Peter and Laura Toganivalu, who are the son-in-law and daughter, respectively, of Brian and Bobbie Houston, have announced they are in the beginning stages of starting a new church in Sydney, Australia.
The couple shared a video of their announcement on Instagram. Brian commented, “I’M IN. SEE YOU THERE!!”
Brian, the founder and former global senior pastor of Hillsong Church, was recently found not guilty of covering up his father’s sexual abuse. Brian resigned from his position at Hillsong Church in March 2022 after he was placed on a disciplinary sabbatical for substance abuse issues and inappropriate behavior toward women.
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Bobbie also commented, saying, “Watched again. So so proud of you! Cheers, cheers and more cheers!!! 🎉🎉🎉.” She then left a follow up comment: “Thrilled and excited.”
The Toganivalus served as Hillsong Church’s global pastors of Hillsong Young & Free. They announced their resignations from Hillsong earlier this year.
Peter said that he and Laura “feel on our heart that we want to pioneer a church in Sydney, Australia.”
“I want to stand on the shoulders of the giants that have gone before us and step into this new way of pioneering whatever that’s going to look like,” Peter said, adding that God is speaking to them through many books and booklets “about the type of community and the sort of place and environment we want to create for people.”
RELATED: Brian Houston Found Not Guilty of Covering Up His Father’s Child Sex Abuse
Laura described herself as having “roots and wings,” a phrase she said was conveyed to her and Peter by a Hillsong Church “key staff” person when they resigned. “We have these roots that run deep and they run wide, but we also have wings that are launching us into the future. And I think that’s just the most beautiful picture of where we’re at.”
“We’re excited to create a church that is a loving community to grow together in the face of Christ,” Laura said, because “there are so many people who are yet to hear, who are yet to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior…Our assignment here on earth is to tell the world about Jesus, and I’m so looking forward to doing that.”
