Lakewood Church
Rendering of the Lakewood International Center
Lakewood Church is the largest evangelical church in America. The church is located in Houston, Texas, USA, and has an average congregation of approximately 30,000 people. The congregation has grown so large, that the church has recently begun renovating the sports arena formerly known as Compaq Center (former home of the NBA Houston Rockets) to be its new home in early 2005.
Joel Osteen is the current pastor of the church. He became pastor in 1999 after his father, John, the founding pastor of the church passed away. Church services are televised and are aired weekly in over 140 countries. In the United States alone, the program reaches a potential audience of over 225 million.
Beginning in July 2004, Joel Osteen Ministries and Lakewood Church began traveling to cities across America putting on "An Evening With Joel Osteen". Tens of thousands have gathered for these events which are very similar to Lakewood's Sunday morning worship services which feature upbeat worship lead by Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, time of encouragement from Dodie Osteen and Joel's wife Victoria, and a sermon from Pastor Joel.
See also: megachurch
External links
- Lakewood Church
- Joel Osteen Ministries
- Joel Osteen Article Article about Joel Osteen and the history of Lakewood Church.