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Hillsong conference turns 25

11:32pm Wednesday, 6th July 2011

Suzanne Schokman

Music and crowds set the scene at Hillsong Conference 2011, now on at Sydney’s Darling Harbour. The iconic City venue reflects the sense of celebration as Hillsong holds its 25th annual Conference.

An army of volunteers in their “Here To Help” T-shirts directs delegates and offers assistance in every way. “Everyone is so friendly and quick to share information,” says Therese Schmidt, third-time Conference delegate and teacher from Jindera, NSW.

Schmidt and her colleagues from a Christian school have been sent by their principal as part of their “professional development”. “We learn a lot in terms of how to develop children’s ministries,” she says.

Asked what she likes about being at the Conference, she replies, “The speakers are inspirational, and it’s great to worship as a community.”

A group of four from Singapore, fresh from a session in the Entertainment Centre, all concur.

Kathleen Yip says it’s very different from watching a Hillsong DVD. “This is a whole 360 degree experience… one needs to be here to fully experience it. The power of worship, and the music, break bondages.”

Chui Hui Wan, who’s from a Methodist background, says when she first heard Hillsong music she thought it was “loud and noisy.” However, on a previous trip to Sydney she was invited to a Hillsong service, and there she ”…felt the flow of the Spirit. It was being in that atmosphere, and being mentally open to it, that made the difference.”

The four friends have come to Sydney specifically for the Conference, and “shopping and sight-seeing are ancillary.”

Hillsong Conference is on at the Darling Harbour Conference Centre and the Sydney Entertainment Centre until Friday 8 July.