Phil Pringle: The Artist Who Built C3 Church Global From a Surf Club

August 23, 2026

Source: Youtube

Philip Andrew Pringle OAM (born May 21, 1952, in Masterton, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian pastor, author, and artist.

He is the founder of C3 Church Global, a Pentecostal church-planting movement that has grown from a dozen people meeting at a Sydney surf club into a network of more than 600 congregations worldwide.

Pringle is known for blending pastoral leadership with a genuine art career, and for mentoring church leaders across Asia-Pacific for more than four decades.

Pringle and his wife, Christine “Chris” Pringle, moved from Christchurch to Sydney in 1980 with almost nothing and started a church with 13 people at Dee Why Surf Club.

That congregation became C3 Church Sydney, and the model they built now spans continents.

In 2020, the couple transitioned from daily leadership of C3 Sydney to the role of Pastors Emeritus, staying involved in global oversight while a new generation leads locally.

Phil Pringle preaching at a C3 Church / Source: Philpringle

Phil Pringle at a Glance


Personal
Full name	Philip Andrew Pringle OAM
Born	May 21, 1952, Masterton, New Zealand
Age	74 (as of 2026)
Nationality	New Zealand-born Australian
Spouse	Christine “Chris” Pringle (m. 1971)
Children	Rebekah, Daniel, Joseph
Ministry
Title	Founder, Pastor Emeritus
Church	C3 Church Global (formerly Christian City Church)
Founded	1980, Dee Why, Sydney
Denomination	Pentecostal / Charismatic
Network size	600+ congregations worldwide
Where he lives	Sydney, Australia (Oxford Falls campus area)
Career
Books	Faith, You the Leader, The Born Identity, and others
Other ventures	Founder, Oxford Falls Grammar School; artist and sculptor
Net worth	~$5 million (est., unverified)
Honors	Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), 1999

Early Life and Family Background

Phil Pringle was born on May 21, 1952, in Masterton, New Zealand, into an upper-middle-class family.

His mother died of brain cancer when he was very young. He grew up in Masterton and attended Wairarapa College, where he met a classmate named Christine, who would later become his wife.

The two connected first through shared classes, then through a shared love of art, music, and drama.

Coming of age in the 1960s, Phil and Chris were swept up in New Zealand’s hippie counterculture.

They grew their hair long, experimented with psychedelics, and studied Eastern philosophy before a dramatic turning point in 1971.

That year, at an Assembly of God church in Sydenham, both experienced what they describe as a genuine conversion to Christianity, and they married on August 8, 1971.

After school, Phil had worked as a garbage collector while studying fine arts, and Chris trained to become a kindergarten teacher.

Ministry Career: From Dee Why Surf Club to a Global Movement

Planting a Church With Almost Nothing

In 1980, Phil and Chris Pringle relocated from Christchurch to Sydney with their young children and a handful of friends, carrying a vision to plant a church.

Their first service was held at Dee Why Surf Club with just 13 people in attendance. They initially called the congregation Christian Centre Northside Church, later renamed Christian City Church, and eventually rebranded globally as C3 Church.

Explosive Growth and Global Expansion

The Sydney congregation grew past 400 members within four years. From there, Pringle carried a vision to plant churches first around Sydney, then across Australia, and eventually around the world.

Today, C3 Church Global counts more than 600 affiliated congregations, making it one of the larger Pentecostal church-planting networks to come out of Australia.

C3 Church Sydney itself now serves more than 5,000 members across three campuses.

Building Institutions Beyond the Pulpit

Pringle didn’t stop at church planting. He founded C3 College to train pastors and creative artists, and its Creative Arts stream has since produced thousands of musicians, worship leaders, songwriters, and filmmakers.

He also founded Oxford Falls Grammar School in 1984, originally named Northside Christian School, which he continues to lead as president.

Early in C3’s history, Pringle also produced a long-running television program, Your Best Life, which aired globally for 40 years.

Global Ministry Ties

Pringle has served as an advisory pastor and long-time mentor to Kong Hee, leader of City Harvest Church in Singapore, and he sits on the board of directors for David Yonggi Cho‘s organization, Church Growth International.

These relationships place Pringle inside a wider network of Asia-Pacific Pentecostal leadership that stretches well beyond Australia’s borders.

Phil Pringle the Artist

Pringle studied fine arts before entering ministry and has remained an active painter and sculptor throughout his life.

He exhibits work in galleries and public venues, and he has been outspoken about the role of the arts inside church life, arguing that creativity belongs at the center of contemporary worship rather than at the margins.

That conviction shaped C3 College’s creative arts programs and continues to inform how the C3 movement approaches music, film, and design.

Personal Life

Phil Pringle has been married to Chris Pringle since 1971, and the couple co-leads C3 Church Global together, a partnership that has spanned more than five decades.

They have three children: Rebekah, Daniel, and Joseph, along with several grandchildren.

Chris is a preacher and author in her own right, known for challenging traditional limits placed on women in church leadership, and she has written about the couple’s loss of a child to miscarriage in her book Jesse, Found in Heaven. The Pringles live in Sydney, near C3’s Oxford Falls campus.

Net Worth and Financial Information

Estimates of Phil Pringle’s net worth are not independently verified and should be read as approximate.

The most commonly cited figure across available sources is around $5 million, tied to decades of ministry leadership, book royalties, and speaking engagements across C3’s global network. No reliable, itemized financial disclosure is publicly available.

Awards and Recognition

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), awarded in 1999 for services to the community.
Recognition as a founding figure in the global C3 church-planting movement.

Interesting Facts

Pringle and his wife started C3 Church with just 13 people at a Sydney surf club.
Before ministry, Pringle worked as a garbage collector while studying fine art.
He remains a practicing painter and sculptor and has exhibited his artwork publicly.
His TV program, Your Best Life, aired for 40 years.
He mentors Kong Hee, leader of City Harvest Church in Singapore.

Timeline of Key Events

1952 — Born in Masterton, New Zealand.
1971 — Converts to Christianity and marries Chris Pringle.
1980 — Moves to Sydney and plants a church at Dee Why Surf Club with 13 people.
1984 — Founds Oxford Falls Grammar School.
1999 — Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.
2020 — Transitions to Pastors Emeritus of C3 Church Sydney.
2026 — Continues global oversight of C3 Church Global’s 600+ congregations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Phil Pringle’s wife?

Phil Pringle is married to Christine “Chris” Pringle, whom he met in high school in New Zealand. They married in 1971 and co-founded C3 Church Global together.

How much is Phil Pringle worth?

Available estimates place his net worth around $5 million, though this figure is unverified and drawn from third-party estimates rather than official disclosure.