The Return

Abstract

Abstract This chapter follows those Brazilians who have joined Hillsong Church and College and the Brazilian CJC in Australia on their return home. It shows the difficulties they face in reinserting themselves in their old churches due to different styles of service, church management, and culture. As a consequence, the majority of them leave their old churches and start “church hopping” in search of churches whose aesthetics styles and values are similar to the ones they learned in Australia. Many never find them and remain churchless. Importantly, their experience in Australia gave them a cosmopolitan outlook on life—all of them kept close contact with their peers in Australia, be they pastors, college teachers, fellow congregants, or other students. Hillsong had become so important in their lives that once the church established a campus in São Paulo in 2016, some of them moved from other parts of Brazil to serve at the church.