Hillsong 2.0: Laura Houston launches new Parable Church in The Hills

Houston, they have a solution: The Daily Telegraph has gained access to a gathering with the former heiress to the embattled Hillsong mega-church empire, as she reveals a major next move.

Laura Houston is the leader of the new Parable Church which is being pitched as Hillsong 2.0. She’s pictured meeting people at an interest party held at The Vicar in Dural tonight.

Far from the flashing lights, enormous crowds and massive auditoriums she is accustomed to, the former heir-apparent to the Hillsong throne revealed her next move in an outer suburban pub’s warmly lit function space.

The Daily Telegraph was inside the meeting at a pub in Dural when Laura Toganivalu – the daughter of Hillsong founder Brian Houston – and her husband Pete revealed they were launching a new Pentecostal church in the wake of the family’s departure from the global mega-church.

About 100 people gathered at The Vicar where Mr and Mrs Toganivalu put forth their plans for Parable Church – which will meet on Sunday mornings at the Pacific Hills Christian School auditorium, and on Wednesday evenings as a bible study-style gathering in Sydney’s inner suburbs.

The Toganivalus were vaunted as the church leadership’s future before Brian Houston resigned and his wife Bobbie was unceremoniously made redundant after a bruising internal investigation found Mr Houston had breached the church’s code of conduct.

Laura Toganivalu (Houston) is the leader of the new Parable Church which is being pitched as Hillsong 2.0. Pictured meeting people at an interest party held at The Vicar in Dural.

The church’s leadership found Mr Houston had fallen short by “inappropriately” messaging a woman some 10 years earlier, and by being found in another woman’s hotel room during a church conference while he was affected by anxiety medication and alcohol.

At the time, the church’s founder was also fighting a criminal charge of concealing an indictable offence related to allegations he did not report his father Frank’s abuse of a young boy.

He was later found not guilty by a magistrate and is now suing the state of NSW for his legal costs after the protracted court battle.

Mr Houston walked away from the church he built from the ground up in March 2022.

The Toggs, as they are colloquially known, ultimately resigned as the heads of Hillsong’s youth ministry Young & Free in May.

The Toggs told those gathered at the pub they had thought long and hard about their next move – before deciding ultimately God was “calling them to stay home” and start something new in Sydney.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, Mrs Toganivalu described her hopes of creating a community for families to worship Jesus.

She clarified her parents would not be involved and this was her own venture with her husband.

THE NEW CHURCH

The Parable Church social media launch was heralded with the finely tuned visual design customary of Hillsong and other modern churches who invoke cool branding to clearly state – this is not your grandma’s church.

The church doesn’t have a gathering yet, or staff, or people to serve – but it does have a brand, and an embroidered sweatshirt which featured on the church’s Instagram page.

A post also thanked a now-defunct church in Mexico for handing over the perfect social media handle – @parablechurch – which jumped from 800 to 2400 overnight.

In every other way, with the planned church in its infancy, the pub gathering was worlds away from the slick production value, smoke machines and laser lights famously associated with the Toggs’ former world.

Those gathered were a microcosm of the usual Hillsong crowd – multiethnic, multi-generational, the kind of people who laughed at Mr Toganivalu’s joke about how the new church’s site would be in no-man’s land for those unfamiliar with the world beyond Windsor Rd.

In the world from which the Toggs hail, there are specific ministry teams assigned to greeting people at the door, to switching off music and switching on mics – or instead leaving the music on for atmosphere while the church prays.

Laura Toganivalu and Brian Houston. Picture: Instagram.

But in this new church’s “embryonic stage”, as Mr Toganivalu put it – the couple are striking out alone.

The park stressed they did not ask anyone to come with them from Hillsong, and they greeted people at the pub’s entrance themselves.

At one point, Mrs Toganivalu had to switch the music off herself so the evening’s address could begin.

Where the Hillsong Convention Centre at Norwest is a short walk from the metro and seats up to 3300 worshippers – Mrs Toganivalu was joking about setting up a party bus to shuttle Parable’s churchgoers into their Dural venue, which is capped at 470 people.

Mr Toganivalu hinted at another venue in the pipeline which fits up to 1700 for the church’s anticipated growth.

“At least until we buy this place,” Mr Toganivalu said, gesturing broadly at The Vicar.

“I’m kidding! Instant media headline,” he continued, to a chorus of laughter.

In his address, Mr Toganivalu specified there were tiers of governance and oversight already planned for the church plant and that the church’s financial management would be outsourced to KPMG for transparency.

Neither Brian nor Bobbie Houston attended the event, though both shared their support on their own Instagrams earlier in the day.

High-profile Hillsong founder Brian Houston was found not guilty of concealing his father's child sexual abuse. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Adam Yip

WHO WILL ATTEND THE CHURCH

With Hillsong’s own numbers waning in the wake of various scandals, it remains to be seen who will be attracted to Parable Church.

The flagship Norwest campus with the 3330-capacity convention centre once held up to five English language services every Sunday.

In 2023, the Hills church has just two gatherings, and a Mandarin and Cantonese service in their smaller chapel venue.

Hillsong’s two inner city campuses had as many as eight services a weekend between Saturdays and Sundays – now, they have just four.

The church’s presence in the United States was also decimated, with 10 of 16 locations shuttering in the grim aftermath of Mr Houston’s departure and that of the New York campus’ high profile pastor Karl Lentz when his extramarital affair became public.

Will Parable Church succeed in attracting current members of Hillsong who remained supportive of the Houstons – or those who had already left when the founding family did?

Or will they, like Hillsong, be eschewed by those who are now disillusioned with the former mega-church empire, whose mainstream popularity was revered until its leaders were toppled?

Laura Toganivalu.

Mr Houston retains significant support particularly overseas, where high profile Pentecostal pastors have promptly welcomed him into their pulpits to preach.

The Hillsong founder was in Iowa at My Eternity Church last weekend, and will be at Christian Faith Center in Washington state this weekend.

Closer to home in recent weeks, Mr and Mrs Houston have preached at Revival City Church in Adelaide and CRC Australia in Wangara in WA.

Influential Pentecostal figures also made public declarations of support on Mr Houston’s Instagram post proclaiming his not guilty verdict after his court proceedings concluded, including Bethel Church senior leader Bill Johnson, Free Chapel senior pastor Jentezen Franklin, and pastor and singer Marcos Witt.

Brian and Bobbie Houston. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

On Instagram in early September, Mr Houston wrote of the Toggs’ plans for Parable Church: “Bobbie and I will give them every bit of our support but it is their vision and their choice. I couldn’t be more excited for them.”

In a comment, Mrs Toganivalu responded.

“Dad, your caption made Peter and I well up … you’ve encouraged us every step of the way while giving us the breathing room to dream, pray, and choose our own path,” she wrote.

“It brings me joy to watch you in your ‘grace-zone’ of inspiring others onward. It is a beautiful thing.”

Mrs Houston also wrote words of support, saying “just being proud parents”.

“There is nothing more beautiful than new beginnings, nothing more precious in the sight of God as small beginnings birthed from conviction and obedience,” Mrs Houston wrote.

Only the family’s sons remain at the church their father built now, with Joel working in Hillsong’s music arm and Benjamin and his wife working as the church’s global online lead pastors.