A Cult in Coronado? Part One
Their leader calls his enemies liars and idiots, demonic and vile, even satanic murderers... all in the name of God.
This story starts in the early 1980s in Australia, with the emergence of two “prosperity gospel” churches: Hillsong and “C3.” Both were based on the eccentric practice of speaking in tongues, promising miracles, and performing exorcisms, blended with new-age light shows, rock music, and flashy sermons designed to appeal to upscale audiences.
The “prosperity pitch” of these churches is that the more money you give to them, the more God gives you in terms of miracles, blessings, and financial abundance.
But it seems the churches themselves enjoyed the real prosperity. Hillsong and “C3” would soon be raking in tens of millions of dollars annually in tax-free donations from their flocks and creating global megachurch empires.
Then came the revelations…
Opprobrium
Hillsong Church was noted for attracting superstars, including the likes of Justin Bieber, Bono, Kanye West, and several Kardashian family members.
But behind the scenes, all was not well.
After years of investigations and coverups, Hillsong founder Brian Houston was criminally charged, in 2021, for concealing that his father, Frank, also an evangelical preacher and founder of the original church that became Hillsong, had sexually abused a young boy. Houston would ultimately acknowledge in court that his father was a serial pedophile, abusing several boys over numerous years.
Also in 2021, Hillsong’s New York branch would be exposed for “multiple incidents of consensual or non-consensual sexual interaction between church leaders and congregants, staff, and volunteers…”
Brian Houston, whose church emphasizes chastity and abstinence, would subsequently step down from the church after news emerged of his own indiscretions with women outside of his marriage.
Although Hillsong continues to have a global presence, several of its churches closed in the aftermath of the scandals and the release last year of the documentary series, “Hillsong, a Megachurch Exposed” on Discovery+.
“C3”, the other Australia-based “prosperity” megachurch that took in millions, founded by former garbage collector Phil Pringle, also became embroiled in sex scandals and faced its own exposés.
Along with sexual abuse, critics argue that Hillsong and “C3” were cults that sought to brainwash their flocks, fleece their pockets, exploit them for free labor, and convince them that their obeisance was in service to God.
This brings us to Jurgen and Leanne Matthesius.
The couple reportedly met when Jurgen was a “youth pastor” at Hillsong and Leanne was an underaged girl attending his talks.
Both would graduate from Hillsong Church College, which teaches “pastoral leadership, worship music, television and media, dance and production.” You might call this an education in razzle-dazzle for your audience, beckoning them into your fold, then beseeching them to tithe significant portions of their income to your “church.”
Along with their relationship with Hillsong, Jurgen and Leanne Matthesius served as Regional Directors for C3 Americas. In 2005, they were directed to move to San Diego and establish a new branch of the church: C3 San Diego.
They promoted their ministry as fostering “a culture and atmosphere of faith, hope, and love.” With the tried and true razzle-dazzle they, too, would soon be raking in tax-free millions from their own followers.
In January, 2020, during the scandals, C3 San Diego was rebranded as Awaken Church.
Along with its hipster style and relentless calls for donations, Awaken, which now boasts five San Diego campuses, has another more insidious aspect to it its “ministry.” It is a hotbed of vituperative extremism, with Jurgen Matthesius waging political crusades from the pulpit.
“Vaccine denialism and political diatribes aren’t a bug of Matthesius’ sermons, but an integral feature. Talk of rampant election fraud, globalist cabals and genocidal elites are increasingly common in his sermons and in his social media posts.” Voice of San Diego investigative reporter Jakob McWhinney
Calling himself “Jurgmeister,” Matthesius, lashes out on the social media platform GETTR, a right wing alternative to Twitter and Instagram, the more mainstream platforms from which he was suspended.
Remember, these are words from a person who calls himself a pastor and whose “church” claims to have “a culture and atmosphere of faith, hope, and love…”
The Coronado Connection
Awaken devotees are now seeking to establish a branch of their church in Coronado, bringing their radical politics fully into our community.
This includes inviting men into Awaken’s “Emerge” program, which holds annual conferences that, from publicly available videos, look more like paramilitary trainings than religious gatherings.
Tracking this effort to infiltrate Coronado, in future blog posts I’ll bring you more on the cultish aspects of Awaken Church, its extremist agenda, and how our community is likely to be adversely impacted.
Meanwhile, I’ll close by sharing this chilling video from one of Awaken’s annual “Emerge” conference promos. It speaks for itself.
Resources:
C3 Church Expose by 9 News Australia
C3’s History of Sex Scandals Revealed
Voice of San Diego Expose on Awaken Church
Hillsong: Once a Leader in Christian Cool, Loses Footing in America: NYT
Founder of Australia’s Hillsong Church Resigns Amid Scandals: NYT