Christian rock and worship group Hillsong United spun out of Australia's Hillsong Church, a Pentecostal ministry based in northwest Sydney. Founded in August 1983 by New Zealand natives Brian and Bobbie Houston, Hillsong Church was first known as Hills Christian Life Centre. At launch, the congregation counted just 45 members, but grew to 900 within four years. As the church's music ministry evolved, in 1986 the Houstons founded the Hillsong Conference, an annual event created to teach and nurture contemporary Christian musicians. A live CD titled The Power of Your Love hit retail in 1992, featuring singers/songwriters Geoff Bullock and Darlene Zschech, both mainstays on the myriad Hillsong albums to follow. By the end of the decade, the Hillsong brand was so well-known that in 1999 the Houstons renamed the church Hillsong as well. Around the same time, Brian's father, the famous Pentecostal pastor Frank Houston, was embroiled in controversy when he confessed to molesting a teenage boy some three decades earlier. Hillsong remained a lightning rod, facing concerns from government leaders and journalists alike over its extreme political stance and reliance on donated funds. The juggernaut surged forward, however, and in 2004 the live Hillsong release For All You've Done topped the mainstream Australian pop charts. A year later, more than 30,000 people attended July's Hillsong Conference. By early 2006, the Houstons counted more than 19,000 parishioners attending services each week. Hillsong United began as Hillsong Church's youth ministry band. Originally dubbed United Live, the group was first led by singers/songwriters Reuben Morgan and Marty Sampson. Their 1999 debut, Everyday, established their creative template: each album was recorded live at the annual October youth conference Encounterfest -- enabling contributions from a variety of church members, friends, and supporters, including the popular Christian folk chanteuse Brooke Fraser -- and released on CD and DVD early the following year. When Morgan left United Live in 2002 to mount a solo career, the Houstons' son Joel took his place, prompting the name change to Hillsong United. In the years to follow their popularity snowballed on both sides of the equator, with 2006's United We Stand emerging as the year's best-selling Christian LP at Canadian retail. All of the Above found similar success in 2007, as did 2009's a_CROSS//the_EARTH: Tear Down the Walls and accompanying live album Faith + Hope + Love. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
You must be 18 or older in order to participate in the following states: Florida
By clicking the button above, you acknowledge that you are the account holder for the cell phone number entered and you expressly agree to these terms as well as the Thumbplay Terms & Conditions of Use Agreement and Privacy Policy.
Thumbplay Subscription Terms: Not all carriers support the Thumbplay service and you must be a customer of a supported carrier to subscribe. A phone with an Internet-enabled and SMS-enabled (short message service) account is required. Your password will be sent to your phone when you click the button above. After entering your password, you will be subscribed to Thumbplay and automatically charged $9.99 each month on your mobile phone bill, or deducted from your prepaid balance for 10 credits each month until such time as you cancel your subscription. Monthly credits expire at the end of each month and may not be rolled over into the following month. New subscribers will receive 10 bonus credits for use during the first month, as well as up to 4 additional credits to cover the cost of the first download. This offer is only available to first time customers of Thumbplay and can not be combined with any other offer. Message and data rates may apply for subscriptions, promotional text messages, and account related text messages. Taxes may also apply.
You may receive your password confirmation text message multiple times until you complete the sign-up process. If you would like to stop receiving the password confirmation text messages, please email us at passwordsms@thumbplay.com.
You may cancel your Thumbplay subscription by sending the words STOP from your mobile device to 48000 or by contacting us via email. Please direct all email inquiries to support@thumbplay.com. You may also call 1-877-THUMB-99 (1-877-848-6299) for questions regarding your account.
Thumbplay One-Time Purchase Terms: In certain instances, in lieu of a subscription you may have the opportunity to make a one-time purchase. In such case, the purchase price (from $0.99 to $5.99 per content item) for the content item you select will be charged to your mobile phone bill, or deducted from your prepaid balance. All messages and Content to Verizon Wireless customers will come from 48000. For information about single item purchases, text HELP to 21453. Text STOP to 21453 to stop messaging. (Verizon Wireless customers text to 48000). Message and data rates may apply. Taxes may also apply.
Games are not currently supported for Verizon Wireless customers.
By subscribing or making a one-time purchase from Thumbplay you expressly agree to receive promotional and account related communications by SMS and email, including our weekly newsletter. You may stop receiving promotional SMS text messages by clicking here and you may stop receiving promotional emails by clicking here.
Thumbplay ringtones and Thumbplay mobile ringtones are compatible with most current Motorola, Nokia, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony Ericsson mobile/cell phones. Supported carriers include AT&T, T-Mobile®, Alltel, and Verizon Wireless.
On your phone visit m.thumbplay.com