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Hillsong UNITED’s highly anticipated documentary, Let Hope Rise, arrived in U.S. theaters this past weekend. The film was played in 816 locations nationwide and garnered $1.3 million in sales in opening weekend, according to THR, landing in the #13 spot on box office charts. For more information on local showings and planned international releases, visit hillsongmovie.com.
Directed by Michael John Warren (Jay Z’s “Fade To Black”), the film explores Hillsong’s journey from a tiny church in the Sydney suburbs to an influential international ministry whose songs are sung every Sunday by more than 50 million people across the globe. Their songs have been translated into 60 languages and the band has sold more than 17 million albums.
“Anyone who regularly attends a church knows Hillsong’s music by heart. That’s how influential they’ve become,” said producer Jonathan Bock. “And yet despite the fame and adulation, they’re still just a humble worship band trying to do what tens of thousands of other worship bands try to do every week — glorify God through their music. How they balance that is a fascinating and surprising story.”
From a single church in suburban Sydney, Hillsong Church now extends to cities on five continents (including London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Capetown, Rio de Janeiro, and Phoenix) with more than 100,000 weekly attendees, including thriving congregations in New York and Los Angeles. In addition to its local church initiatives, Hillsong partners with international organizations committed to ministry – examples include feeding and educating children in the slums of India, building housing for those living with AIDS in Africa and rescuing victims of human trafficking around the globe.
source: thechristianbeat.org
