Their American journey starts with the 2009 Hillsong United Encounter event April 17-18 in Miami and will also include a worship tour in May and June and a final Encounter event in Los Angeles in August.

Produced by Integrity Live Events, Hillsong United Encounter will be held April 17-18 – at the Miami Bank United Center on the University of Miami campus in Coral Cables, Fla. The event features two days of speaker presentations, teaching and concerts. The conference will focus on the subjects of worship and justice and equipping young people to bring both to their local communities.

The Miami Encounter conference, which is designed for pastors, youth leaders, worship leaders, musicians and students, and will feature guest speakers including Hillsong United’s Joel Houston and Hillsong Church’s senior pastor Brian Houston among others. Seminars will demonstrate how young people can transform churches and communities. Some of the breakout sessions will teach the art of worship songwriting; building great worship teams and youth ministry programs; and building the next generation of worshippers.

Of course, the Hillsong United band will provide plenty of music throughout the weekend, leading music at the worship events and ending with a concert on Saturday night.

Pre-registration for the Hillsong United Encounter Miami has already begun online at www.integritylive.com. Until December 31, the registration fee is $69 per person which is 50 percent off the full door registration price. Space will be limited for this event and United’s previous Florida visit in 2007 sold out and included registrants from 43 states.

Details about Hillsong United’s additional U.S. appearances May through August will be announced in the coming months.

Australia’s Hillsong United, which was the Gospel Music Association’s International Impact award-recipient in 2007, is one of the most popular young modern worship bands in the world. The various conferences they have hosted around the world have drawn thousands of young people and their church leaders looking to immerse themselves in worship and gain a better understanding of how to bring a lifestyle of worship to everyday life.

Hillsong United’s latest project, the With Hearts as One DVD, captures the sounds and sights of global worship as United traveled the globe from Rwanda to Capetown, Buenos Aires to Mexico City; Los Angeles to Toronto; London to Budapest; Shanghai to Sydney. The end result is the sound of a generation worshipping God with one voice.

When the DVD released in October, Relevant and Integrity Music promoted a world premiere of With Hearts as One at RELEVANT TV. The premiere of the DVD produced the highest 3 viewership day total in the history of RELEVANT TV. The DVD is the visual companion to the band’s previous With Hearts as One CD which released in April.