CANBERRA, Australia - The annual conference of Australia's most well-known megachurch came to an end last Friday with the hope that the theme of social justice would be firmly planted in the delegates as they headed back to their homes.

With more than 26,000 Christians participating in the Hillsong Church conference in Sydney this year, Senior Pastor Brian Houston, hoped the delegates would go return to their local churches feeling, refreshed, inspired and full of vision.

"For 21 years, we have aimed to champion the cause of the local church through this conference," he said. "I believe people will go back to their churches refreshed, inspired and full of vision."

Speakers at last week's conference emphasised the importance of passing the baton in the church. Speaking on Wednesday, Jentezen Franklin, the senior pastor of Free Chapel Worship Centre in the United States, said that the body of Christ is currently in a transition period, which is the most dangerous and vulnerable stage for it. The pastor compared this transition to a relay race.

"One runner has to know exactly when to release and the other has to know exactly when to grab hold and catch on. I believe that is exactly where we are in the body of Christ," Franklin said. "The dangerous thing is if the transfer is not made successfully to the next generation, then the people running are disqualified."

If the transition is done well, Hillsong's Houston said the success of this generation would look small compared to the upcoming generation.

The five-day gathering also took a closer look at what Christians can do to reduce the sufferings that plague the world.

In the opening session, Pastor Gary Skinner, the founder of Watoto Child Care Ministries, said it was a Christian responsibility to take up the task of putting the love of Christ in the heart of a child.

"I believe it's not the responsibility of movie stars or pop idols or the government to care for God's children. It's our responsibility," Skinner said. "While the government might be able to put a little food in their belly and a little bit of education in their brains and a roof over their head and some clothes on their back, there's not a government in the world that can put Christ's love inside the heart of a child and give them dignity and value. Only we can do that. So we must hear God's call and respond in loving and practical ways, and we must do it now."

A cheque was presented to Skinner to help fund his ministry's work in helping children in Africa and more than 1,800 Compassion children were sponsored during the conference, which gathered Christians from across 69 nations and 19 denominations.

The conference concluded with a spectacular worship celebration led by Darlene Zschech, Steve Curtis-Chapman and Israel Houghton.


Christian Today correspondent David Ho in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this article.