Hillsong United doesn’t have backup singers. It has worship leaders.

Its concerts are more about the message than the music.

“We’re bringing church to the people,” said Taya Smith, a worship leader with the Australian group, which headlines this year’s Winter Jam, the $10 Christian music mega-event that stops at the Spokane Arena today.

Originally known as Hillsong Live, the band was born from the youth ministry at Hillsong Church in Sydney. The church founded the annual Hillsong Conference in the late 1980s. Over the years, Hillsong United’s recording and touring band began composing original songs for its own performances and for the other Hillsong Church worship teams that perform at weekly services. It gained a strong following in the United States.

Hillsong United was the first Christian artist to sell out Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Its album “Zion” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian albums chart when it was released last year and has been on the chart for 72 weeks. It remains in the top 10.

While the band has taken to playing traditional concert venues, its performances remains true to the nature of its church services, Smith says.

“That’s what we do on a Sunday morning. That’s what we do on a Friday night,” she says.

Hillsong is on one of the best-selling tours – of any genre – in the world. Winter Jam sold a half-million tickets last year, putting it in the top 20 worldwide for ticket sales, according to Pollstar Magazine. In February, more than 30,000 fans showed up for a single date: The inaugural Winter Jam Dome Spectacular at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.

Winter Jam also puts Hillsong among contemporary Christian music’s most popular artists. This year’s tour includes Grammy-nominated singer/ songwriter Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, Colton Dixon, Disciple, Trip Lee, Everfound, About A Mile and Veridia.

More than that, it allows Hillsong United to bring its message to an audience that might be put off by going to “church.”

“But they will go to a concert,” Smith says. “It’s making the gospel so accessible for people.”