About
For over fifteen years, Pastors Russell and Sam Evans and their accomplished and anointed leadership team have been Planetshakers: a church, a movement and a gifted musical ministry. Together they are living up to the promise, and potential, of their name.
It’s a track record built on Planetshakers core belief in God’s infinite ability to transforn lives, a belief brilliantly expressed in their aptly titled new Integrity Music release, #LetsGo. An electrifying live recording captured during a Planetshakers Awakening in their Melbourne, Australia homebase, #LetsGo highlights an inspired and inspiring collection of songs.
It’s a ministry that, from its inception, combined contemporary worship with the timeless power of God’s Word to fulfill the goal embodied in its name. Fifteen years ago, as youth pastors at a church in their native Adelaide, Australia, Russell and his wife Sam first received the call to become Planetshakers. Believing God had summoned them to “empower generations to win generations,” the couple put together a small conference in 1997, drawing 300 people to a series of daytime sessions.
As more events were launched, word of mouth steadily spread and attendance grew, fueled by the unique power of the Planetshakers message. “People came, encountered God, and went back to their communities where they shared their experiences,” recounts Russell. “We would hear stories of churches coming alive after hearing what happened in the lives of their young people at the conferences,” adds Sam. “That’s what Planetshakers wanted to do from the beginning–impact the Church.”
“Church should be a celebration, a place of jubilee,” Russell explains. “Jesus is the fulfillment of jubilee and His church should represent that.”
Planetshakers quickly came to embody that spirit of celebration, in large part through its innovative and engaging musical ministry. “Worship is a tool and a weapon to bring breakthrough to the people of God,” Russell continues. “Praise puts our attention where it belongs. We always want to stir up praise because God inhabits the praise of His people.”
“Praise and worship for Planetshakers is an expression of passion,” Sam concurs. “We encounter God when we worship together.”
The reality of God’s people joined together in praise soon took on an international aspect. Live recordings of the Planetshakers worship band became top selling albums in Australia and songs birthed out of Planetshakers conferences would go on to reach worldwide audiences. Yet music was only one element of the group’s expanding reach. “Planetshakers is more than a worship experience,” says Russell. “It’s a combination of presenting praise and worship in a ‘new school way’, speaking the language of the day, whilst not watering down or losing the presence of God. It’s not a band that will change a life, but one moment in the presence of Jesus will.”
It’s a balanced approach that is regularly modeled at Planetshakers Church in Melbourne. Responding to God’s prompting in 2004, Russell and Sam planted it with a mere dozen members. Today, it is being called the fastest growing church in Australian history, with a congregation of over 12,000, two-thirds of which are between the ages of 18 and 40.
Meanwhile, the Planetshakers global reach continues to grow. Conferences / Awakenings flourish, with tens of thousands attending annually in far flung locations. Demand for the group’s compelling worship music is such that teams are regularly sent as far afield as Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Europe, South Africa and New Zealand.
Russell concludes “Acts 1:8 says that we will receive power. The word ‘power’ means ability, sufficiency, and might. From our encounters with God, we can harness that power to become Planetshakers.
