this day, today.
Well, actually, it looked exactly like it looks now,
without all the books and the...
and the history center and so on.
It was just a little public community hall.
The very first time we walked into the place,
I think Bobbie and I were probably a little discouraged,
because it was very raw.
There wasn't a lot that was too compelling about it,
to be honest.
But we came back that night,
and that night we sort of sensed
that there was just a great life and energy in the place,
which, to me, is still one of the great,
great things about church life today,
is the energy, the excitement, the... you know, the zeal.
Back in the early days,
there was this sort of mission statement:
"Our city and beyond."
So our focus was our city,
and then there was this "beyond" factor.
And I don't think, in all truthfulness,
any of us had any comprehension
what that "beyond" might mean.
It's funny, because my dad is, like,
the least likely guy.
You know, he's kind of super awkward...
Which, you know, thanks, I got that from him, as well.
He-he lives a life where all he's ever done
is push other people forward. That's why we're here.
Because so many leaders would be, like, so insecure
about other people having a platform
or being promoted or, like...
He's the opposite. He's like, "Go, guys, go."
Like, you know, we're all in this together,
and I think that's what is phenomenal about who he is.
The guy who discovered New Zealand,
Mauritius and Tasmania
was a Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman,
and he missed Australia.
But he pioneered again,
and the second time, he found the west coast of Australia.
So to me, you never know what big things you may miss
if you don't have a pioneering spirit.
You know, I just think it's great
if people feel like they're part of the vision.
Then the more powerful a force we become.
And if someone could quickly pass me my Bible...
I've been thinking a lot, since last weekend,
when I finished my message talking about
the church in Revelation...
which is called the faithful church.
What a powerful thing, when people live
with a divinely implanted sense of a purpose.
In other words, you know that you're alive
for something so much bigger than yourself.
Our job, leading worship tonight,
the same thing when we're on the road,
is that, you know, as quickly as possible
we'll get all the attention off us, onto God,
and people will, you know, encounter God
for their life and their situation.
You probably try and get a bit more
- attention on yourself. - Yeah.
Well, I'm happy, man. It's my cross to bear.
- I'll carry it. - I think you do it so well.
- Yeah. I just... - So...
Well, you know, by the time you step
up to the mic, there's no hope.
- You're only human. - It's not true.
It's the paradox of worship leading.
I don't... we didn't give ourselves this title.
You know what I mean?
Like, I don't even know where it came from.
We joke about it,
because it kind of is funny sometimes, you know?
We're put in a position where our job is to,
in some way, draw attention to ourselves
to draw it away from ourselves.
Figure that out.
But God uses people.
Come on, let's sing.
♪ Our Father everlasting ♪
♪ The all-creating one ♪
♪ God Almighty ♪
I want to create music
that kind of entices people in.
♪ Through your Holy Spirit... ♪
We create this body of music
that we put Jesus in the center of.
And, um, it allows people to encounter Jesus
and either take him or-or not.
♪ I believe in God our Father ♪
♪ I believe in Christ the Son ♪
♪ I believe in the Holy Spirit ♪
♪ Our God is three in one ♪
♪ I believe in the resurrection ♪
♪ That we will rise again ♪
♪ For I believe ♪
♪ In the name of Jesus ♪
You know, we are on this big stage.
And there's lights and cameras,
and everything about that, you would say,
is for a performance.
But for us, growing up in the church,
serving in church, working for a church...
the only time we get on a platform,
ultimately, is to serve people, is to...
is to help them find where they need to be.
The first thing I knew about Hillsong was a song.
Here we were, in America, singing a song that was born
thousands of miles away in Australia.
And that's a great thing to be known for.
But what you find out is that
in most great movements like Hillsong,
the song is the tip of the spear.
And that tip penetrates into the hearts of people.
It cuts through the curtains that divide the church
and divide countries.
But what's behind it is the arrow.
And the arrow of Hillsong is the story of Jesus.
♪ Yeah... ♪
♪ My God ♪
♪ Yeah... ♪
♪ Hosanna, Hosanna ♪
♪ In the highest ♪
♪ There's no one like you, Jesus ♪
♪ There's no one like you ♪
♪ I've been running ♪
♪ And, oh, I praise ♪
♪ Jesus... ♪
We have no explanation
for what we are doing now
- and what we're seeing now. - ♪ We worship you ♪
We get back to our hotel rooms,
and we're like, "Did you...
"That was weird.
We just did that, and no one's going to know."
We're the biggest band you've never heard of.
So my neighbors... they know I'm a Christian,
they know I work for a church,
but they have no idea what I just did last night.
As a band, we share that,
and that forges some pretty awesome relationships.
He's... he's got... he doesn't have the guts to do it.
Like, look at him.
He's a woman. He's a girl.
What?
I can't even hear what you're saying,
because I've got this in my ears.
He used to do stuff like that.
But he doesn't anymore.
Go, go, go.
Let's go, let's go!
That was awesome!
Yeah!
Joel Houston has run a race like never before.
Oh, my goodness.
Burt, what do you have to say about that?
I don't know. It's kind of weird.
Well, pretty much, I was, like, their pastor
when they were junior high kids.
We were kind of committed to doing this thing
where we're like, if we're going to run a youth group,
we want the young people involved.
We want to give them the platform.
Rather than older people being up there,
let's give the platform to the young guys.
It was never this idea of "build a band."
It was like, let's just create something that these guys love
and hopefully it's an expression
that their friends really enjoy
and ultimately points people to a relationship with God.
Mikey.
What's going on, man?
Well, I've never seen snow in my life, until now.
And I'm going to touch snow.
Do you think it's real snow?
I don't know whether it is.
- I am so wet! - Careful, careful!
You know, it started off the first time the guys
- got invited to Canada. - Oh!
And it's like, wow! You know.
Canada, you know, like, we're almost in America.
Look, I'm not enjoying this at all.
Whoever said touring was fun?
Actually, keep going. That's quite nice.
There was this underground movement
that started connecting with what was going on in churches
and youth ministries all around.
And so then we'd do these events,
and there'd be thousands turning up,
because it wasn't one or two who liked the music.
It was the youth pastor bringing, like,
a busload of students who were like,
"This is awesome."
We're like, "Who are these people?"
♪ Would you believe me, would you listen ♪
♪ If I told you that ♪
♪ There is a love that makes a way ♪
♪ And never holds you back? ♪
♪ Who would've thought that God would give His one ♪
♪ And only son? ♪
♪ Taking a stand upon the cross to show us ♪
♪ Perfect love ♪
♪ So won't you break free, won't you break free ♪
♪ Get up and dance in His love ♪
♪ So won't you break free, won't you break free ♪
♪ Get up and dance in His love ♪
♪ His love never ending ♪
♪ There's no escaping the truth ♪
♪ No escaping, it's you ♪
♪ God forever, we'll get up and dance ♪
♪ Get up and dance and praise You ♪
♪ There's no escaping Your love ♪
♪ There's no mistaking Your love ♪
♪ Across the world, we will get up and dance ♪
♪ Get up and dance and praise You. ♪
Do you believe what you're singing tonight?
Maybe you're here and you don't believe it.
But you're here tonight.
Not by accident.
But I believe because God is calling you to know Him,
like you were designed and created for it.
I feel like, you know,
Joel especially, he understands
that there's massive... just people have need.
You see, God, He's all about turning tragedy
into triumph.
And right now in your life and your circumstance,
it might seem tragic.
We used to go around saying it's not a show.
It's not a show, because we're not rock stars
and we're not a rock band.
But I'm starting to think and hope that it is a show.
Maybe a show of humanity.
Maybe a show of who God is.
And hopefully a show of how good God is.
That God Emmanuel is with you.
What we do these days
is kind of, like,
so consumed by all the...
glitz and glamour.
It doesn't mean anything
if we're not reminding ourselves
that everybody is important and everybody
deserves to know that God loves them.
It's impossible to truly know Jesus
and not have a heart for others.
Those who are poor, those who are outcast.
And so I pray that that would always be
the story of our church.
We are heading to
a Compassion village.
You know, we sing about how much we love God
and we talk about how much we want to change the world.
But you can actually do it.
What Compassion do is they partner
with local churches just to help
the poorest of the poor with education,
basic nutrition.
Thank you so much for having us.
For me, it's not even
that big of a sacrifice,
you know, my 40 dollars a month.
Moses. Moses, where's your bed?
Where do you sleep?
Oh, on the floor?
That's a big bed. That's a king-size bed.
We can stand in front
of tens of thousands of people
and celebrate and jump and sing
and be like, "Yeah, this is awesome,
touring with the band."
But not being too detached from people's realities
that are coming to these nights or that people face
around the world, I think, is such a healthy thing.
And I want to make sure that I never forget that
and just get caught up in, you know, my world
and think about the people that we're trying to help.
So what would you say to someone
who watched this footage and said
you guys were doing this for the camera?
Yeah, that's an easy assumption to make, you know.
As a church, we have somewhere
near 40,000, um, children who are sponsored
through Compassion all around the world.
So, you know, it's something obviously we take really,
really seriously.
I mean, just walking here, we walked past a couple
of guys sleeping on the street,
and there's this sense of helplessness.
But at the same time, I think there is
plenty of opportunity, and I think
God's not looking for us to do everything.
He's just looking for us to do something.
And usually that's the one thing
that's in front of us.
And so, uh, today,
on this beautiful day in Manila City,
uh, it looks like hanging out with a bunch of kids
kicking some balls around, throwing Frisbees
and-and having a laugh, and I think that's awesome.
Often times, you go into
the most difficult circumstances,
and yet people have this innate happiness.
And a joy that frankly sometimes
in a materialistic, Western world, people don't have.
That's challenging to me, uh,
but the-the wonderful thing about God
is there's a future and there's a hope
for anybody who will look to Him and depend on Him.
I just feel like the call on my life
and on our church's life is to take
the message, the most wonderful,
powerful message there is, to the world,
to as many people as we can by any means that we can.
People are drawn by worship and by music.
It's just amazing how far it all reaches.
Come on, if you believe it,
why don't you make some noise for Jesus!
Whoo!
♪ Yes, I surrender, Lord ♪
♪ Jesus... ♪
So tired.
I'm so ready to do new songs.
You know, God's always doing a new thing.
And I-I know I need new music all the time; I need new songs.
So the challenge is on to write a new record.
We're gonna dig and find something,
you know, hopefully,
for people to sing next time we're in Manila.
Or just wherever people are
who want to sing with us.
I agree.
So Tanya's got a song
of the Spirit.
Just go with it right now.
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ Whoo-ooh ♪
All right, so we got that... "Jesus, whoo-ooh."
Let's see where that goes.
Georgie, guess who's nearly here.
He's almost here.
Often, we'll be driving along
and there'll be an airplane in the sky.
Georgie will be like, "Mommy, look, Daddy's
in the airplane. Hi, Daddy."
Where has Daddy been?
- In America. - In America.
I think this time, has he been in Asia?
Yeah, in Asia. And who has he been with?
Who is he with?
JD.
With JD and who else?
And Crocker.
And Crocker and who else?
- And Taya. - And Taya.
With children, it has its challenges.
And it's tough and, um,
even little things like down to, um, discipline and things,
so I'm, like, pumped that Daddy's home today.
It's not just Mommy.
It's Daddy back.
Oh, my gosh!
Look who's here, Georgie.
- Daddy! Georgie!
Hi, buddy.
Hey.
Ooh, good smooch, good smooch.
Hi, darling.
I missed my little nugget.
Missed my little nugget.
No, it's all right.
This is good. I'm getting squeezes.
Dinnertime.
Okay, let's say grace.
No, I want to say grace!
- Okay. - Go, Indie.
Dear Jesus, thank you
for this beautiful dinner that you got for us.
- Amen. - Amen.
Can, um, JD possibly use your car
on Friday... or what time are you guys going away?
Just, he just needs it in the morning,
but we've both got to go out.
He's gonna get his hair cut down at Parramatta, but...
I'm getting my bi-yearly haircut.
We are at my in-laws' house, where we live.
For us, to get ahead in life
and try to save enough money to buy our own house one day,
we just can't... you know, Lauren doesn't work.
She looks after the girls, and, you know,
I work for church.
And it's-it's awesome,
but you don't work for a church
to-to earn money, that's for sure.
I do imagine, though, often when I'm on stage
in front of all those people that they probably,
you know, would expect me to have my own big McMansion,
my own crib.
But at the same time, we're on a mission,
with a message to put it in, you know, in a cliche.
And, um, and I-I feel like,
you know, in the last trip we went on...
Little darling... that, um,
that people... people are responding
to the message more than ever.
And as long as that's happening, I come home,
- I miss these girls. - You come home to this.
Yeah, hang on, is there another tour coming up soon?
I know I've got maybe the less glamorous side of it,
or I, you know, I'm not doing the tours or whatever.
I am home with the kids.
But when I was growing up as a young Christian girl,
I remember saying, "God, use me.
Whatever way, use me."
And this is, you know, the call that you've put
on both of our lives right now,
and, um, I-| want to do that the best that I can.
You know, I-I see my role at home,
you know, really vital.
At the end of the day,
the only thing we're really called to do
is to love God and love other people.
And if you actually love people,
the way you treat them is... is a lot different
than, I think, we treat each other.
Me included.
Guilty.
One, two, three.
Whee!
Wow, wow!
Ready, kiss for Daddy.
Mwah!
My turn.
- Are you serious? - Yes.
Just 'cause you got wings on, you think you can fly?
- I got... - Okay.
One, two, three.
Whoa, Indie!
Whoa, fly!
Georgie.
Hey, big man.
Morning.
Little one.
Aw...
Hey, why don't I hold it?
Thank you.
Oh, look, it's gone.
It's difficult at times
to figure out when to just, um, be-be the dad.
Oh, yours is gone, too.
But at the moment, this is what our family does.
This is our family's ministry, I guess.
You know, I travel and I do all this.
And my wife, she pays for it.
Aw... - Oh!
Are you not hungry?
But she believes in what we're doing
just as much as I do.
And if I felt for a minute that she didn't,
it's... it'd be easy for me to stop doing this 'cause...
it's... it is costly, no doubt about it.
It's tough on family,
and it's tough on my sanity.
Kiss? Have a good day.
It's not worth what we're being paid...
- Love you. - See you.
But it's worth it for what we're doing.
Bye!
Say bye.
Bye.
Come on, we sing.
Come on.
♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪
♪ Whoa, oh, oh ♪
♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪
♪ Whoa, oh, oh ♪
♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪
♪ Whoa, oh, oh ♪
Oh, come on, if that name means anything to you,
why don't you lift your hands, lift your voice!
Let's declare this together! Come on!
- ♪ Jesus ♪ - ♪ We lift our voice ♪
♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪
♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪
Come on, give Jesus an ovation in this place!
Come on!
The name of Jesus!
We're headed into Sony studios.
Writing songs for the new album coming up.
We've never really done a big-budget studio record.
It's been the craziest two years, I would say.
You know, when "Zion" came out,
people really responded to "Zion,"
and-and as a result of that, we found ourselves
in places like the Hollywood Bowl,
uh, Red Rocks in Colorado... It was such a trip.
And, um, it's an interesting time,
because it's starting from scratch again.
I guess this would be, I think, 11 albums, would it?
And the funny thing is you would think that
you'd get more confident and better at doing it.
Um, but even just talking to Joel last night,
like, you don't... it doesn't feel like
you get any better at it.
And then the best... best musical thing ever
with a great bridge.
I think that'd be cool.
It's like the tip of the iceberg,
so we don't really know how...
how crazy this is going to get, I guess.
That's a great metaphor, Mike.
This is my other metaphor, okay?
It's like where I've got this awesome ship,
but we don't have that much food.
But, like, we've got enough
to hopefully find another destination.
But if we don't find any,
we kind of have to go back to the island
that we actually got all the food from originally.
Which is like the last album, you know.
So, like, "Zion" is sort of like the... you know.
And, you know, we've got a bit of resource and stuff.
- Are you speaking creatively? - Creatively, yeah.
- There's only so many coconuts you can eat. - Right.
- So we need to go find something. - You want a banana.
Hypothetically, if we found a fish, could I...
You could eat it. I wouldn't.
There was a triplet kind of a melody.
Remember?
Do you want... do you want a line, something to start with?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
♪ Mm, see the light as it's coming around... ♪
What was that?
I was just writing a line.
And I liked it. What was it?
It's something that just came to my head
as I walked in the studio.
- Are you dead serious? - Yes.
That's another song. I can tell when you...
- Okay, I was... -I felt like you were going to say,
- "Oh, that's a Katy Perry song." -No, no, no.
That... if...
That was 100% the truth.
- Pick a key, and we'll... - Okay, wait, wait, wait.
♪ Mm, see the light as it's coming around ♪
- ♪ I know you... ♪ - That's horrible.
- Bad melody or... -Hold that, hold that, hold that.
♪ As it's coming around... ♪
This is good, man.
I feel like you're going to turn around and say it.
I'm... just so you know,
I think it is the best idea we've got.
That's a joke, but it is an original melody.
- Is it really? - I promise you.
All right, all right.
♪ From the start ♪
♪ You were there ♪
♪ Breathing on an empty page ♪
♪ Speaking light ♪
♪ Upon dark ♪
♪ Waiting to unveil Your grace ♪
♪ Let my heart cry holy ♪
♪ Your kingdom come ♪
♪ Let me see Your glory ♪
♪ Your will be done ♪
♪ As You write Your story ♪
♪ Upon my heart ♪
♪ I will trust ♪
♪ I will trust Your hand ♪
♪ How holy ♪
♪ How wonderful You are ♪
♪ How mighty ♪
♪ How strong is Your great love... ♪
It's impossible to know, really,
if a song is going to work until we play it live.
The songs mean nothing if they're not
helping people connect with God.
So we're going to play a night
at the Forum in L.A. in a few months,
and hopefully everything's finished by then.
Where's KOBES?
Oh, Taya's here!
The dork is here!
The dork.
- Cool T-shirt, man. - Thanks.
Can you stop playing "Street Fighter"?
'Cause we're about to have a band meeting.
I was always the sumo, and you'd just go...
To be honest, we are playing awfully as a band.
Everyone's a great musician.
I'm just saying we're not playing well together.
It's not like we're on the same page.
The "Zion" stuff... that was the last time
we practiced anything new.
So we've played the same stuff
for 12 months, and we're great at that stuff,
but when it comes to playing something new,
everyone's like, "Oh, what now?" You know? Like...
So we have to just start getting better.
One thing I reckon would be really helpful
is if we just make a decision to really help Mikey.
'Cause he's carrying much more
than probably most of us realize.
It's precious, this...
you know, this guy's...
Having a baby.
Having a baby and, like, I don't know if any of us
know the weight to producing a record.
But it's pretty serious, so it's like,
if he calls you and says, "Can you do something?"
just be like, "Yeah, I'm going to make it happen," you know?
I don't really have any major theme for the album.
But if I was going to have one starting place,
it would just be the Beatitudes, Matthew 5.
If we get on the same page
with this at all, it would be awesome.
"God blesses those who are poor
"and realize they need Him.
"For the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
"God blesses those who mourn,
"for they will be comforted.
"God blesses those who are humble,
"for they will inherit the whole Earth.
"God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for righteousness, for they will be satisfied."
There's probably three times in my life
when I had a little conversation with God.
All I said is that I wanted to sing
and that I wanted Him to use me.
I didn't know what that looked like,
and I didn't even know if it would happen.
Definitely not thinking that I would move to Sydney,
because I didn't like Sydney.
It smelled.
I kind of was in a place
where I had $200 left in the bank.
And it was for the next week's rent.
And that's all I had.
Everyone else said I was crazy, because they're like...
Especially my mom, she's... and my dad.
They were like, "You have $200. That's all you have."
So I moved down,
visited the City Campus
and I was, like, just amazed by the worship.
And I said to God, I was like, Oh...
like, I love the heart of worship here
and, like, you know what they're doing.
And I was like, if I could just be part of it, I'd love to.
And then, however many years later,
you look and you're like... I'm working at the City Campus.
It just... I don't know, just little things around, like,
God loves me and He puts all these things in place.
I just love Jesus, and I love His presence.
And I love the fact that we get to sing and...
and just worship Him.
I actually used to look after
the vocal team in the City Campus
up until a few months ago,
when my job role changed and I started touring
just as a full-time job.
I'd actually done, like, a lot of secular gigs
and I learned a lot of stuff,
but it was nothing compared to singing in church.
So much different with the joy factor.
- Hi. - Hi.
Some people don't actually know
how to worship God,
or they haven't encountered Him before,
so... sometimes all they need is, like,
someone just to lift their hands for them to go, "Oh..."
and they'd be like, "Maybe I should do that."
And, like, actually lifting your hands
is, like, a sign of surrender.
And it's... So I love doing it.
All the time, you see me...
♪ Everywhere, Jesus... ♪
I grew up in a Christian home.
I accepted Him into my life, actually, when I was five.
♪ Everywhere, Jesus... ♪
But it was when I was like 16, 17,
when I kind of made the decision
to, like, go to church for myself
because I wanted to go.
From then...
♪ Everywhere... ♪
I've never had to live
thinking there's got to be more than this.
Like, I honestly don't know
how people do life without Jesus.
There's purpose, there's calling.
Like, I know who I am in Him,
despite if other people say other things against me.
And I know what I'm here to... you know, here to do.
I... I guess you could say I'm a worshipper.
And I love Jesus,
and I hope that I draw people closer to Him.
♪ Oh-oh... ♪
♪ Oh... ♪
♪ Ooh-oh... ♪
Come on and sing this "Amazing Grace."
You know, a song can reach people.
And it's disarming,
and I think that's what I love about worship,
is music has always been something
that connects me to God straightaway.
And I realize a bit of, like...
God, who am I to be here, like...
You know, to, like, lead these people, like...
I...
I'm just a country girl.
♪ You're amazing, yeah ♪
♪ Well ♪
♪ You're amazing ♪
Hallelujah!
Music has the ability
to enter someone's soul without their permission.
It helps create an atmosphere.
And when I first was writing songs,
I thought all of the art was in the music.
The-the melody.
And it's just one aspect of it.
But for me, for, like, now,
the real challenge is in
actually articulating this stuff
in a way that is accessible for people.
You know, you can listen to a pop song
and it doesn't really matter what it's about.
If it sounds good and it makes you feel good, it's great.
For us, you're putting words into the mouths of people.
These songs are written for people to sing,
not just to listen to.
Come on.
♪ Lord, we sing ♪
Come on.
♪ From the inside out, Lord ♪
♪ My soul cries out ♪
♪ Out... ♪
The last thing you want
is something you wrote because you thought it was a cool idea
or a cool lyric or that it rhymed,
um, you know...
it's suddenly leading somebody to think something
that is not in line with this.
Joel goes really hard on lyrics.
Like, he'll spend months on stuff.
There's not many Christian lyrics
that talk about going to the great unknown
or this concept of "God, if you're not going to help me,
I'm not going to make it" kind of thing.
A lot of those themes,
they're a little bit taboo for Christians,
because you're supposed to have it together all the time.
So...
It's-it's a hard thing when, like, Christians go, like,
"Oh, you just got to be, um, real positive.
"And, um, you've just got to believe
that God's going to, you know, do whatever."
Because at the end of the day,
I think God can kind of do whatever He wants.
I haven't really slept
for a month and a half.
I'm getting crazy nightmares.
I jump out of bed
thinking that I've smothered him.
Or that he's, like, died or something. It's crazy.
He didn't smile for a little bit,
once he came out. I got kind of worried about it.
But he now smiles all the time, which is good.
So that's his scar.
It looks pretty good.
He went for a checkup,
and he's like, "Oh, he's got a large heart murmur."
They ran a bunch of tests.
And they said, "Yeah,
he's got two holes in his heart."
- It was terrifying. - When-when he came back
from his operation, they said, "Come in, come in."
And we didn't realize
that it was just going to be an open cavity.
So, yeah, that was quite confronting.
When you see him on the machine,
it's very un-human.
We felt pretty helpless.
The doctor said you have to acknowledge
that he's a very sick boy.
Be grateful for the time I've had with him.
It's been a great six weeks.
I've got two sisters.
But one of them died when I was ten.
She was the oldest out of us.
She was 15 at the time.
And then... I mean, it was such a weird situation.
We were like... we weren't...
We... what ended up happening was we found her
in her bedroom, um, with a rope around her neck.
I think everyone comes to the point
where they ask "is this real?" for themself.
Moments of, like,
how could You let that happen?
Or, like, are You really there?
I guess the worst day,
the hardest day of my life,
was in 1999, where one of my colleagues
came into my office.
And the very last thing he said, I'll never forget.
He said, "Oh, one last thing, Brian."
He said, "It's not about you.
It's about your father."
You know, you think about a lot of things
that you could imagine for...
The one thing I could never have imagined
was that child abuse would come that close to my,
you know, my own life.
I had the most horrific, uh, job
of confronting my own father
and asking him about this.
And he went all dry in the mouth
and pretty well confessed that it was true.
And the fallout, emotionally, definitely left its toll.
The world's cruel out there
for many people.
It's a fallen planet.
And sadly, there are casualties.
And so, when they walk into the house of God
that is not perfect, but healthy, alive,
they have an opportunity to encounter life
the way it actually was meant to be.
The way God intended it to be.
I mean, the Bible talks about faith.
One of the feelings that faith gives you
is that incredible hope
in something much bigger than yourself.
It's simple trust in God.
It's-it's believing that no matter how bad this is,
no matter how horrific...
that there's a better day.
It's all right. It's all right.
Almost done.
It was so stressful,
but we knew that so many people were praying.
And God had this.
So what was the effect of those prayers?
Um, well...
Healing, for sure.
I don't really know
how that stuff works,
but I do know that God can heal.
Um... let me see. Oh, here we go. That's it.
This is his foot moving for the first time.
It's, like, the smallest move,
but I sent it to so many people.
I mean, that was such
a crazy time of my life.
I was ten years old.
Really kind of shook our family up.
But at the end of the day,
it brought us all closer together.
And brought us closer to God.
She was kind of the reason I picked up a guitar.
So, I mean, I feel like she's in this as well,
in a weird way, so...
I feel like we're at our best when we're broken, you know?
Because I feel like that's the moment
where God gets to kind of be made evident.
And it gives us an opportunity
to love and to trust
and to operate from a place of His strength.
Not our own.
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Oh-oh... ♪
♪ You are mine ♪
♪ And you are mine ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh-oh... ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Yeah-ah... ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Oh, Jesus, You're my God ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
Come on, do you believe it tonight?
♪ My soul ♪
What's been the feedback
for your performance on "Oceans"?
I don't want to...
Like, not to sound like...
- Just be honest. - Because it's not about me...
- Well... -Be honest. What's been the feedback
for your performance on "Oceans"?
Yeah. Um...
People said thank you.
Some people thanked me. I don't...
it sounds weird, but for the high note,
because they're like, it's that...
it's that moment when...
l get emotional.
Just... you know this.
Um...
Yeah. People just said thank you,
'cause it's like, maybe that moment for them
is, like, the moment where they just don't know,
like, words to cry out to God
or, like... like, words to explain the situation.
And, like, it just kind of, like, unlocks things.
Some people have said that
it's like giving expression to something
that I didn't know that I could... say to God
or, like, have that moment of, like,
"This is so hard, yet I trust You."
And... yeah.
That's the main thing people have said.
So...
♪ Jesus... ♪
Uh, my name is KOBES.
And I play drums for UNITED.
- Yeah. - And where are we?
We're in the house that we're using to write the...
oh, yeah, to write the next album.
Okay. Where is that?
We're in San Clemente... Is that how you pronounce it?
Yeah. We're in, um... is it even Southern...?
Yeah, it's Southern California. Yeah.
I mean, we flew into L.A., and then we drove for a while.
I think we drove south.
Come on, man, help me out.
Are you serious?
I'm from the other side of the world.
What was W? We had a BIS song ages ago
that was really good.
Is it, um...
Yeah.
And there's part of us
that feels a responsibility to the church,
to write songs they can sing.
And we listen to people outside in the secular world,
doing what they're doing,
and they're creating unbelievable music.
And I think that's pressure for us,
as we want to create the same thing
with our sound.
And hopefully, it stands up tall.
Hopefully taller.
I mean, that'd be the dream.
♪ All the lies that we're told ♪
♪ Oh... ♪
That works with the verse.
- Which verse? - With the other song.
- I'm screwing it up. - See how different it is?
It's such different phrasing between the two parts.
No, I know, I know.
I feel like these songs,
we've done a real good job of, like...
like, putting these two ideas together.
- Right. -But I don't know, maybe they're not meant
to live in the same neighborhood.
You know what I'm saying? Like... it's not good.
Hey!
I've always been tempted,
in the back of my mind,
to make music that would satisfy
some of the creative desires within me.
Or, like, put me in a place where I could be applauded
by people I want to be applauded by.
But I-I just can't do it.
I think if we started to just try and make it about ourselves
I think it would trip over pretty fast.
'Cause I don't think we're that good, truthfully.
♪ God, you lead me from myself... ♪
Part of this whole process is all about
some kind of a moment of untouchable,
unexplainable, spiritual something.
♪ From the witness of my soul... ♪
For us, it's just such a process
of, like, scratching and digging and, like...
it's like, uh, like just puzzle pieces, you know?
But we don't know what the picture looks like.
And only God does.
I think, more than anything,
we're trying to wait on the breath of God
to kind of inspire something.
I think you've got to be ready for that.
Sorry.
That could come out.
We really only started this song like two days ago.
You know, I think I have some lyrics in here that would...
He probably doesn't want me to say this, but...
"Upon the mountains we have climbed.
"Our towers built of blood and steel.
"And still we reach to the sky
when the skies came crashing down."
I know this concept
that we've been thinking about here is, like,
everything in the world is upwardly focused.
Everything in the world is like:
"Gotta have the best of this, gotta have the best of that.
Gotta get a promotion, gotta make more money."
But the way of Jesus or the way of God
is actually downward focus.
And-and we just need to serve people
and we need to love people.
There's always that temptation to go,
"All right, well, let's write another 'Oceans'."
But I'm, like, a firm believer
that God's always doing something new,
as opposed to the comfort of resting on laurels
or resting on what's worked in the past.
The end goal for us is always
finding us some sort of place of trust.
If we get to that place, then we've done our job.
It's not in our hands anyway.
It was never, to begin with.
Uh, see how this feels.
I could never get tired of it.
It's really... it's really awesome.
There's always that.
The chords, whoa...
Yeah, it's a weird... it's one of those weird accidents.
- You did a great accident. - Yeah.
♪ I fall ♪
♪ I start With light ♪
♪ In light we reign ♪
♪ When the light fades up... ♪
Maybe this song we're writing right here,
you know, the working title is "Touch the Sky."
There's always been a breath on it
that I can't describe or explain.
The only problem is if you just sit there and go, "All right,
God, we're ready," you know... Wait, wait, wait, wait.
He's going, "No, you gotta actually do something.
You actually need to, like, do some work."
♪ I feel Your eyes upon the wind ♪
♪ I see the light above this place ♪
I was thinking about it.
There's a scripture, I think it's in Second Samuel.
It's David, and he's saying, "I will not sacrifice my king
that which costs me nothing."
- Down or up? - Yeah, I think down.
The idea being that you go up later.
And so I think
that's the process of artists
or whatever you want to call it.
Like, it has to come with a sense of
"My knuckles are bleeding. I'm giving up
a lot to get there."
Because that's how valuable, one, God is,
but how valuable what He's called us to is.
- Should we try it in A? - Well, that leaves room for...
Oh, it leaves room for you to just... Taya-fy it.
- ♪ Da, da, da. ♪ Ah! -She's like, "That just leaves room."
Like, leaves room for what?
- Taya. - You know.
- For me... - For the Lord to do anything.
Oh, that's Holy Spirit.
- That's Holy Spirit room. - For the Lord to lead wherever.
- Okay, I like it. - You know what I'm saying?
Okay. We've got to leave some Holy Spirit room in there.
- So we're gonna try it in G? - Yeah.
So what stands between you and your done record?
Uh, like...
probably about...
12 songs worth of great lyrics.
♪ When my knees hit the ground. ♪
♪ Dazzling heights we tried to climb ♪
Maybe, 'cause it might be the melody.
- Just sing the melody for me for a sec. -Mm-hmm.
- ♪ What fortune... ♪ - ♪ Lies beyond the stars ♪
♪ Those dazzling heights too vast to climb ♪
- ♪ Vast to climb ♪ -Oh, you... you want me to say "vast?"
No, no, no. Um, th-the melody...
- Oh, it's the way I do it? - ♪ Too vast ♪
- ♪ To climb. ♪ -J' To climb. ♪ Do you hear what you're doing?
- ♪ Do, da, da, da. ♪ - ♪ Da, da. ♪ Okay.
♪ Da, da, da. ♪
We've been rehearsing
for a few days in a rehearsal space.
It's been the first time the band's played
some of the stuff that we've recorded,
and, uh, they're sounding really good.
Uh, but to be honest, I haven't heard it with vocal...
I've heard one song with vocals.
I'm pretty tired.
We were up till 4:00 this morning.
She was up till 6:00.
Just doing, like, these things, like, just a bit of work,
stuff that just has to get done.
It's just kind of, like, no other option right now.
♪ In the light, my Father ♪
♪ Farther away... ♪
That sounded good!
It's amazing!
I personally have been trying
to finish this song all day.
Which is kind of funny, 'cause Joel's got, like,
three songs he has to finish
and I'm still struggling to finish one song.
Bro!
If we get a lyric for it, it's gonna be the best thing ever.
- It's so fun to sing. - It's-it's...
James came up to me, and he's like, um, "What key is this?"
And I'm like, "Oh, it's A," and he goes...
he goes, "It's the best key for Jad's voice ever!"
- It sounds amazing. - Oh, that's awesome.
- Your voice sounds perfect. - Oh, that's...
But I just have to...
I have to write the words.
I've been working on this for months.
Last night it was, like, 1:00 a.m.,
I haven't slept all week, and I'm sitting there thinking,
if this doesn't happen now, this actually might not happen.
I'm trying to find the words, and I'm like, I'm like,
"Jesus, please, like, now."
Oh, my goodness me.
This is insane. I feel like
we have never been more disorganized in our entire life
and it's maybe one of the biggest things we've ever done.
It's always that massive relying on God to come through,
and so He has to tonight.
What are you scared of?
Um...
It being underwhelming.
Joel's like my brother,
and when he's going through hard times, like,
with these lyrics, I can tell it's weighing on him.
He's been working so hard on lyrics
for just this one song for the last few weeks,
and, um, I can tell that it's the biggest deal
to have to deliver with a certain deadline
for something as massive as... the Forum.
He likes a lot of metaphor in his songs,
and, for me, when I read the lyric for the first time,
which was about... an hour before we did it, um...
I was just trying to understand
exactly what he's trying to say.
And to be honest, I guess I'm still grasping it,
because it's... there's a lot going on.
You know?
What's that?
Is that now?
Are they ready?
Such a tricky... Sometimes these, these songs we have,
sometimes they're just, like...
it's just, it's always a process, like, it just...
you're sitting there, you're sitting there,
and it's, like,
one minute you think it's awesome,
and then the next minute it's just, like,
"This doesn't even... fit."
- I'm pretty sure I can explain it all. -Yeah.
I'm sure there might be something in there
- that's like, um... - What?
- What did it do, man? - Yeah, so...
I just deleted the whole chorus.
With the lyrics, we try and get them all approved
through, you know, we have pastors at church
who, you know, are kind of really strong on theology.
We want to make sure what we sing
is actually correct to the Bible.
♪ And the skies do heal the broken... ♪
The songs that we write, you know, really are a tool
for churches all over the world to sing,
so right now we're gonna e-mail the lyrics
and then they'll hopefully reply back,
going, "Yeah, that's fine," but we're trying
to push the boundaries of creativity with these lyrics,
so it can... there's every chance they'll reply,
going, "Uh, this doesn't really make sense."
Let's pray, guys. Bring it in, bring it in.
Okay, so I feel-feel like it goes without saying,
but it's been a rough few days.
I thank everyone, because it's just,
um...
I know.
Not in a bad way but in a good way.
It just gives us room. Gives God room to move.
- Yeah. Love it. - So, um...
I'm talking, right, Jad.
Lord Jesus, we just thank You so much
for Your grace, Lord God, we thank You for the gift
that Your presence dwells inside every single one of us.
And I pray that people walk away
- talking about how great You are tonight. -Yeah.
We thank You for this opportunity so much.
- In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. -Great job.
Jad's getting up...
He will never actually have sung these lyrics
into a microphone before.
♪ ♪
Knowing the journey
of the last couple of weeks
was quite powerful for me.
And I wanted to make sure that when we did it,
I wanted to... lead it.
I didn't want to just sing it.
I wanted people to actually understand
I'm not performing here, if you know what I mean.
Come on!
In the Bible, kings had armor-bearers.
An armor-bearer would...
would hold the shield and would protect his...
the... them from behind, and, you know,
would protect them.
Um... for so long, I felt like
that was actually what...
God wanted me to do for Joel.
But on that platform, when we're together,
I kind of feel like it's the same thing.
How do I know there's a God?
Well, for me, you know, I've encountered Him.
But ultimately, trust in God is faith.
It's faith. And it's like the wind...
You can't see it, but you know it's there.
You see the impact of it and feel the impact of it.
Want to feel that impact
in your own life.
I don't think you have to attend Hillsong Church.
There's great churches
on almost every street corner of the world.
My advice would be... Find a local church,
pour your life into it...
and you'll never be the same again.
♪ For me ♪
We Always have to remind ourselves
why we're doing it.
You're born, you live, you die.
At the end of the day, what's your life for?
So for me, like, knowing that Jesus
has done something in my life,
my whole point of being now is to point people towards Jesus,
'cause I believe there's life after death for eternity.
And so I'm, like, I want people
to come... come along, you know?
I want people to come to that journey with us.
If you believe, I want you to lift your voice
and sing this with me. 'Cause I know...
♪ I know... ♪
The most important part of a night
is when someone connects with what we're doing.
It's when people realize
this isn't about a band from Australia.
This isn't about music.
♪ Jesus, I know ♪
♪ I know... ♪
Everyone's on a journey.
Everyone's searching.
Everyone does have a purpose.
But you can fulfill that purpose
so much greater when you connect
with the source of life itself.
Does everything make sense?
Absolutely not.
But I think more stuff doesn't make sense without Him.
♪ Oh... ♪
From my experience,
He gives me purpose.
He gives me a greater sense of hope
that I'm not by myself.
I know He's got my back.
And I guess I just want people that I meet to know that hope.
What makes sense of what we do,
to me...
is the picture of the cross.
'Cause if you look at the cross, you've got...
this vertical element...
then you've got this element where it's reaching out.
I love that feature.
It starts by knowing God
and understanding that He loves us personally.
And then reciprocating that by loving God and honoring Him.
That's what worship is.
If this is happening in a way that's honest and real,
we're left with no choice but to want to reach out our hands
to love others.
And that's honestly what the Gospel is all about.
I don't know why God has used a little youth band
from a church in the outer suburbs of Sydney,
but for some reason, He's given us this opportunity.
If you feel comfortable when you...
lift your hands to Heaven.
People might measure
our success by all kinds of things,
but in the end, this is not about us.
It's ultimately about God.
If you take Him out of the equation,
you've got nothing.
Our job is just to keep...
being faithful to Him.
So whatever that looks like,
you know, we're up for the journey.
And no matter what's going on...
no matter how big the mountain is,
how dark the night,
how distant you might seem from our God,
the truth is tonight,
the Creator of the universe, the Author of life,
the God of Heaven, He is here,
He is with you,
He's never failed you.
Do you believe it?
Come on, lift your voice. Let's sing.
♪ So let hope ♪
♪ Rise ♪
♪ And darkness tremble ♪
♪ In Your holy light ♪
♪ And every eye will see Jesus ♪
♪ Our God ♪
♪ Great and mighty to be praised ♪
Come on, let's declare it.
Let's sing it out!
♪ Let hope ♪
♪ Rise, oh, oh ♪
♪ And darkness tremble ♪
♪ In Your holy light ♪
♪ And every eye will see ♪
♪ Jesus our God ♪
♪ Great and mighty ♪
♪To be ♪'
♪ Praised... ♪
♪ God of all days ♪
♪ Glorious ♪
♪ In all of Your ways ♪
♪ The majesty, the wonder ♪
♪ And grace ♪
♪ In the light ♪
♪ Of Your name... ♪
♪ So let hope ♪
♪ Rise ♪
♪ And darkness tremble ♪
♪ In Your holy light ♪
♪ And every eye will see ♪
♪ Jesus our God ♪
♪ Great and mighty ♪
♪ To be praised... ♪
- ♪ Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ With everything ♪
Come on.
♪ With everything ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ We Will ♪
♪ Shout for ♪
♪ Your glory, with everything ♪
- ♪ With everything ♪ - ♪ With everything ♪
♪ With everything ♪
♪ Jesus, we will ♪
♪ Shout for ♪
- ♪ Your glory ♪ - Come on, everybody.
Here we go!
♪ And our hearts ♪
♪ They cry ♪
♪ Be glorified ♪
♪ Be lifted high ♪
♪ Above all names ♪
♪ For You our King ♪
♪ With everything ♪
♪ We Will ♪
♪ Shout forth ♪
♪ Your praise ♪
♪ Oh... ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
- ♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪ - Come on, with everything!
♪ With everything ♪
♪ We Will ♪
♪ Shout forth ♪
♪ Your praise... ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
Come on, let's lift it up. Sing.
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh ♪