Top Churches to Watch in America

I believe that one of the best available resources to pastors is learning from other churches. But with an estimated 320,000 churches in the United States, it is not easy to determine which ones offer something worth learning. Obviously, there is no time to keep track of them all.

While some find it questionable to rank churches, I find lists valuable in helping me to know which churches are worth studying. In fact, I have listed over 350 churches along with the notable lists they have made on Church Relevance’s Churches to Watch page.

But no list is perfect. Many of these lists are subjective. Some even have misinformation. So in the pursuit of a better list, I have merged together many of the lists from the past few years into a “Top Churches to Watch in America” list. It still is not perfect, but I think it is a step in the right direction.

My methods for ranking the churches are simple. Churches are ranked (1) by how many lists they have been included on and (2) by the average ranking they have had on the lists.

Lists Referenced

  1. 08 AMIC = Outreach magazine’s 2008 America’s 25 Most Innovative Churches
  2. 07 AMIC = Outreach magazine’s 2007 America’s 25 Most Innovative Churches
  3. 07 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2007 101 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
  4. 07 LC = Outreach magazine’s 2007 100 Largest U.S. Churches
  5. 07 MIC = The Church Report’s 2007 50 Most Influential Churches
  6. 07 TMC = Outreach magazine’s 2007 America’s Top 25 Multiplying Churches
  7. 06 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2006 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
  8. 06 MIC = The Church Report’s 2006 50 Most Influential Churches
  9. 05 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2005 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
  10. 05 MIC = The Church Report’s 2005 50 Most Influential Churches
  11. 04 FGC = Outreach magazine’s 2004 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches

The Breakdown
Out of 320,000 churches in the United States…

Top 22 Churches to Watch in America

  1. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
    Made 10/11 lists with an average rank of #8.9
    >> 08 AMIC (#1) :: 07 AMIC (#1)
    >> 07 FGC (#31) :: 06 FGC (#11) :: 05 FGC (#4) :: 04 FGC (#8)
    >> 07 LC (#5 = 19,907)
    >> 07 MIC (#5) :: 06 MIC (#7) :: 05 MIC (#16)
  2. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
    Made 10/11 lists with an average rank of #11.6
    >> 08 AMIC (#8) :: 07 AMIC (#4)
    >> 07 FGC (#15) :: 06 FGC (#37) :: 05 FGC (#20) :: 04 FGC (#5)
    >> 07 LC (#16 = 13,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#3) :: 06 MIC (#4) :: 05 MIC (#4)
  3. Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
    Made 10/11 lists with an average rank of #17.6
    >> 08 AMIC (#6) :: 07 AMIC (#18)
    >> 07 FGC (#84) :: 06 FGC (#39) :: 05 FGC (#5) :: 04 FGC (#15)
    >> 07 LC (#4 = 22,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#2) :: 06 MIC (#2) :: 05 MIC (#1)
  4. Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
    Made 9/11 lists with an average rank of #14.8
    >> 08 AMIC (#10) :: 07 AMIC (#20)
    >> 07 FGC (#59) :: 06 FGC (#8) :: 05 FGC (#30)
    >> 07 LC (#2 = 23,500)
    >> 07 MIC (#1) :: 06 MIC (#1) :: 05 MIC (#2)
  5. Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) :: Mark Driscoll
    Made 9/11 lists with an average rank of #17.6
    >> 08 AMIC (#2) :: 07 AMIC (#9)
    >> 07 FGC (#23) :: 06 FGC (#15) :: 05 FGC (#54)
    >> 07 MIC (#8) :: 06 MIC (#22) :: 05 MIC (#23)
    >> 07 TMC (#2)
  6. New Hope Christian Fellowship (Oahu, HI) :: Wayne Cordeiro
    Made 9/11 lists with an average rank of #24.4
    >> 08 AMIC (#19) :: 07 AMIC (#10)
    >> 06 FGC (#46) :: 05 FGC (#12) :: 04 FGC (#23)
    >> 07 LC (#42 = 9,200)
    >> 07 MIC (#20) :: 06 MIC (#23) :: 05 MIC (#25)
  7. Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC) :: Greg Surratt
    Made 9/11 lists with an average rank of #29.1
    >> 08 AMIC (#5) :: 07 AMIC (#6)
    >> 07 FGC (#66) :: 06 FGC (#54) :: 05 FGC (#28)
    >> 07 LC (#51 = 8,250)
    >> 07 MIC (#10) :: 06 MIC (#15) :: 05 MIC (#27)
  8. The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX) :: T.D. Jakes
    Made 8/11 lists with an average rank of #13.1
    >> 07 AMIC (#12)
    >> 07 FGC (#30) :: 06 FGC (#25) :: 04 FGC (#3)
    >> 07 LC (#10 = 17,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#9) :: 06 MIC (#8) :: 05 MIC (#8)
  9. Fellowship of The Woodlands (The Woodlands, TX) :: Kerry Shook
    Made 8/11 lists with an average rank of #23.4
    >> 07 FGC (#27) :: 06 FGC (#18) :: 05 FGC (#10) :: 04 FGC (#20)
    >> 07 LC (#12 = 15,600)
    >> 07 MIC (#42) :: 06 MIC (#41) :: 05 MIC (#17)
  10. NorthRidge Church (Plymouth, MI) :: Brad Powell
    Made 8/11 lists with an average rank of #40.4
    >> 07 FGC (#85) :: 06 FGC (#17) :: 05 FGC (#14) :: 04 FGC (#69)
    >> 07 LC (#15 = 13,865)
    >> 07 MIC (#33) :: 06 MIC (#43) :: 05 MIC (#47)
  11. Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen
    Made 7/11 lists with an average rank of #3.3
    >> 06 FGC (#1) :: 05 FGC (#3) :: 04 FGC (#1)
    >> 07 LC (#1 = 47,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#7) :: 06 MIC (#5) :: 05 MIC (#5)
  12. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
    Made 7/11 lists with an average rank of #4.7
    >> 08 AMIC (#9) :: 07 AMIC (#3)
    >> 04 FGC (#4)
    >> 07 LC (#7 = 17,700)
    >> 07 MIC (#4) :: 06 MIC (#3) :: 05 MIC (#3)
  13. Community Christian Church (Naperville, IL) :: Dave Ferguson
    Made 7/11 lists with an average rank of #15.9
    >> 08 AMIC (#13) :: 07 AMIC (#7)
    >> 07 FGC (#4) :: 04 FGC (#48)
    >> 07 MIC (#19) :: 06 MIC (#13)
    >> 07 TMC (#7)
  14. Mars Hill Bible Church (Grandville, MI) :: Rob Bell
    Made 7/11 lists with an average rank of #17.0
    >> 08 AMIC (#23) :: 07 AMIC (#11)
    >> 04 FGC (#6)
    >> 07 LC (#30 = 10,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#12) :: 06 MIC (#17) :: 05 MIC (#20)
  15. Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX) :: Ed Young Sr.
    Made 7/11 lists with an average rank of #27.1
    >> 07 FGC (#76) :: 06 FGC (#40) :: 05 FGC (#7) :: 04 FGC (#7)
    >> 07 LC (#3 = 23,198)
    >> 07 MIC (#24) :: 05 MIC (#33)
  16. New Birth Missionary Baptist (Decatur, GA) :: Eddie Long
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #26.0
    >> 06 FGC (#3) :: 05 FGC (#34)
    >> 07 LC (#13 = 15,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#44) :: 06 MIC (#32) :: 05 MIC (#30)
  17. Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) :: Dave Stone
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #26.2
    >> 05 FGC (#58) :: 04 FGC (#21)
    >> 07 LC (#6 = 18,013)
    >> 07 MIC (#16) :: 06 MIC (#6) :: 05 MIC (#50)
  18. Calvary Chapel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) :: Bob Coy
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #26.5
    >> 05 FGC (#39) :: 04 FGC (#13)
    >> 07 LC (#9 = 17,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#18) :: 06 MIC (#40) :: 05 MIC (#40)
  19. The Church of the Resurrection (Leawood, KS) :: Adam Hamilton
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #35.2
    >> 06 FGC (#98):: 04 FGC (#10)
    >> 07 LC (#69 = 7,500)
    >> 07 MIC (#15) :: 06 MIC (#11) :: 05 MIC (#8)
  20. McLean Bible Church (Vienna, VA) :: Lon Solomon
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #39.2
    >> 06 FGC (#59) :: 05 FGC (#49) :: 04 FGC (#16)
    >> 07 LC (#27 = 10,500)
    >> 07 MIC (#49) :: 05 MIC (#35)
  21. Christ’s Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ) :: Don Wilson
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #42.3
    >> 07 FGC (#95) :: 06 FGC (#64) :: 05 FGC (#25) :: 04 FGC (#11)
    >> 07 LC (#23 = 11,500)
    >> 06 MIC (#36)
  22. Harvest Christian Fellowship (Riverside, CA) :: Greg Laurie
    Made 6/10 lists with an average rank of #46.2
    >> 06 FGC (#48) :: 05 FGC (#44)
    >> 07 LC (#77 = 7,000)
    >> 07 MIC (#36) :: 06 MIC (#33) :: 05 MIC (#39)

I appreciate that this list proves that success in ministry can be achieved with a variety of models. It represents a wide spectrum of denominations and ministry philosophies that reach an equally diverse spectrum of cultures and communities. Many of them are multi-site churches. Some are innovative. And all of them are large, influential, and fast-growing.

Dr. John Vaughan of Church Growth Today compiled the research for many of these lists, and more in-depth research is available on his website for purchase. Also, if you have enjoyed this list, you should consider subscribing to Outreach magazine to get the latest ideas and stories from effective churches across the nation.

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