Our History

The Background and History of the Christian Church in Australia

Christian Church in Australia (CCA) began with the vision of sharing the good news of Jesus with Italian migrants to Australia. More recently, our vision has been broadened to include people from many different cultures and backgrounds. We are committed to reaching out to, understanding and assisting people in need, including people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

CCA began in 1951 as a mission of an Italian Pentecostal movement known as Christian Church of North America (CCNA). Mission has always been a primary emphasis of CCNA. Today, CCNA has affiliated churches and missions in many different countries.

The history of CCNA dates back to 1906 when the Holy Spirit was poured out on a group of Christians in Los Angeles under the leadership of William Seymour. Their numbers quickly multiplied and they needed a bigger meeting place. They moved to ramshackle accommodation in Azusa Street where a powerful Pentecostal revival, commonly known as the Azusa Street Revival, commenced. This revival swept away differences in race, class and gender, as people joined together to praise and worship God in the power of the Holy Spirit.

William Durham was one of the people baptised in the Spirit at Azusa Street in 1907. He carried the Pentecostal message to Chicago, where Luigi Francescone and Pietro Ottolini heard him preach, and then they too were baptised in the Spirit. Soon after, the Spirit of God was poured out on Ottolini’s Italian Evangelical group, and many people were baptised in the Spirit. This was the beginning of the Pentecostal movement among Italians in North America.

The CCNA mission to Australia began in Adelaide, South Australia, with gatherings in the homes of Italian believers. Migration to Australia increased in the 1960s, and so also did the number of Italian believers. Until 1965, various individuals from within the group took care of the believers, but as their numbers increased, CCA asked CCNA for pastoral assistance. CCNA then sent a pastor to Adelaide.

The congregation continued to grow and so did its vision for evangelism among Italo-Australians. Active evangelism led to the establishment of groups of believers in Perth and Brisbane.

To facilitate evangelism among Italo-Australians, CCA was incorporated in 1979. Since then, the fellowship has experienced growth, both in terms of the number of churches established in Australia and the number of people being reached with the gospel.

More recently, the vision of CCA has extended beyond reaching Italo-Australians. CCA is now a multicultural fellowship of churches, incorporating people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. CCA reaches out in mission and evangelism to a diverse range of people with many needs. It has strong links with churches in other parts of the world, which have come into being as a result of its mission activities or which have sought an association with CCA because of its multicultural, Pentecostal and mission ethos.

CCA is an incorporated body with its headquarters in Adelaide, Australia, and is managed and governed by an Executive Board.