Hillsong Church has appointed Phil and Lucinda Dooley as its new global senior pastors.
They were officially commissioned during last Sunday’s morning service in Sydney after they had served in the role in an interim capacity for 12 months.
Chair of the Hillsong Global Board, Stephen Crouch, told the congregation that the couple had a long history with the church.
He said they had served in the church as youth pastors, creative pastors and in pastoral care and other roles for 14 years.
He believed they would lead the church “with grace and wisdom”.
Pastor Phil told the congregation that he and Lucinda resolved to “serve our global church family with humility of heart, love, and conviction that the church is the hope of the world.”
He added that: “Our simple desire is to continue to lead a healthy church changing lives through Christ. We look towards the future with humble expectation, an expectation that God will continue to pour out his grace over our church.”
In a statement Hillsong said; “The new senior pastor has never backed away from acknowledging the need for structural change, having said the church has fallen short in areas of governance. However his focus is now firmly on the future as the church continues its period of transition.”
The statement added that: “The permanent appointment follows a year of significant change for Hillsong which saw the implementation of recommendations from independent reviews of both the governance structure and the process for complaints against credentialed pastors.”
“The global board was also renewed and a new spiritual advisory team to work closely with the senior pastors was formed.”
Just over a month ago in a board report, Mr. Crouch also noted that: “Transitions are difficult, uncertain, and sometimes painful. Transitions also provide new leadership, opportunities, and fresh vision.”
He said the church remained committed to the path forward: “In recent months we have seen new life and growth.”
The appointment of the Dooleys as global leaders follows the resignation of Brian Houston who is currently facing court charges.
The 68-year-old has pleaded not guilty to concealing abuse by his father and is due back in court in June when his case resumes.
