Planetshakers
Encyclopedia
Planetshakers is a Christian
youth movement that began as an annual conference and grew into an international ministry and large church in Melbourne
, Australia
. The conference was born out of Paradise Community Church
in Adelaide
, South Australia
by Pastor Russell Evans
. Planetshakers expanded, and in 2004 moved to Melbourne
to begin a church ministry (originally called Melbourne City Church). Planetshakers also has its own bible college which is located in several campuses throughout Australia
.
Planetshakers' stated mission is to "empower a generation to win a generation".
Planetshakers runs annual conferences in several Australian states. The first conference held in Adelaide
in 1997 had 300 delegates, growing to reach 20,000 nation-wide by 2004.
The 2007 conference period saw Perth
, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne as venues, and marking the 11th anniversary. Melbourne, being the primary venue, hosted the conference in Hisense Arena (formerly Vodafone arena), part of Olympic Park
.
The conferences were held in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth in January 2008. Melbourne at Hisense Arena from 2–5 January 2008; Brisbane 7–10 January 2008 at Brisbane Convention Centre; Sydney 9–12 January 2008 at Sydney Olympic Park
in the Sports Centre (formerly State Sports Centre); and finally Perth on 15–18 January at Challenge Stadium
.
The 2009 Planetshakers conference was moved to April, instead of January as in all past years. It was themed 'ONE' as the 4 conferences in the 4 venues were merged to become one major conference in the Hisense Arena from 13 to 16 April 2009.
Conference speakers have in the past included Glen Berteau, Jurgen Matthesius, Rich Wilkerson, Mal Fletcher
, Pat Schazline, Jude Fouquier, Matthew Barnett
, Judah Smith
, Reinhard Bonnke
, Reggie Dabbs, John Bevere
and Chris Hill
.
Growing internationally, Planetshakers now also runs conferences in Malaysia, Singapore
and South Africa
, with a desire to expand to the United States of America. They ministered at Singapore's Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore Expo
's max Pavilion in 2006.
Internationally in 2007, Planetshakers band played at events in Hong Kong
, the United States
, the United Kingdom
, New Zealand
, Malaysia, Singapore
and South Africa
.
Planetshakers also has relationships with Australian Youth Alive
events, which often cross-promotes the conference and college to tens of thousands of young people.
Planetshakers City Church (formerly Melbourne City Church) is a Pentecostal
Christian
church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches
, the Assemblies of God
in Australia. The church started when the Planetshakers band and ministry moved to Melbourne
in 2004, and currently meets in hired auditoriums throughout Central Melbourne. The church is pastored by Russell and Sam Evans and has attendance over 6000, and throughout most of 2005 it ran three services per weekend, commonly approaching capacity. Currently, the church is held at the Dallas Brooks Centre, with four Sunday Services, 9:30, 11:30, 3:30 and 5:30. Only the first three services have a Children's Program, Called "Planet Kids". There is also a Geelong Campus, which runs at The Geelong Performing Arts Center [www.gpac.org.au], at 10:30 AM. This Campus also has a Planetkids Program, at the same time as the service. The church also made use of the Arrow building for baptism services but due to the increased attendance the baptism services have been moved to Richmond AOG Church in Melbourne.
The church's youth ministry
called "PlanetBoom" is led by pastors Ben Prescott, Andy Harrison and Mike 'Rudy' Nikkerud, running Friday nights (7:15pm) during school terms at Collingwood Town Hall or Melbourne High School (check website for details). The youth ministry has become so successful that the Catholic and Anglican churches are looking at adopting Planetshakers' methods.
The church also runs a children's ministry called "Planetkids", led by pastors Paul Orton and Esther Andrews, which is held concurrently with the main church service at 9:30, 11:30 & 3:30. Planetkids runs an annual children's conference at the same time as Planetshakers Conference (Planetshakers Conference has been changed to reach children, youth and adults). Planetshakers has also created a children's resources aimed at reaching children and training leaders, branded '4 Store'.
"planetUNI" is the church's university students ministry overseen by pastor Matt Fielder and comprises local and international students as well as recent graduates being active in the group. In addition to fortnightly meetings (Urban Life groups), a new outreach event will be held once a month on a Friday night aiming to attract university students.
"Urban Life" groups (basically cell group
s) are run fortnightly in homes spread around all parts of Melbourne, offering discipleship and connection with other people outside of Church. They include different age areas, such as kids (held in the Church service each week), teenagers (PlanetBoom), university students (planetUNI), young adults and adults.
There are also various other ministries serving and reaching out to women (Beautiful Woman), men (Mighty Men) and business people (Kingdom Life).
and emphasizes on impartation, not academic learning. They offer a fully accredited course for the Certificate IV in Contemporary Leadership which runs as a year long course. Students can then choose to go on and complete a Diploma version for a second year. The aim of the college is the same as the Planetshakers movement, "empowering a generation, to win a generation". Many well known individuals associated with the Planetshakers conference including Henry Seeley, Russell and Sam Evans, and Martin Steele serve as guest lecturers during the course of the year.
, had fraudulently claimed he was dying of cancer. During this time Guglielmucci received money from supporters who believed his illness was real. Guglielmucci also released the hit song Healer, an anthem of faith for believers who were suffering from cancer. Guglielmucci explained his actions as being a result of a long term addiction to pornography
.
and worship band, a part of Planetshakers's ministry. Their music is a contemporary style of praise and worship tempered with mainstream rock and pop.
The Planetshakers band is the central part of their events. The 2003 Australian Idol
winner Guy Sebastian
was also a part of the Planetshakers band for several years, taking both lead and backup vocal parts on the 2002 and 2003 albums and conferences. Many of the musicians originated from Youth Alive South Australia, which also released CDs. Some of the songs written by current band members for the Youth Alive albums, such as 'Phenomena' and 'God of Miracles' (from Youth Alive Western Australia) have also featured on Planetshakers earlier albums.
In 2004, their CD
Open Up The Gates was nominated for Praise and Worship Album of the Year for the Dove Awards.
Planetshakers announced at their 2008 conference that they would begin to release tracks via subscription to the "Planetshakers Revolution" - an online music/resource distribution system designed to consolidate and build upon different products that they had previously offered. "Revolution" was then discontinued on June 2010, with Planetshakers informing users they planned to move to other mediums to distribute their resources.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
youth movement that began as an annual conference and grew into an international ministry and large church in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The conference was born out of Paradise Community Church
Paradise Community Church
Paradise Community Church is a multi-campus Christian church, located in Paradise, situated in north east Adelaide, South Australia, affiliated with Australian Christian Churches. The church was founded in 1907 by British evangelist Smith Wigglesworth. In 1969, Andrew Evans became its first...
in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
by Pastor Russell Evans
Russell Evans
Russell Evans may refer to:*Russell Evans , English cricketer*Planetshakers, a Christian youth movement created by Pastor Russell Evans*Red Evans, Russell Evans, baseball pitcher...
. Planetshakers expanded, and in 2004 moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to begin a church ministry (originally called Melbourne City Church). Planetshakers also has its own bible college which is located in several campuses throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Planetshakers' stated mission is to "empower a generation to win a generation".
Conferences
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1997 had 300 delegates, growing to reach 20,000 nation-wide by 2004.
The 2007 conference period saw Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne as venues, and marking the 11th anniversary. Melbourne, being the primary venue, hosted the conference in Hisense Arena (formerly Vodafone arena), part of Olympic Park
Olympic Park, Melbourne
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct is a series of sports venues and stadia, located in Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. The precinct is situated around 3 km east of the Melbourne city centre, between the suburbs of East Melbourne and Richmond, and close to the north-eastern bank of...
.
The conferences were held in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth in January 2008. Melbourne at Hisense Arena from 2–5 January 2008; Brisbane 7–10 January 2008 at Brisbane Convention Centre; Sydney 9–12 January 2008 at Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Olympic Park is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
in the Sports Centre (formerly State Sports Centre); and finally Perth on 15–18 January at Challenge Stadium
Challenge Stadium
Challenge Stadium is a sports complex in the suburb of Mount Claremont, west of Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It was opened in 1986 and is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport. The main indoor arena holds 4,500 people...
.
The 2009 Planetshakers conference was moved to April, instead of January as in all past years. It was themed 'ONE' as the 4 conferences in the 4 venues were merged to become one major conference in the Hisense Arena from 13 to 16 April 2009.
Conference speakers have in the past included Glen Berteau, Jurgen Matthesius, Rich Wilkerson, Mal Fletcher
Mal Fletcher
Mal Fletcher is a media social futurist and commentator, keynote speaker, author, business leadership consultant and broadcaster currently based in London...
, Pat Schazline, Jude Fouquier, Matthew Barnett
Matthew Barnett
Matthew Barnett is co-founder of the Dream Center and senior pastor of the Angelus Temple, the central house of worship of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California.-Dream Center:...
, Judah Smith
Judah Smith (pastor)
Judah Smith is the Lead Pastor of The City Church in Seattle, Washington. He is also an author and an internationally recognized speaker.-Early life:...
, Reinhard Bonnke
Reinhard Bonnke
Reinhard Bonnke is a German charismatic Christian evangelist, principally known for his Great Gospel Crusades throughout the Continent of Africa.-Early life:...
, Reggie Dabbs, John Bevere
John Bevere
John Bevere is an Evangelist, Bible Teacher and best-selling author originating from Colorado. Although he moves in the same circles as some Word of Faith teachers, claims are that his message is very different. His ministry, Messenger International, has confirmed that he is not a part of the...
and Chris Hill
Chris Hill
Chris Hill is a British disc jockey. He worked at the club Lacy Lady in Ilford, as well as at the Goldmine Canvey Island. He was the head of the 'Soul Mafia' in London and the South East of England into the early 1980s. In 1975 he released a "break-in" novelty record, in the style of Dickie...
.
Growing internationally, Planetshakers now also runs conferences in Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, with a desire to expand to the United States of America. They ministered at Singapore's Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore Expo
Singapore Expo
The Singapore EXPO is the largest convention and exhibition venue in Singapore with over 100,000 square metres of column-free, indoor space spread over 10 halls...
's max Pavilion in 2006.
Internationally in 2007, Planetshakers band played at events in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Planetshakers also has relationships with Australian Youth Alive
Youth Alive
Youth Alive is a not-for-profit multi-denominational Christian organisation dedicated to reaching the youth of Australia with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is run on a state-based structure with offices in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia...
events, which often cross-promotes the conference and college to tens of thousands of young people.
City Church
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches
Australian Christian Churches
Australian Christian Churches , also known as Assemblies of God in Australia , is a Pentecostal Christian denomination and the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world...
, the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
in Australia. The church started when the Planetshakers band and ministry moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 2004, and currently meets in hired auditoriums throughout Central Melbourne. The church is pastored by Russell and Sam Evans and has attendance over 6000, and throughout most of 2005 it ran three services per weekend, commonly approaching capacity. Currently, the church is held at the Dallas Brooks Centre, with four Sunday Services, 9:30, 11:30, 3:30 and 5:30. Only the first three services have a Children's Program, Called "Planet Kids". There is also a Geelong Campus, which runs at The Geelong Performing Arts Center [www.gpac.org.au], at 10:30 AM. This Campus also has a Planetkids Program, at the same time as the service. The church also made use of the Arrow building for baptism services but due to the increased attendance the baptism services have been moved to Richmond AOG Church in Melbourne.
The church's youth ministry
Youth ministry
Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as Youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry and is the way in which a faith group, or other religious organization involves and engages with the young people who attend its place of worship, or live in its community...
called "PlanetBoom" is led by pastors Ben Prescott, Andy Harrison and Mike 'Rudy' Nikkerud, running Friday nights (7:15pm) during school terms at Collingwood Town Hall or Melbourne High School (check website for details). The youth ministry has become so successful that the Catholic and Anglican churches are looking at adopting Planetshakers' methods.
The church also runs a children's ministry called "Planetkids", led by pastors Paul Orton and Esther Andrews, which is held concurrently with the main church service at 9:30, 11:30 & 3:30. Planetkids runs an annual children's conference at the same time as Planetshakers Conference (Planetshakers Conference has been changed to reach children, youth and adults). Planetshakers has also created a children's resources aimed at reaching children and training leaders, branded '4 Store'.
"planetUNI" is the church's university students ministry overseen by pastor Matt Fielder and comprises local and international students as well as recent graduates being active in the group. In addition to fortnightly meetings (Urban Life groups), a new outreach event will be held once a month on a Friday night aiming to attract university students.
"Urban Life" groups (basically cell group
Cell group
The cell group is a form of church organization that is used in some Christian churches. Cell groups are generally intended to teach the Bible and personalize Christian fellowship. They are always used in cell churches, but also occur in parachurch organizations and other interdenominational...
s) are run fortnightly in homes spread around all parts of Melbourne, offering discipleship and connection with other people outside of Church. They include different age areas, such as kids (held in the Church service each week), teenagers (PlanetBoom), university students (planetUNI), young adults and adults.
There are also various other ministries serving and reaching out to women (Beautiful Woman), men (Mighty Men) and business people (Kingdom Life).
College
Planetshakers Ministries have set up a bible school named, Planetshakers College. There are several campuses running in most major Australian states. In Perth (WA), Brisbane (QLD) and Melbourne (VIC). The college is affiliated with Southern Cross CollegeSouthern Cross College
Alphacrucis is a Christian tertiary college and is the official ministry training college of Australian Christian Churches, the Assemblies of God in Australia. The College has several campuses however the main campus is in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia...
and emphasizes on impartation, not academic learning. They offer a fully accredited course for the Certificate IV in Contemporary Leadership which runs as a year long course. Students can then choose to go on and complete a Diploma version for a second year. The aim of the college is the same as the Planetshakers movement, "empowering a generation, to win a generation". Many well known individuals associated with the Planetshakers conference including Henry Seeley, Russell and Sam Evans, and Martin Steele serve as guest lecturers during the course of the year.
Controversy
It was reported in 2008 that former bass player Michael GuglielmucciMichael Guglielmucci
Michael Guglielmucci, born 1978, is a Christian pastor and Christian Rock songwriter and musician, former bass player of the Planetshakers band. His co-compositions appeared the Planetshakers album "This Is Our God", and he was the sole songwriter of the hit song "Healer".-Controversy:In September...
, had fraudulently claimed he was dying of cancer. During this time Guglielmucci received money from supporters who believed his illness was real. Guglielmucci also released the hit song Healer, an anthem of faith for believers who were suffering from cancer. Guglielmucci explained his actions as being a result of a long term addiction to pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
.
Music
The Planetshakers band is an Australian rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and worship band, a part of Planetshakers's ministry. Their music is a contemporary style of praise and worship tempered with mainstream rock and pop.
The Planetshakers band is the central part of their events. The 2003 Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
winner Guy Sebastian
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...
was also a part of the Planetshakers band for several years, taking both lead and backup vocal parts on the 2002 and 2003 albums and conferences. Many of the musicians originated from Youth Alive South Australia, which also released CDs. Some of the songs written by current band members for the Youth Alive albums, such as 'Phenomena' and 'God of Miracles' (from Youth Alive Western Australia) have also featured on Planetshakers earlier albums.
In 2004, their CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
Open Up The Gates was nominated for Praise and Worship Album of the Year for the Dove Awards.
Planetshakers announced at their 2008 conference that they would begin to release tracks via subscription to the "Planetshakers Revolution" - an online music/resource distribution system designed to consolidate and build upon different products that they had previously offered. "Revolution" was then discontinued on June 2010, with Planetshakers informing users they planned to move to other mediums to distribute their resources.
Discography
- When the Planet Rocked (2000) Recorded live at conference.
- So Amazing (2001) Recorded live at conference.
- Phenomena (2001) Compilation. (International release - live recording)
- Reflector (2002) Recorded live at conference.
- Open Up The Gates (2002) Studio recording.
- My King (2003) Recorded live at conference.
- Rain Down (2003) Studio recording.
- All That I Want (2004) Recorded live at conference.
- Always and Forever (2004) Studio recording.
- Evermore (2005) Recorded live at conference.
- Decade: Lift Up Your Eyes (2005) Special 10th Anniversary Compilation.
- Arise (2006) Studio Recording.
- Pick It Up (2006) Recorded live at the 10th anniversary conference.
- Praise Him (2006) Compilation.
- Worship Him (2006) Compilation.
- Never Stop (2007) Studio recording
- Saviour of the World (2007) Recorded live at conference.
- Free (2008) Recorded live at Planetshakers City Church.
- All for Love (2008) Recorded live at conference.
- Beautiful Saviour (2008) Recorded live at Planetshakers City Church.
- Deeper (2009) Recorded live at Planetshakers City Church.
- One (2009) Recorded live at conference.
- Even Greater (2010) Recorded Live at Planetshakers City Church
- Nothing Is Impossible (2011) Studio Album - DVD Recorded Live at Planetshakers Conference 2010
- Supernatural (2012) Recorded live at conference.
News Articles
- Heart Cry of a Generation as Young Christians Jump for Jesus - article in the Sydney Morning Herald
- Mosh pit crowd jumping for Jesus - article in The Age
- The Idol Edge - article in The Age
- Praise pit to faith - Transcript from feature in the 7:30 Report (Current affairs program on the ABC channel)
- Young believers pray and sway to a new beat - article in The Age