Outreach magazine in collaboration with Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research has published their annual list of the top 100 largest churches in America.

Over 8,000 churches were invited to submit their weekend attendance averages from February and March 2009 (excluding Easter). Children and adults were counted. Physical campuses were counted. Internet campuses were not counted.

It is interesting to look at how the attendance of the top 16 largest U.S. churches has changed since 2006. Some change quickly. Some change gradually. And others fluctuate.

For the full list and analysis of Outreach’s 100 largest churches, you can buy a PDF or print copy at OutreachMagazine.com.

Top 16 Largest Churches in America for 2009
13,000+ attendance

1. Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen
   43,500 (#1) for 2009
   43,500 (#1) for 2008
   47,000 (#1) for 2007
   45,000 (#1) for 2006
2. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
   26,776 (#2) for 2009
   20,823 (#5) for 2008
   19,907 (#5) for 2007
   16,071 (#13) for 2006
3. Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
   23,400 (#3) for 2009
   22,500 (#4) for 2008
   23,500 (#2) for 2007
   21,500 (#5) for 2006
4. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
   23,377 (#4) for 2009
   22,557 (#3) for 2008
   17,700 (#7) for 2007
   16,700 (#12) for 2006
5. Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX) :: Ed Young Sr.
   22,723 (#5) for 2009
   23,659 (#2) for 2008
   23,198 (#3) for 2007
   22,266 (#3) for 2006
6. Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
   22,418 (#6) for 2009
   19,414 (#8) for 2008
   22,000 (#4) for 2007
   20,595 (#6) for 2006
7. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
   18,355 (#7) for 2009
   19,913 (#7) for 2008
   13,000 (#16) for 2007
   18,124 (#9) for 2006
8. Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) :: Dave Stone
   17,261 (#8) for 2009
   16,264 (#12) for 2008
   18,013 (#6) for 2007
   18,520 (#7) for 2006
9. Woodlands Church (Woodlands, TX) :: Kerry Shook
   17,142 (#9) for 2009
   16,380 (#11) for 2008
   15,600 (#12) for 2007
   14,120 (#18) for 2006
10. Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) :: Bob Coy
    15,921 (#10) for 2009
    18,000 (#9) for 2008
    17,000 (#9) for 2007
    18,300 (#8) for 2006
11. Central Christian Church (Las Vegas, NV) :: Jud Wilhite
    15,081 (#11) for 2009
    13,010 (#22) for 2008
    12,000 (#22) for 2007
    8,994 (#43) for 2006
12. First Baptist Church (Hammond, IN) :: Jack Schaap
    15,059 (#12) for 2009
    13,678 (#19) for 2008
    12,000 (#20) for 2007
    11,300 (#26) for 2006
13. Prestonwood Baptist Church (Plano, TX) :: Jack Graham
    14,975 (#13) for 2009
    14,450 (#17) for 2008
    14,000 (#14) for 2007
    14,871 (#17) for 2006
14. Thomas Road Baptist Church (Lynchburg, VA) :: Jonathan Falwell
    13,100 (#14) for 2009
    13,000 (#23) for 2008
    17,445 (#8) for 2007
    7,626 (#71) for 2006
15. Calvary Chapel (Albuquerque, NM) :: Skip Heitzig
    13,000 (#15) for 2009
    13,500 (#20) for 2008
    12,000 (#19) for 2007
    12,000 (#24) for 2006
16. New Birth Missionary Baptist (Decatur, GA) :: Eddie Long
    13,000 (#16) for 2009
    15,000 (#14) for 2008
    15,000 (#13) for 2007
    22,000 (#4) for 2006

Surprisingly, quite a few large churches are not on the list. Some churches did not respond to the study for various reasons that include:

• did not want to reveal attendance data
• did not have time
• do not like church ranking lists

Churches listed on a previous list with 13,000+ attendance but unlisted on the 2009 list are as follows:

• Last listed in 2008
  20,000 =  West Angeles Church of God in Christ (Los Angeles, CA)
  17,000 = The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX)
  16,000 = Hopewell Missionary Baptist (Norcross, GA)
  13,500 = New Light Christian Center (Houston, TX)
• Last listed in 2007
  16,000 = First Assembly of God (Phoenix, AZ)
• Last listed in 2006
  23,900 = Without Walls International Church (Tampa, FL)
  13,000 = Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church (New Orleans, LA)

Large churches typically have implemented great systems to manage themselves more efficiently. If you want to learn church methodology, the top 100 largest churches are a good starting point.

Want a sneak peek at YouVersion Live?

A public webinar giving you a glimpse at this free tool’s capabilities will be on Wednesday, September 23rd from 2-3pm CST. Simply visit youversion.com/live to participate.

According to U.N. food officials, the global financial meltdown has pushed the ranks of the world’s hungry to a record 1 billion people.

Now is a good time to build a well, give some food, or support a child.

Yesterday I gathered data from Alexa, Bloglines, Google, and Technorati and created a list of the world’s top 60 church blogs. 110 popular blogs were measured, and the highest ranked were published.

To see the list, visit: churchrelevance.com/resources/top-church-blogs

The list is far from perfect. The data sources are not perfect. And it is likely that I am unaware of other eligible church blogs. I will be periodically updating the list, so I hope it improves with time.

Please use the comments to tell me of any other church related blogs that you think could qualify for the list.

Ben from Mexico, Missouri!

To determine who won the 2 free tickets to the Desiring God Conference, I used the random integers generator. It chose #875.

Ben from Mexico, Missouri chose #865 which made him the winner!

Congrats, Ben! Simply reply to the email I sent you to accept your winnings.

:: UPDATE :: Comments are closed, and a winner has been chosen.

Want 2 free tickets to this year’s Desiring God Conference?

It takes place in Minneapolis, MN on February 2-4, 2009. This year, the Desiring God Conference features thoughts on evangelism from:

• Matt Chandler :: The Village Church (Highland Village, TX)
• Mark Dever :: Capitol Hill Baptist Church (Washington, DC)
• Michael Oh :: Christ Bible Seminary (Japan)
• John Piper :: Bethlehem Baptist Church (Minneapolis, MN)

HOW TO GET FREE TICKETS

Tony Morgan and Carlos Whittaker already gave away free tickets on their blogs. And I have 2 more free tickets to give away.

To win them, simply choose a number between 1 and 1,000 and post your number in the comment section. On Friday, I will announce a winner whose number is closest to the number determined by a random integers generator.  Guidelines are:

• Only guess a number if the free tickets will be used if you win them.
• You must include a valid email address in the comment section’s email field.
• If someone posts twice, I will only accept the first number he posts.
• If two people post the same number, the winner is the person who posted first.
• If two numbers are equidistant from the randomly generated number, the “overbid” will be thrown out.

Guess away!

This Christmas, faithHighway is giving away a free church website design valued at $3,500. Actually, any nonprofit organization can apply. All you need to do is:

1. Nominate
   Visit MediaOutreach.com to enter the description and contact information for your favorite nonprofit organization by December 11th.
2. Wait
   faithHighway will narrow down the nominations to 5 finalists.
3. Vote
   Vote at MediaOutreach.com for your favorite finalist between December 18th and December 24th.
4. Listen
   A winner will be announced by the New Year.

It is not every day that you can win a free church website design. Happy nominating! And happy voting!

Last summer, 1 million Christians from 1,800 churches united together for outreach and a month long sermon series called One Prayer.

Start planning for the next One Prayer that will take place June 7-28, 2009. I will be taking part, and I hope you can, too!

For more information, visit www.OnePrayer.com.