This list of the largest evangelical megachurches contains evangelical Christian megachurches by weekly attendance. Large churches from other denominations, like Catholicism, are not included as they are not deemed to belong to the megachurch phenomenon which by definition is part of Protestantism. The list is not exhaustive, there are large annual changes, and there are difficulties to compare the churches as different methods to count can be used.
The term megachurch is used for churches with regular attendance of 2,000 people. When it has more than 10,000 people who gather together, the term gigachurch is sometimes used. [1] [2] [3]
Outreach Magazine is a magazine which publishes annually a list of evangelical Christian megachurches in USA. [4]
The Leadership Network contains a directory of all Christian megachurches of the world (excluding Canada and USA). [5] This global list has over 270 megachurches. The Hartford Institute has compiled directories in Canada and the USA. The US list has more than 1,668 megachurches [6] [7] and the Canadian list 22. [8]
The numbers reported are not accurate by any means, as attendance and membership may be defined very differently. [9] Attendance may include people that are not legally members of the church, not baptised, non-believers, children, and may even belong to other churches. Some churches include their, sometimes loosely, affiliated churches in other places and even people that attend by electronic media. As many have several services on one day, there may be some overlap, with people attending more than one service. The exact number of people is seldom counted,[ citation needed ] thus estimation errors can occur. There is an obvious psychological boost from reporting growing numbers, "success", for enhanced credibility and motivation to support the work. The megachurches may quite be different from traditional evangelical congregations where clear membership records are maintained, to define who has legal right to vote in the church assembly, who can be appointed to public offices and who belongs to the flock under direct pastoral care, and the pastor can often be replaced. The megachurches are often formed around a strong leader that stays in charge for decades, it is often like his "own personal enterprise", many times with limited economic transparency, a tendency that has been questioned in various countries. [10] [11] [12] In notable cases the headship has been passed on from father to son, like in Lakewood Church. Many megachurches have had an affiliation to a denomination, but have become independent, thus outside the denominational supervision that is common for non-independent congregations. Thus, in cases of irregularities, a pastor may continue without disciplinary measures, due to their sheer power, and any disappointed members may leave but new people keep coming in, with reduced effect on attendance. [13]
Hence, due to inaccuracies, the same church can sometimes be reported to have attendance and membership counts that differ 5–10 times, depending on how reporting is done and who is doing it, e.g. Yoido Full Gospel Church can sometimes be mentioned with attendance numbers over 800,000. [14]
The list below is of the largest Evangelical megachurches with weekly attendance of more than 30,000 people.
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Protestant, and particularly Evangelical, although the word denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church that draws 2,000 or more people in a weekend.
Yoido Full Gospel Church is a Pentecostal church affiliated with the Assemblies of God on Yeouido in Seoul, South Korea. With about 480,000 members, it is the largest Pentecostal Christian congregation in South Korea. Founded by David Yonggi Cho and Choi Ja-shil in 1958, the church is presently led by Young Hoon Lee. The church has several satellite locations throughout the city of Seoul.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Holiness Pentecostal megachurch and denomination in Lagos, Nigeria.
Saddleback Church is an Evangelical Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Lake Forest, California. It is the largest church in California, and one of the largest in the United States of America. The church has several campuses in California and around the world. Weekly church attendance was 30,000 people in 2023. Its senior pastor is Andy Wood and his wife, Stacie Wood, is a teaching pastor.
Life.Church is an evangelical Christian multi-site megachurch based in Edmond, Oklahoma, United States of America. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church. Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. Weekly church attendance was 85,000 people in 2018. The church is known for its YouVersion ministry, which publishes the Bible App.
A multi-site church is a specific church congregation which holds services at multiple geographical locations, either within a specific metropolitan area or, increasingly, several such areas.
Misión Cristiana Elim Internacional is a pentecostal megachurch and a worldwide organization of churches based in San Salvador, El Salvador. The senior pastor of this community is Mario Vega since 1997. In 2015, the attendance is more than 80,000 people only in San Salvador.
McLean Bible Church is a non-denominational evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Vienna, Virginia. It has several locations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
North Point Community Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. North Point has an attendance of 23,000 people in eight locations in the north metro Atlanta area. The senior pastor Andy Stanley serves as the church's lead pastor and, in turn, leads the North Point Community Church staff.
Elevation Church is an Evangelical non-denominational multi-site megachurch based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Weekly church attendance was 14,000 people in 2023. Elevation has 20 locations. Its senior pastors are Steven Furtick and Holly Furtick.
Misión Carismática Internacional is an evangelical megachurch, in Bogotá, Colombia, its part of the neo-charismatic movement. It operates under a pyramidal and cellular model.
The Metropolitan Bible Church, is an evangelical megachurch located in the Nepean neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, affiliated with Associated Gospel Churches of Canada.
Harvest Bible Chapel is an evangelical Christian megachurch in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1988, it has grown to seven campuses in the Chicago metropolitan area. In 2008, the church was listed by Outreach magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in America. In January 2019, it was listed as one of the 50 largest churches in the United States. The church's current ministries include Vertical Worship and Harvest Christian Academy.
Lagoinha Baptist Church is a charismatic Evangelical Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais in Brazil. Márcio Valadão is the current senior pastor of the church. The church became known through one of its ministries, the worship ministry Diante do Trono, which is one of the world's largest ministries of praise, worship and mission. Some of the main services are broadcast live via Internet and also via their own TV and radio station: Rede Super. It is affiliated with the Convenção Batista Nacional and Baptist World Alliance.
Walnut Hill Community Church is a nondenominational, evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Bethel, Connecticut.
Suwon Central Baptist Church is an Evangelical Christian Baptist megachurch located in Suwon, South Korea, affiliated with the Korea Baptist Convention. At present, the senior pastor is Myung Jin Ko.
Warren Bird is an American writer and researcher of megachurches. He has authored or co-authored 34 books on church leadership, including Emotionally Healthy Church and Prepare Your Church for the Future, which have both achieved the bestseller status of 100,000 or more units in print. He has also overseen more than 25 research reports on issues affecting large and growing churches. His research on megachurches is regularly cited in mainstream and religious media. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Research and Equipping for the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).
Eagle Brook Church is a Baptist megachurch with multiple locations, based in Centerville, Minnesota. It is affiliated with Converge. Weekly church attendance was 20,923 people in 2023. The senior pastor is Jason Strand.
