Hillsong Worship to present concert

A couple of years ago, modern praise and worship group Hillsong United packed arenas on its multicity tour across the United States.

Included in those sold-out venues was Sprint Center in the Power and Light District of downtown Kansas City, Mo.

A slightly different, more intimate experience awaits area residents this coming week, when Hillsong Worship presents its "There is More" tour at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland, 1228 Main St. in Kansas City, Mo.

The event will feature music from Hillsong Worship, along with a message by pastor Brian Houston, Hillsong's lead pastor, from Sydney, Australia.

Alex Pappas, a worship leader and songwriter with Hillsong music, said Hillsong Worship was on tour in the spring, primarily in the eastern U.S.

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The fall tour, he said, will cover a good part of the western portion of the U.S. in about four weeks.

Speaking by phone recently from his home in Sydney, Pappas said Hillsong Worship musicians come from several of the Hillsong groups, including Hillsong United and Hillsong Young and Free, for which he serves as a worship leader and songwriter.

"United puts on amazing concerts and they're absolutely still worship nights," Pappas said of the wildly popular group. "This is Hillsong Worship. It's the greater representation of worship in our church.

"There's just something really honest and intimate about these nights, and we're really excited for people to come."

With pastor Houston joining the musicians for the evening, Pappas said, "it feels like we're going to church on the road."

Under Houston's leadership, Hillsong Church in Sydney has more than 30,000 members and has launched satellite campuses around the world, including in several major U.S. cities.

Houston also is executive director of Hillsong Music, which over the past couple of decades has produced dozens of worship standards, such as "Oceans," "What a Beautiful Name," "Who You Say I Am," "Shout to the Lord" and "Mighty to Save," among others.

Houston, 64, has been a fixture for nearly two decades on Christian television outlets, such as the Trinity Broadcasting Network in the U.S. and around the world. The Hillsong Channel, available in the U.S. and Australia, delivers music and messages from the Sydney church to the masses.

With a heavy Australian accent, Houston concludes many of his television broadcasts by saying, "And remember, the best is yet to come."

A big part of the Hillsong Worship tour centers around Houston's latest book, titled "There is More," released earlier this year.

"If you haven't read it," Pappas said, "it really is important and challenging."

Pappas, who serves as a campus worship pastor at Hillsong Church, said many of Houston's sermons the past year have centered on the theme "There is More," a hope-filled message that leads people into the future with excitement and expectancy.

Pappas said he believes that the Hillsong Worship concerts will be "a marker" for people in their lives as Houston helps lead them into looking for great things from God in the future.

"That's part of the beauty of our church — he's always seeing what's ahead," Pappas said of Houston. "He's always driven us and pushed us toward that. All of our lives have grown due to that leadership."

Though the exact lineup for Hillsong Worship wasn't available for the Kansas City date in mid-September, when the interview with Pappas was conducted, some familiar faces are expected to be on hand for all or part of the fall tour, including Hillsong stalwarts David Ware, Reuben Moore, Brook Fraser Ligertwood, Taya Smith-Gaukrodger and Jad Gillies.

Tickets cost $32 for general admission, $28 for groups of 10 or more and $49 for premium seating.

For information, call (855) 484-1991 or (888) 484-1991, or visit www.premierproductions.com.