Bobbie Houston
With a contagious zest for life, Bobbie passionately believes in the potential of all people and is devoted to the Cause of Christ. Her and Brian’s all consuming desire is to place value on humanity. To that end they labor to see healthy men, women and youth emerge across the landscape of the Church.
Bobbie’s warm personality, fresh vitality, down-to-earth good humor and genuine love for God and His Word have helped her connect with countless people across the planet.
She is a wife, mother, friend, pastor, creative visionary, communicator, author, role model and mentor. Her life reflects the message that she teaches – that people have incredible God-given potential waiting to be unleashed. It is this message that has defined her life.
Bobbie has a desire to see value placed on womanhood, a passion that underpins the annual Colour Your World Women's Conference, which she and the Hillsong team host in Sydney, London and Kiev annually. Since 1997, Colour, has been bringing a message of value, worth and dignity to women from around the world, encouraging and inspiring them to be all God has created them to be. Colour has also been a catalyst for mobilising thousands of women, moved with compassion and a heart for justice, to help poor and marginalised children and women in developing nations.
Bobbie was born in New Zealand into a loving and tight-knit family. Her father was Tongan and her mother was of Scottish descent. At 15, Bobbie walked into a church service being held at Auckland Town Hall where she made a decision to follow Jesus. She’s never looked back!
When she was almost 17, she met Brian on Papamoa Beach in New Zealand during a Christian convention. They were married in 1977.
In 1978, they moved to Sydney from New Zealand, and started Hills Christian Life Centre in a school hall in Baulkham Hills in 1983. Today it is Hillsong Church, which comprises two major worship centers (Baulkham Hills, Waterloo, and the Southwest Campus of Macarthur), plus a citywide network of connect groups, extension services across the city, and growing congregations in London, Kiev, Cape Town, Paris, Stockholm and Moscow.
Brian and Bobbie and their three grown children – Joel, Ben & Laura- all live in Sydney, Australia. Joel is a gifted musician and songwriter who is the Creative Director of Hillsong Church. Ben is married to Lucille and together they are pastors of Hillsong's Northern Beaches Extension Service. Their youngest, Laura, is married to Peter and works for the church as the Head of Marketing and Creative Design. In 2008, Ben and Lucille welcomed their first daughter and the Houstons first granddaughter, Savannah Winter, into the family.
