Hillsong Church

Hillsong Church was founded in 1983 by Brian and Bobbie Houston as Hills Christian Life Centre in the northwest suburbs of Sydney, Australia. A Pentecostal church that grew into a global movement, Hillsong at its peak operated locations in more than 30 countries, driven largely by its worship music. Hillsong Worship, Hillsong UNITED, and Hillsong Young & Free put songs in the rotation of nearly every English-speaking church on earth. Phil and Lucinda Dooley have served as global senior pastors since February 2023, following Brian Houston's resignation.

Hillsong's combined audience is 28.87 million followers, essentially tied with Elevation for the largest in the world. YouTube carries 18.53 million subscribers across four channels: Hillsong Worship at 10.7 million, UNITED at 5.44 million, Young & Free at 1.77 million, and the church channel at 616,000. Instagram adds 7.35 million followers across the brand family, with the main hillsong account at 2.83 million and UNITED at 2.58 million. Facebook holds 1.9 million and TikTok 1.09 million. YouTube growth came in at 5.94 percent for the year.

Hillsong scores a perfect 100 on both reach and breadth, but its velocity score of 16.9 is the lowest in the top ten, and that contrast defines the moment. The catalog still pulls enormous numbers. Two decades of worship recordings function as a permanent audience engine that no current controversy or leadership change has switched off. But the days of explosive growth are over for now. Hillsong in 2026 is the index's clearest case of accumulated reach versus current momentum, a giant holding its ground rather than gaining new territory.