Hillsong whistleblower files: inside Hillsong’s financial machine

This is part four of a series on the Hillsong whistleblower files. Read the full series here.

Say what you like about Hillsong but it has perfected the business of religion.

The Hillsong papers, tabled in Parliament by independent MP Andrew Wilkie yesterday, show the millions of dollars that have sluiced through the multinational organisation over the past few decades, providing a level of detail that has never been revealed about any world megachurch.

Tithes 

The foundation of Hillsong’s wealth has always been the tithes contributed by members of the congregation. Hillsong attenders pay 10% of their gross income — a form of church tax that Hillsong and others say has a biblical underpinning.

In Australia the total annual tithes have been revealed as:

2021: $47,602,479 

2020: $51,870,446 

2019: $56,167,039

Tithes are tax-free income for the church.

(It appears that Hillsong lost close to $10 million in tithe money due to services being cancelled because of COVID-19.)

Donations

In addition to their tithes, Hillsong parishioners are also encouraged to make tax-deductible donations to the church’s charitable foundation.

The numbers are:

2021: $4,187,906 

2020: $6,046,290 

2019: $8,677,877

(It appears COVID-19 also took a toll on donations.)

Conference income

Another large source of church funding has been the income from the church’s annual conferences, held in Sydney. Hillsong’s conferences are huge, glitzy events, usually held in a stadium venue. They attract tens of thousands of visitors, as well as celebrity speakers from international megachurches.  

The gross income from registrations is revealed in the Hillsong papers as:

2021: $1,150,775

2020: $2,869,590 

2019:  $8,233,673

A Hillsong conference is a money-making art form in itself. Beyond registrations, it draws income from sales of books, DVDs and merchandise produced by Hillsong founders Brian and Bobbie Houston as well as visiting celebrity pastors. The honorariums paid to celebrity pastors are normally between $20,000 and $100,000, as Wilkie revealed in Parliament yesterday. This celebrity product income usually goes direct to the pastor, with Hillsong taking a venue-hosting fee.

The Christian franchise model — the global churches and the ‘family’ churches

The Hillsong papers spell out for the first time that the church operates with a form of franchise model whereby other churches in the Hillsong orbit pay an annual fee to Hillsong HQ.

There are two kinds of Hillsong churches: the fully-fledged churches owned and operated by Hillsong, and a second category known as Hillsong family churches. Hillsong family churches have a degree of autonomy from the Hillsong mothership but pay a fee to use Hillsong branding and other Hillsong products.

The Hillsong conglomerate has fully owned churches in more than 20 countries, including Australia, the US, the UK, South Africa, Germany, France and Sweden.

According to the Hillsong whistleblower’s disclosures, these churches send 5% of their tithe income up the line to Hillsong HQ. (Based on tithe income, this equates to more than $2 million from Australian churches.)

Hillsong has around 40 “family” churches around the world that pass on 3% of their tithes income as “membership fees” to Hillsong. The amount is capped at $100,000 per church.

The churches are mostly in the USA. Others are located in the UK, Europe, New Zealand and South America. Under the arrangement, the smaller church keeps its name and is able to use Hillsong “branding”.

So what does a “family” church get for its money? In short, it is a pay-to-play model.

According to the whistleblower’s disclosures, Hillsong family church pastors can attend the “exclusive” Hillsong Family Gathering twice a year at an overseas location.

The other moneymakers

The Hillsong money machine is further stoked by its music royalties and fees for college tuition. The church also holds tens of millions of dollars in property.

All funds flowing into Hillsong are run through Australian and United States charities, which operate with tax exemptions — and in some cases in complete secrecy.