All of them?
Posted on 09/01/2006 7:02:04 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Lakewood Church in Houston is the fastest-growing U.S. church, according to Outreach Magazine's 2006 church growth study.
In 2005, Lakewood, led by Joel Osteen, gained a total of 12,000 members. The annual report listed the top 100 fastest growing churches in America, including 52 new churches and 48 returning from last year's list.
Texas was the most represented state with 19 churches featured in the top 100. Lakewood jumped from the third to the top spot this year and was followed by Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas which gained 5,018 people in the past year. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga.; Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, Ill.; and Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla., were placed in the top five, respectively. Second to Texas were California, Florida and Georgia, each having eight churches represented.
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., with bestselling author Rick Warren took a plunge down from number five to number thirty-nine. New membership gains in the past year dropped by nearly 1,500 people to 1,149. Willow Creek Community Church, the most influential church in America, according to The Church Report, rose from the 30th rank to the eighth with a gain of 2,900 in 2005. The Potter's House with Bishop T.D. Jakes was listed at number 25. The Dallas megachurch did not place in the top 100 last year.
Churches from 30 different states were represented as the fastest-growing churches in the nation this year, many of which were Southern Baptist (27). Other denominations represented were the Independent, Independent charismatic, Christian Church/Churches of Christ and Assemblies of God churches.
The report noted that 40 churches appear on both the top 100 largest and fastest-growing lists. Also, the majority of the churches were white, followed by African America, multi-ethnic and Asian (Korean).
On another note, one out of ten of the 1,000-plus U.S. megachurches are less than 10 years old.
Outreach's annual report uses self-reported data. The reports are provided by Dr. John N. Vaughan, president and founder of Church Growth Today, who specializes in research related to megachurches both domestically and globally.
For a complete list, visit www.outreachmagazine.com.
Second Baptist, here in Houston, is up to FIVE campuses now.
At MY church, the pastors work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Or, you can get some well meaning soul for whom it's more about their need to help you than it is whether you are ultimately helped or not.
Then there's the trap of asking for help and being told you need to get busy and help somebody else. Only later do you realize sometimes you need to minister, sometimes to receive it.
I don't know about the globe thing, cuz I don't watch Joel any more, but his Joel Osteen Ministries logo on the outside has crescents in it.
Jesus Malls. One of the earlier posters admitted it, you never have to go anywhere else.
He doesn't have a congregation, he has an audience.
"Jesus saves at the Jesus Mall. You can too!"
All of them?
And sometimes that person IS your pastor ....
Listen, I'm not here to argue with you, and I don't go to a mega church, and you can get bad/or no ministering to at all kinds of churches.
I think we just need to plug into Jesus, read the Word, pray pray pray, and listen to the HOly Spirit, and be obedient....
I've disregarded 'advise' before because of a check in my spirit, and I've received awesome words from people at the most unique times.
Walk your own walk, don't depend on others, seek God first, He'll lead ya right where you're supposed to be.
God Bless
Why in the world would you call yourself ichabod????
Ichabod: "The Glory of the Lord Hath Gone Out Of Israel"
I chose it in a moment of extreme discouragement about Israel.
That's a relief. I knew what Ichabod meant, and I thought that you had chosen that for you personally. That's what happens when you think!
Unfortunately, "growth" in the spiritual life is not measured by butts on seats. It's measured by the fruit which the Word produces in the daily lives of its listeners.
The true Gospel is spread in obscurity one person at a time, away from the glare of TV lights and instigated by example.
Thanks for asking... ;o)
Second is the best. Scriptural teaching at its finest.
Red meat every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening. Ok....so I go to church alot.
"The thing that concerns me about this is you still have problems getting one on one pastoral care."
At my Giga church I know the head guy, he knows me and my wife. Most large churches have many pastors who give pastoral care. I know a dozen pastors from my church and they know me, my phone number, my email address and what ministries I am involved in. If I have a need for personal pastoral care, I know who to call and they swing into action.
If I find that someone else needs that care, I make a call and people and resources are put into motion. In many ways, this is the first church I have ever belonged to in which help was immediately available to just the average parishioner.
I alos get buttonholed for projects that they need done.
A church full of Christian activists.
Second Rocks!
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