Skip to comments.
America's 50 Most Influential Churches
Church Report Online ^
| July 2007
| Church Report Online
Posted on 07/17/2007 1:33:44 PM PDT by Terriergal
America's 50 Most Influential Churches
The Church Report is pleased to once again announce this years 50 Most Influential Churches in America. Each year, we look forward to working with Dr. John Vaughan and appreciate the input of pastors from throughout the country that provide their insight as to who is really influencing America's churches.
This years list has several new churches and you also note movement of other churches through the list. If you have comments, please feel to send us an email to crdaily@thechurchreport.com.
Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, Ill.), Saddleback Church Lake Forest, Calif.), North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Fellowship Church (Grapevine, Texas) lead this years 50 Most Influential Churches list.
New to the top 10 churches are Granger Community Church (Granger, Ind.), Mars Hill Church (Seattle, Wash.) and Seacoast Church (Mt Pleasant, S.C.). All but Granger Community Church and The Potters House are multi-site churches.
Four of the top 10 churches are affiliated with denominations and six are non-affiliated. Lakewood Church and The Potters House are the only two of the 10 that are charismatic congregations. Two of the churches (Saddleback and Fellowship) are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Life Church is Evangelical Covenant and Granger Community Church is United Methodist. Some are new churches and others date back to the late 1950s. Lakewood Church began in 1959 and is both the oldest of the five top congregations and largest in the nation. North Point was the youngest church in last years group and began in 1995 with about 1,200 people. Among the other three churches, Willow Creek is the second oldest and began in 1975 with a core of 75 people. Seattles Mars Hill Church, youngest of this years top ten list, began with 12 people in 1996, Granger began in 1986 with five people and Seacoast Church was launched with 65 people in 1989. Saddleback followed in 1980 with only Rick Warren and his wife Kay initially. Fellowship Church is the second youngest of the five and began in 1990 with 150 people. Each of these 10 churches now average more than 5,000 in weekend attendance.
Two United Methodist congregations, Granger Community Church (Granger, Ind.) and Resurrection United Methodist Church (Leawood, Kan.) were named by other church leaders for this years list of churches. Another returning mainline church is Menlo Park Presbyterian Church of Menlo Park, Calif., a PC(USA) congregation.
The 2007 survey was emailed to leaders of more than 2,000 of the largest non-Catholic congregations in the nation in April-June. Participants were asked to recommend up to 10 churches they considered to be among the nations most influential. A total of 77 churches were recommended. A total of 53 percent of all church leader recommendations named the five churches. The top 10 churches received a total of 65 percent of all recommendations. A summary of all 50 churches reveals:
Affiliation and/or Networks of Churches
Non-Affiliated (15)
Southern Baptist (12)
Assemblies of God (3)
Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (2)
United Methodist (2)
Calvary Chapel (3)
Baptist General Conference (2)
Presbyterian-PCA (2)
Evangelical Covenant (2)
Church of Christ (1)
Evangelical Free (1)
Foursquare (2)
Presbyterian PC(USA) (1)
Reformed Church in America (1)
Vineyard (1)
Association of Relating Churches (1)
Note: Los Angeles International Church/Dream Center is affiliated with both the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and the Assemblies of God.
Location by Region
North East (3)
North Central (9)
South East (10)
South Central (6)
Southwest (8)
Mountain (2)
Pacific North West (2)
Pacific South West (10)
New to This Years Recommended Churches
New pastors to churches previously listed:
(16) Dave Stone, Southeast Christian Church Louisville, Ky.
(34) Jonathan Falwell, Thomas Road Baptist - Lynchburg, Va.
New churches listed for the first time:
(25) Mariners Church Irvine, Calif.
(37) Northland, A Church Distributed Longwood, Fla.
(38) Bellevue Baptist Church Cordova, Tenn.
(39) National Community Church Washington D.C.
(41) World Changers College Park, Ga.
(47) New Light Christian Center Church Houston Texas
2 Saddleback
Lake Forest, Calif.
3 Fellowship ChurchGrapevine, Texas
Ed Young
4 North Point ChurchAlpharetta, Ga.
Andy Stanley
5 Life ChurchEdmond, Okla.
Craig Groeschel
6 Granger Community ChurchGranger, Ind.
Mark Beeson
7 Lakewood Church
Houston, Texas
Joel Osteen
8 Mars Hill Church
Seattle, Wash.
Mark Driscoll
9 The Potter's House
Dallas, Texas
T.D. Jakes
10 Seacoast Church
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Greg Surratt
11 Mosaic Church
Los Angeles, Calif.
Erwin McManus
12 Mars Hill Church
Grandville, Mich.
Rob Bell
13 North Coast Church
Vista, Calif.
Larry W. Osborne
14 First Assembly of God Phoenix, Ariz.
Tommy Barnett
15 United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
Leawood, Kan.
Adam Hamilton
16 Southeast Christian Church
Louisville, Ky.
Dave Stone
17 Brooklyn Tabernacle
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Jim Cymbala
18 Calvary Chapel
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Bob Coy
19 Community Christian Church
Naperville, Ill.
Dave Ferguson
20 New Hope Christian Fellowship
Honolulu, Hawaii
Wayne Cordeiro
21 New Spring Church
Anderson, S.C.
Perry Noble
22 Prestonwood Baptist Church
Plano, Texas
Jack Graham
23 Redeemer Presbyterian
New York City, N.Y.
Timothy J. Keller
24 Second Baptist Church
Houston, Texas
Edwin Young
25 Mariners Church
Irvine, Calif.
Kenton Beshore
26 Bayside Church
Granite Bay, Calif.
Ray Johnston
27 Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa
Santa Ana, Calif.
Chuck Smith Sr.
28 Christ Fellowship
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Tom Mullins
29 First Baptist Church
Jacksonville, Fla.
Mac Brunson
30 First Baptist Church
Woodstock, Ga.
Johnny Hunt
31 Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
Menlo Park, Calif
John Ortberg
32 New Life Church
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Ross Parsley Interim Senior Pastor
33 NorthRidge Church
Plymouth, Mich.
Brad Powell
34 Thomas Road Baptist Church
Lynchburg, Va.
Jerry Falwell / Jonathan Falwell
35 Wooddale Church
Eden Prairie, Minn.
Leith C. Anderson
36 Harvest Christian Fellowship
Riverside, Calif.
Greg Laurie
37 Northland - A Church Distributed
Longwood, Fla.
Joel Hunter
38 Bellevue Baptist Church
Cordova, Tenn.
Steve Gaines
39 National Community Church
Washington D.C.
Mark Batterson
40 Crystal Cathedral
Garden Grove, Calif.
Robert A. Schuller
41 World Changers
College Park, Ga.
Creflo Dollar
42 Fellowship of the Woodlands
The Woodlands, Texas
Kerry Shook
43 Vineyard Community Church
Cincinnati, Ohio
David Workman
44 New Birth Baptist Church
Lithonia, Ga.
Eddie L. Long
45 Oak Hills Church
San Antonio, Texas
Max Lucado *
46 Bethlehem Baptist
Minneapolis, Minn.
John Piper
47 New Light Christian Center Church
Houston, Texas
Ira Hilliard
48 First Baptist Church
Hammond, Ind.
Jack Schaap
49 McLean Bible Church
Vienna, Va.
Lon Solomon
50 LA International Church / Dream Center
Los Angeles, Calif.
Matthew Barnett / Tommy Barnett
(*) Max Lucado recently resigned as Minister of the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio.
These churches are recommended by other church leaders as congregations that represent the passion and sense of mission mandated in the New Testament. They do not all share the same view of all biblical doctrine, their recognition came from others, and they do not view themselves as better than other churches. Each just considers itself as a church wanting to be pleasing and useful to God and their understanding of His mandates to them.
Changes in this years list reflect the rapid change and diversity of ministry across the nation from year to year. It appears to also affirm the new expressions of ministry by emerging churches while also affirming the best of churches that endure through eras of dramatic change. We look forward to the churches that you will be recommending next year.
To compare last years list click here. Dr. John N. Vaughan is an author and consultant for Church Growth Today in Bolivar, Mo., which provides consulting and research services for church growth and development.
He is author of the Worlds 20 Largest Churches, The Large Church, Megachurches and Americas Cities and a new 10 volume series Americas Most Influential Churches.
Visit his homepage www.churchgrowthtoday.org .
TOPICS: Ecumenism; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: apostasy; apostasyonparade; charismaticism; emergent
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-66 next last
To: dangus
11. Falls Church Episcopal ChurchFalls Church isn't Episcopal. It's part of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.
21
posted on
07/17/2007 3:35:23 PM PDT
by
PAR35
To: P-Marlowe
Go ahead, but don’t puke on me. I’m only the messenger.
22
posted on
07/17/2007 4:17:34 PM PDT
by
dangus
To: Clemenza
>> True, but Roman Catholics dont influence elections/Republican politics. If that were the case Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey would be fountains of religious activism and Republican strongholds. <<
The Catholics in those states vote far more conservatively than the Protestants do.
23
posted on
07/17/2007 4:18:51 PM PDT
by
dangus
To: Terriergal
What a false report this seems to be to me. (Not faulting you for posting it.)
The Catholic Church is not mentioned anywhere, anytime, anyhow.
Go figure.
24
posted on
07/17/2007 4:21:47 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: Clemenza
>> True, but Roman Catholics dont influence elections/Republican politics. If that were the case Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey would be fountains of religious activism and Republican strongholds. <<
... and please don’t associate religiosity with Republicanism. As late as the 90s, the Democratic party in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania was heavily influenced by Catholic prolifers.
For instance, pro-abortion Republican Gov. Weld beat pro-life Democrat nominee Silber in Massachusetts in 1994; Lieberman ran as a pro-lifer when he defeated Republican pro-abortion Senator Lowell Weicker. In 1992, Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Casey was the strongest pro-lifer in the nation. When the Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island Democratic parties insisted on following the nation pro-abortion lead, they quit being able to elect Democrats to the governorship until the Bush-led immigration debacles led to Democratic surges across the country.
25
posted on
07/17/2007 4:25:50 PM PDT
by
dangus
To: PAR35
It’s name is the Falls Church Episcopal Church.
26
posted on
07/17/2007 4:26:47 PM PDT
by
dangus
To: dangus
Go ahead, but dont puke on me. Im only the messenger.Do you think it is a coincidence that the LA Cathedral was designed to look like a Maximum Security Prison?
27
posted on
07/17/2007 4:28:18 PM PDT
by
P-Marlowe
(LPFOKETT GAHCOEEP-w/o*)
To: dangus
Thank you for posting this — I’m sure it reflects the numbers along the way. This article certainly didn’t.
28
posted on
07/17/2007 4:38:09 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: AzaleaCity5691
>So they say in the survey that Catholic churches were intentionally excluded, and then when you read the results you find that other high church denominations were kept out.
>Nothing more than a bunch of evangelical nonsense.
I tend to somewhat agree with that. I mean, if they include Olsteen and Warren, they might as well include the Pope’s boys too...
But then, it would be pretty weird for a Catholic site to include Evangelical churches in it’s top 50, ‘specially with what the Pope said about the churches of the separated brethren.
29
posted on
07/17/2007 4:46:57 PM PDT
by
Ottofire
(O great God of highest heaven, Glorify Your Name through me)
To: Terriergal
Awesome. Congratulations to all these churches for influencing society and changing lives.
30
posted on
07/17/2007 4:54:29 PM PDT
by
ovrtaxt
(The FairTax and the North American Union are mutually exclusive.)
To: LiteKeeper
Johnny Mac? I cannot be a self respecting bible believing Calvinist and say that he is the FINEST teaching pastor in America. ( somewhat tongue in cheek there... in reference to his opening statements in the Shepherd Conference... )
31
posted on
07/17/2007 5:05:13 PM PDT
by
Ottofire
(O great God of highest heaven, Glorify Your Name through me)
To: dangus
Its name is the Falls Church Episcopal Church. Where do you find that? Their web site just refers to it as 'The Falls Church'.
http://thefallschurch.org/templates/custhefalls/default.asp?id=29455
Both Falls Church (Episcopal) and Falls Church (Anglican) are in the state corporate database as 'reserved', but neither is an active corporate entity. Falls Church Anglican Day School is in there as well, but the Falls Church Episcopal Day School shows as 'purged'.
I'd be surprised if they called themselves 'Episcopal' when they aren't.
And the folks in Virgina appear to be using mid - 1980s technology for their database.
32
posted on
07/17/2007 6:29:49 PM PDT
by
PAR35
To: Salvation
How influential can the Catholic church be? They can’t even influence their own members in the senate to be pro-life.
33
posted on
07/17/2007 6:34:52 PM PDT
by
PAR35
To: Terriergal
****North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, Ga.)****
As someone said on a previous FR Thread. This church is a mile wide and an inch deep.
34
posted on
07/17/2007 6:58:05 PM PDT
by
fkabuckeyesrule
(I've been funny I've been cool with the lines ain't that they way loves supposed 2 be?)
To: fkabuckeyesrule
I wonder why I’m not surprised...
Life TV church (Craig Groeschel) is the sweetheart of the Evangelical Covenant denomination. Then again, all the Emergents are too.
35
posted on
07/17/2007 7:03:18 PM PDT
by
Terriergal
("I am ashamed that women are so simple To offer war where they should kneel for peace," Shakespeare)
To: Resolute Conservative
****Looks like Serpenthead got religion #23.****
LOL!!! Good observation.
36
posted on
07/17/2007 7:05:34 PM PDT
by
fkabuckeyesrule
(I've been funny I've been cool with the lines ain't that they way loves supposed 2 be?)
To: LiteKeeper
I agree. I like MacArthur alot. I ordered two of his books this past week and listen to his radio show nightly. I geuss that since he only has 2 morning services (from what I’ve seen at the churches website) that he’s just not packing them in enough. Maybe if he put a McDonalds in the “fellowship” hall there he might do better. LOL!
37
posted on
07/17/2007 7:09:38 PM PDT
by
fkabuckeyesrule
(I've been funny I've been cool with the lines ain't that they way loves supposed 2 be?)
To: dangus
You forgot to mention John Kerry’s church. LOL!
38
posted on
07/17/2007 7:10:37 PM PDT
by
fkabuckeyesrule
(I've been funny I've been cool with the lines ain't that they way loves supposed 2 be?)
To: ovrtaxt
Have you any idea what some of these people teach?
"If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your home, neither bid him Godspeed: For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds."(2 John 1:10,11)
39
posted on
07/17/2007 7:12:57 PM PDT
by
Terriergal
("I am ashamed that women are so simple To offer war where they should kneel for peace," Shakespeare)
To: dangus
Of course my dad used to always say that the Southern Baptist Church is the Roman Catholic Church Of The South.
40
posted on
07/17/2007 7:13:07 PM PDT
by
fkabuckeyesrule
(I've been funny I've been cool with the lines ain't that they way loves supposed 2 be?)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-66 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson