Australia’s largest Pentecostal denomination suspends Thrive Church leaders Brad and Amy Hagan

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, January 12, 2026

Brad and Amy Hagan, lead pastors of Thrive Church in New South Wales, have been suspended for six months by the Australian Christian Churches following an investigation by the largest Pentecostal organization in Australia into complaints about the couple’s leadership.

The Hagans announced their suspension in a letter to the congregation shared by Hillsong Accountability. The Christian Post reached out to both Thrive Church and the ACC for independent confirmation, but staff at Thrive did not immediately respond, and an automated email from the ACC stated they would be out of the office through Jan. 19. 

“Being asked to step aside is very painful. Formally, this is considered a suspension and this has not been easy for us. However, we choose to submit ourselves to the State Executive (of Australian Christian Churches), trusting that God will use this time for healing, reflection, and growth after what has been a very challenging and emotional season,” the couple told congregants in their letter.

“We continue to believe that God works all things together for good, that His call remains on our lives, and importantly, that He has a strong and fruitful future for Thrive Church,” they added. 

The Australian Christian Churches is the new name for the Assemblies of God in Australia, which was adopted by the nearly 90-year-old denomination in 2007. The ACC has some 1,100 churches with a collective membership of about 4,000.

In their letter to congregants, the Hagans said the ACC, which they described as their “credentialing body,” received several letters of complaint about their leadership in the second half of 2025. The complaints prompted an investigation, which found that the couple "unintentionally" caused emotional harm to their members," the couple said. 

“While they [the ACC] did not find evidence to substantiate the extent of the accusations in the letters, they did determine that, unintentionally, emotional harm has been caused to people during our time as leaders at Thrive Church,” their letter stated.

“We are deeply grieved to know that there are people who have experienced pain during our time as leaders at Thrive. If that is you or someone you know, we want to say that we are deeply sorry. It has never been our desire or intention to cause hurt to anyone. We take these situations very seriously and will do due diligence to process through them.”

The Hagans have two daughters and moved to the Central Coast of Australia in 2013 to lead the contemporary church. They said the suspension comes at a time when they were already planning to take some time off.

“For some time, we have been speaking with our board and elders about taking time away to seek God’s guidance and wisdom about our future, after what has been one of our most difficult years in ministry for many reasons,” they said. “We shared with our leaders late last year that we were taking time off at the beginning of 2026, and since then, the ACC have also asked us to take six months away from ministry and from Thrive Church.”

The couple said they were informed by the ACC that the suspension “‘is not intended to be punitive, but rather protective, restorative, and formative,’ and that it will also allow us and others a safe space for healing, growth, and reflection.”

The church’s board is expected to share more about the suspension during the 10 a.m. service on Jan. 18.

“We look forward to sharing more with you regarding our own journey later in the year as we discern our next steps,” the couple said. “We continue to feel the call of God strongly on our lives and ministry, and we trust Him as He leads us through this next season.”