Inspire Church, founded as Liverpool Christian Life Centre, is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Assemblies of God in Australia. It is located in Hoxton Park, in the City of Liverpool, in the Greater Western Sydney region, Australia.
| Inspire Church | |
|---|---|
 Service in 2011 | |
 | |
| Country | Australia |
| Associations | Australian Christian Churches |
| Weekly attendance | online |
| Website | inspirechurch |
| History | |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | N/A |
 | |
History
edit
The church was founded in 1982, with Pastors John and Carol McMartin as Liverpool Christian Life Centre (one of several Christian Life Centres).[1][2]
In 2007, the attendance was 4,500 people.[3]
On 31 August 2008 Liverpool Christian Life Centre changed its name to Inspire Church.[citation needed] The church was registered as Inspire Church in January 2010.[4]
In 2012, the attendance was 5,000 people, making Inspire Church one of the largest ACC Churches in Australia at the time. [5]
In late 2020, John McMartin stepped aside from his role after being charged with sexual assault. His son, Brendan McMartin, is the pastor of the church's Wagga Wagga campus with his wife Melissa.[6]
Description
editThe church is located in Hoxton Park, in the City of Liverpool, in the Greater Western Sydney region, Australia. The main building consists of an auditorium which can seat approximately 1,000 people. The senior pastors, chairperson and joint CEOs are Brendan and Melissa McMartin,[7] who were appointed after the NSW Police charged Senior Pastor John McMartin with Assault with an Act of Indecency in November 2020.[8][9]
It is linked to other churches of the same name in Ingleburn, and Wollongong,[10] and is a member of Australian Christian Churches.[11]
Inspire College
editInspire College, (formerly Sydney Training Institute) is an initiative of Inspire Church, located 40 minutes from Sydney CBD.[12] The aim of the institute is to equip leaders for service in the church through an intern program.[13][14] The college is registered with VETAB and its courses are nationally accredited. The colleges longstanding principal is Adam Boyse.[15][16]
Indecent assault allegations
editOn 26 November 2020, police from the Liverpool Area Command of the NSW Police arrested former pastor John McMartin, and charged him with indecent assault.[17] It was alleged that McMartin sexually assaulted a then 19-year old parishioner at his Pleasure Point home in January 2013. McMartin appeared before Liverpool Local Court on 16 December.[18] McMartin faced court again on 27 January 2021 and the case was rescheduled for October 2021. He has pleaded "Not Guilty".[19] In 2014, McMartin had given a deposition[20] and testimony to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse[21] in his role as the NSW State President of the Australian Christian Churches, in relation to the denomination's responses to the paedophilia of ministers.[22]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Morris, Linda (28 June 2007). "Pentecostal revolution in the suburbs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Preachers celebrate 30 years - Liverpool, NSW". Liverpool City Champion. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Linda Morris, Pentecostal revolution in the suburbs, smh.com.au, Australia, 28 June 2007
- ^ "Historical details for ABN 30 140 073 178". ABN Lookup. November 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Liverpoolchampion.com.au, Preachers celebrate 30 years Archived 2 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine, liverpoolchampion.com.au, Australia, September 25, 2012
- ^ Sandeman, John (1 January 2021). "Sydney's Inspire Church Pastor Faces Indecent Assault Charge". Eternity News. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ McMartin, Brendan. "New Election". ACNC. Australian Government. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ ACNC, Board. "Inspire Board". ACNC. Australian Government. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ Police, NSW. "Charge". Judcom. NSW Government. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ "Home". Inspire Church. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "OUR VISION". Inspire Church. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Liverpoolchampion.com.au, Preachers celebrate 30 years Archived 2 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine, liverpoolchampion.com.au, Australia, September 25, 2012
- ^ Asoka, Kaavya (7 May 2014). "Interns". The Guardian. Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ 12 -24 months, Internship (26 June 2017). "Serve". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Boyse, Adam. "Principal". Inspire College. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ Nationally Recognised Training, Australian Skills Quality Authority. "RTO's training and assessment". asqa.gov.au. Australian Government. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Inspire Church head John McMartin in indecent assault case". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Local Court List for December 16th, 2020". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Reddie, Mark (27 January 2021). "TV Pentecostal pastor John McMartin pleads not guilty to indecent assault of teenager". ABC News(Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Statement of John McMartin" (PDF). Child Abuse Royal Commission.
- ^ "Institutions". RCIICSB. Australian Government. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse - document