preaching tour, disgraced Hillsong founder Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, have returned to Australia-and are apparently attempting a comeback. "They excommunicated us," Vera Kasevich said.Following a recent U.S. The agreement, obtained by 7.30, was signed by Hillsong's general manager George Aghajanian, but the Kasevichs didn't agree to its terms and refused to sign it. The Kasevichs were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement with Hillsong which required them to never attend any service at Hillsong Kyiv or Hillsong Moscow, and not to directly contact Hillsong's leadership, its staff, or key volunteers. "They cut our emails, they cut our database, they cut us from the server," Vera Kasevich said. The couple say they were asked to stay away from any church events and this "completely cut" their relationship with other church members who they described as their "only family". To prevent the congregation from being split up, Vera and Zhenya Kasevich agreed to leave the church. So when we saw this, we started to raise questions."Īs tensions rose, they claim Brian Houston began to challenge their independence, and that in 2014, he gave them an ultimatum - either stand aside or Hillsong would set up a rival church in Kyiv. "We could not look at our poor people's eyes and tell them we are using church money for our benefit and our luxurious life. "We had to pay $13,000 for first class tickets from the USA to Ukraine," he said. "Our church budget in Ukraine was almost $1 million a year, only from income from. "He is drawn to success," said Vera Kasevich. The Kasevichs say that as the congregation in Kyiv grew in 2008, Brian Houston developed a growing interest in their church. Hillsong Sydney sent an Australian pastor and some financial support to help them get established, and they named their church Hillsong, despite remaining independent. This protects the church financially from large lawsuits." Brian Houston 'drawn to success'įrom their new home in the US state of Florida, Zhenya and Vera Kasevich say their first church started as a small congregation in 1992, just as the fledgling independent nation of Ukraine was emerging from the collapse of the Soviet empire. "The church is limited in what it can pay for a judgement. "If a victim sues the church, the church does not have major property assets," he said. While he didn't find fraudulent activity, he did find a large number of properties that Hillsong owns across three US states.Īccording to Mr Bowen, this corporate structure means potential claimants in any litigation against Hillsong may have a hard time recovering any funds. Mr Bowen works for the Trinity Foundation, which is dedicated to investigating church fraud. He told 7.30 that it's highly unusual for a charity to grow so quickly. Since then, Texas-based private investigator Barry Bowen has tracked Hillsong's property expansion across the US. In 2010, Hillsong established its first campus in the United States, and has since expanded to 16 locations. Mr San Martin's church separated from Hillsong in 2002. " were beginning to show signs of having a voracious appetite for money." "We were having difficulties accessing our own funds," Mr San Martin said. Mr San Martin had helped seal an agreement with Hillsong which he hoped would help his small congregation with administration and pastoral duties.īut ultimately, the relationship turned out to be "just a financial thing", he said. "They controlled everything," Mr San Martin told 7.30. In 2015, a Gold Coast church agreed to merge with Hillsong, transferring ownership and the mortgage on its Upper Coomera church building. One of those properties was repurposed as a luxury rental. In the process, Hillsong acquired properties and assets valued at $12 million at the time.Įlsewhere in Australia, in 20, two churches in Victoria decided to merge with Hillsong, with three properties transferred to Hillsong. The first takeover occurred in 2009, when Brisbane-based Garden City Christian Church merged with Hillsong. Do you have a story tip?Įmail Hagar Cohen at and 'A voracious appetite for money': Growing the property empireĪ 7.30 investigation has uncovered how the Sydney-based Pentecostal church has built a property empire, partly by taking financial control over other churches in Australia and globally. He said the aim of the takeover by the church's Sydney head office was "to get the assets of Ukraine into their own hands". "We were quiet for eight full years … and now we are safe," Zhenya Kasevich said.
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