Hillsong: the celebrity church of choice

The new Pentecostal megachurch is sweeping up celebrities faster than Kabbalah is the Australian-based Hillsong Church. Claiming over 100,000 weekly worshipers across its 80 locations in 19 countries, Hillsong has made headlines with its roster of A-list attendees, including the Biebers, the Kardashian-Jenners, Chris Pratt, and various NBA superstars. However it is not without its controversy. Recently Chris Pratt and Ellen Page have been trading words on Twitter and Instagram regarding the church's stance on LGBTQ issues, and things seem to be heating up.

Check out this gallery to read about the drama and see more celebrities who’ve chosen to pray at the quite unconventional Hillsong altar.

1 / 33 Fotos

Ellen Page's tweet - It all started after Pratt talked about Hillsong Church in an interview on the 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert,' describing how the church helped him deal with fame. In response, Page tweeted that Hillsong is "infamously anti LGBTQ," adding in a later tweet that "if you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed."

2 / 33 Fotos

Chris Pratt response - Pratt defended the church against these anti-LGBTQ claims, stating that they opened their doors to "absolutely everyone," and expounding on the fact that despite the Bible's view on divorce, Hillsong was very supportive through his own. He also added that he was not a spokesperson for the church, and that everyone should be "entitled to love who they want free from the judgment of their fellow man."

3 / 33 Fotos

Other celeb members - Check out some of the other A-listers that attend this popular church!

4 / 33 Fotos

Justin Bieber - The young pop star first drew attention to Hillsong after he abruptly canceled his Purpose Tour, and rumors surfaced that it was due to a religious awakening shepherded by Pastors Carl and Laura Lentz of Hillsong NY. But his relationship with the church goes way back.

5 / 33 Fotos

Justin Bieber - As a young man growing up under constant public scrutiny, Bieber has had a multitude of screw-ups including DUIs, and things even got so difficult for his City Church pastor Judah Smith that he called in some extra help: Carl Lentz.

6 / 33 Fotos

Justin Bieber - Bieber actually lived with Carl and Laura for over a month, getting back on his feet. He's often said to have been saved by his religious faith and his new wife.

7 / 33 Fotos

Hailey Baldwin - It seems one of the Biebers’ favorite date nights is at the church. Who better to go with him than the spiritually devout Mrs. Bieber? The young model told The Cut that Hillsong is "intense and it’s loud and it’s in your face."

8 / 33 Fotos

Selena Gomez - As a seeming requirement of dating Bieber, Gomez also went to Hillsong with Bieber, but after they broke up she continued to go to their LA branch.

9 / 33 Fotos

Selena Gomez - The church has its own record label, Hillsong Music Australia, which has signed several Hillsong groups who have recorded Billboard-charting albums. Gomez covered the Hillsong UNITED's 'Transfiguration' in a teary-eyed tribute to the late 'The Voice' artist Christina Grimmie back in 2016.

10 / 33 Fotos

Chris Pratt - The actor “found God” when a stranger approached him outside a grocery store and followed him to church. Pratt told Vanity Fair he believes God is responsible even for his acting career, so he goes to Hillsong to celebrate alongside other A-listers who have God to thank.

11 / 33 Fotos

Chris Pratt - He even brought his new flame Katherine Schwarzenegger and her brother Patrick to check it out.

12 / 33 Fotos

Taylor Lautner - The 'Twilight' actor and his female companions are often spotted leaving the Church, and it seems the grace of religion has made celebrities kind to paparazzi, giving them peaceful hand signs instead of the bird.

13 / 33 Fotos

Kourtney Kardashian - The eldest of the Kardashian siblings is no stranger to Hillsong Hollywood, occasionally joining her friend Justin Bieber and bringing along some gal pals for a good ol' night mass.

14 / 33 Fotos

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West - Kardashian and West are tied to Hillsong as their favored pastor, Rich Wilkerson Jr, who officiated their wedding, often guest speaks at Hillsong.

15 / 33 Fotos

Kendall and Kylie Jenner - The two were snapped alongside Carl and Laura Lentz in their close friend Hailey Baldwin's Instagram photo.

16 / 33 Fotos

NBA superstars - Carl Lentz is often name-dropped by the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin, Tyson Chandler, David Lee, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields, and many more.

17 / 33 Fotos

Kevin Durant - Durant was actually baptized by Lentz at a spot unique to Hillsong—the Gansevoort Hotel’s rooftop pool.

18 / 33 Fotos

Vanessa Hudgens - Hudgens loves the musical component of the service. "It feels like Arcade Fire—it’s epic like that," she told the New York Times.

19 / 33 Fotos

Vanessa Hudgens - Hudgens and her boyfriend Austin Butler have also been photographed with the Lentzs, volunteering to give out meals and warm clothes to people in the winter.

20 / 33 Fotos

Nick Jonas - Nick Jonas was also spotted at a Hillsong service in 2012, and while his regular attendance is not confirmed, everyone remembers the JoBro's religious commitment to promise rings.

21 / 33 Fotos

Hailee Steinfeld - The singer has also been spotted attending Hillsong, leading many to suspect that she and Bieber were dating at one point. But she's quite private about her relationship with the church, and has said that she doesn't have time for men.

22 / 33 Fotos

Lil Wayne - Carl Lentz posted a photo of himself, Bieber, and Lil Wayne, and in the caption he wrote, "Some of the most consistent and faithful people I have ever been around!"

23 / 33 Fotos

On-trend - As a relatively new church founded by Brian and Bobbie Houston in the early ‘80s, they have grown to include an app, a cool website, Grammy-award-winning music groups (pictured are Hillsong members with their Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song award for 'What a Beautiful Name'), beach days, and trendy apparel for sale including beanies, hoodies, denim jackets, tote bags, and track pants.

24 / 33 Fotos

Giving "Sunday best" a new look - Baseball caps, ripped jeans, socks, and sandals are completely acceptable looks at Hillsong, which may be appropriate since they don’t meet in a chapel or sanctuary but rather popular music venues. In New York, the church has hosted services at Irving Plaza and Hammerstein Ballroom.

25 / 33 Fotos

Carl & Laura Lentz - The charismatic Hillsong Church pastor and his wife Laura are the spiritual force behind Hillsong NY. Launched in 2010 and already a 6,000-strong parish, the leaders of this group have been thrust into the world of celebrity.

26 / 33 Fotos

An unconventional pastor - For an unconventional church, no less. Lentz was profiled in GQ, and he could easily pass as a fashion stylist or rock-band member with his edgy hairstyles, leather jackets, and tattoos.

27 / 33 Fotos

He personally baptized Justin Bieber - On Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday, Lentz spoke about receiving a late-night and panicked called from Bieber, asking to be baptized right then. After being chased from four different spots by paparazzi, Lentz and Judah Smith (City Church pastor) baptized Justin in NBA star Tyson Chandler’s bathtub—since, as Lentz explained to Oprah, the athlete has custom 7-foot tubs.

28 / 33 Fotos

Why does Hillsong attract A-listers? - Lentz said that the elite are drawn to him because he understands the pressures and pitfalls of high-caliber performance, and because he acknowledges how isolated and spiritually neglected the world of celebrity can feel. It's said that Lentz never loses his cool when he meets a star.

29 / 33 Fotos

There’s clearly no “vow of poverty” -

Hillsong is undeniably prosperous, and its followers and pastors clearly have money, though unlike celebrities, the pastor salaries are not disclosed. It is estimated that the Church has made US$100 million in capital in a single year, with the help of record and book sales and the standard ask of a 10% tithe. Pictured is Hillsong's sold-out anniversary event at London's O2 Arena.

(Photo: Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)

30 / 33 Fotos

LGBT controversy - Years after outcry about the revelation that Hillsong referred many of its gay members into conversion therapy, Lentz told GQ that he would still never allow an openly gay member to hold a church leadership position, and that he still considers homosexuality a sin. Both Lentz and Brian Houston, the founder, maintain that “Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles. Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle,” Houston wrote in a 2015 blog post.

31 / 33 Fotos

Sexual abuse scandal in Australia -

Founder Brian Houston (pictured) was investigated by a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse over sexual abuses perpetrated by his father Frank (also a Pentecostal pastor who, in 2000, admitted to sexually abusing a boy years earlier). The commission found that, among other things, Brian did not report the abuse to police.

(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.5)

32 / 33 Fotos

Post Malone is against it - In a Rolling Stone profile, Post Malone, rapper and friend of Bieber, said that Bieber had gotten "super-religious recently. Real culty" referring to Hillsong. He claimed that Bieber had already given them US$10 million, and that he used to be religious but that he now sees through it all. Malone called people like Lentz "the worst" and added, "It’s nice to support something you believe in, I guess, but people are spending so much money, and God doesn’t care that your church has a f*****g gold roof." It's certainly a different kind of worship.

33 / 33 Fotos