Outreach magazine has released the 2011 list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Churches in America. You can buy a copy of the list at OutreachMagazine.com. It includes an in depth analysis of the research data and is the best way to quickly glean insights from the churches listed.
Since 2004, there have been 20 top church lists that have been published. Their scope ranges from size, growth rate, and church planting to innovation and influence. Remarkably, out of the combined 1,429 rankings from the list only 487 churches have been featured.
Since defining growth can be interpreted by number as well as percentage, the fastest-growing churches list takes in to account both. It is the fairest algorithm, but it makes for a hodge podge of churches.
I find the fastest-growing churches list most interesting when looking at who the youngest and oldest fastest-growing churches in America are.
TOP 9 YOUNGEST FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES IN AMERICA (2011 edition)
- 2010 - The Potter’s House Church of Denver (Denver, CO) :: E. Christopher Hill
grew by 1,800 (51%) across 1 location
- 2010 - Transformation Church (Fort Mill, SC) :: Derwin Gray
grew by 696 (95%) across 1 location
- 2006 - Elevation Church (Charlotte, NC) :: Steven Furtick
grew by 2,744 (48%) across 4 locations
- 2006 - Element Church (St Louis, MO) :: Erik Lawson
grew by 278 (22%) across 1 location
- 2005 - Grace Community Church (Clarksville, TN) :: Ron Edmondson & Chad Rowland
grew by 528 (33%) across 2 locations
- 2005 - Kingdom in the Valley Christian Church (Litchfield Park, AZ) :: Reginald Steele
grew by 650 (26%) across 2 locations
- 2005 - Shore Fellowship Church (Egg Harbor Township, NJ) :: Tim Chambers
grew by 386 (30%) across 1 location
- 2005 - The Crossing Church (Tampa, FL) :: Greg Dumas
grew by 560 (13%) across 2 locations
- 2005 - Barefoot Church (North Myrtle, SC) :: Clay NeSmith
grew by 288 (22%) across 2 locations
TOP 7 OLDEST FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES IN AMERICA (2011 edition)
- 1808 - Huntsville First United Methodist Church (Huntsville, AL) :: Glenn Conner
grew by 255 (29%) across 1 location
- 1834 - Traders Point Christian Church (Indianapolis, IN) :: Aaron Brockett
grew by 640 (23%) across 1 location
- 1865 - Calvary Baptist Church (Clearwater, FL) :: Willy Rice
grew by 495 (17%) across 1 location
- 1870 - Cross Church Northwest Arkansas (Springdale, AR) :: Ronnie Floyd
grew by 852 (13%) across 3 locations
- 1909 - Parklawn Assembly of God (Milwaukee, WI) :: Walter Harvey
grew by 284 (23%) across 1 location
- 1917 - Christ Fellowship Baptist Church (Miami, FL) :: Rick Blackwood
grew by 866 (16%) across 5 locations
- 1923 - Los Angeles International Church (Los Angeles, CA) :: Matthew Barnett
grew by 1,100 (18%) across 1 location
To see the full list in their original rankings, visit OutreachMagazine.com.
UPDATE: When this list was first published, First Baptist Church (Hammond, IN) was accidentally listed twice (2011 & 2010 numbers). It is now corrected.
Outreach magazine has released the 2011 list of the 100 Largest Churches in America. You can buy a copy of the list at OutreachMagazine.com. It includes an in depth analysis of the research data and is the best way to quickly glean insights from the churches listed.
Since 2004, there have been 20 top church lists that have been published. Their scope ranges from size, growth rate, and church planting to innovation and influence. Remarkably, out of the combined 1,429 rankings from the list only 487 churches have been featured.
In the 6 years of measuring gigachurches (10,000+ weekly attendance), 70 gigachurches have been listed. However, on the new 2011 list, only 39 of these 70 gigachurches reported their numbers. What happened to the other 31 gigachurches?
I call them them invisible gigachurches.
TOP LARGEST U.S. GIGACHURCHES (including invisible gigachurches)
Only the first 15 churches from 2011’s list are named out of respect to Outreach magazine. Outreach is selling the full list here. All invisible gigachurches from 2006-2010 are named.
- 43,500 // Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) - Joel Osteen
- 27,429 // North Point Community Church (Atlanta, GA) - Andy Stanley
- **26,776 (2009) // LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) - Craig Groeschel
- 24,377 // Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) - Bill Hybels
- **23,900 (2006) // Without Walls International (Tampa, FL) - Paula White
- 20,801 // Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) - Dave Stone
- **20,000 (2008) // West Angeles Church of God in Christ (Los Angeles, CA) - Charles Blake
- 19,742 // Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) - Rick Warren
- 18,386 // Woodlands Church (Woodlands, TX) - Kerry Shook
- 18,223 // Central Christian Church (Las Vegas, NV) - Jud Wilhite
- 18,061 // Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX) - Ed Young, Sr.
- 17,900 // First Assembly of God (Phoenix, AZ) - Tommy Barnett
- 17,887 - Christ’s Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ) :: Don Wilson
- **17,000 (2008) // The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX) - TD Jakes
- 16,621 // Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - Bob Coy
- **16,000 (2008) // Hopewell Missionary Baptist (Norcross, GA) - William Sheals
- 15,722 // Christ Fellowship (Palm Beach Gardens) - Tom Mullins
- 15,704 // Gateway Church (Southlake, TX) - Robert Morris
- 14,776 // First Baptist Church (Hammond, IN) - Jack Schaap
- 14,525 // Family Christian Center (Munster, IN) - Stephan Munsey
- 14,440 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 14,200 //see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 14,125 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **13,796 (2010) // Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) - Ed Young Jr.
- 13,607 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **13,500 (2008) // New Light Christian Center (Houston, TX) - Ira Hillard
- 13,346 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 13,224 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 13,218 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 13,200 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **13,000 (2009) // New Birth Missionary Baptist (Decatur, GA) - Eddie Long
- **13,000 (2006) // Greater St Stephen Full Baptist Church (New Orleans, LA) - Paul Morton Sr
- 12,708 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 12,637 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 12,637 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 12,504 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 12,023 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 12,000 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **12,000 (2008) // Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (Diamond Bar, CA) - Raul Ries
- 11,821 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **11,752 (2008) // The Fountain of Praise (Houston, TX) - Remus Wright
- **11,500 (2006) // Jericho City of Praise (Landover, MD) - Betty Peebles
- **11,344 (2007) // Calvary Community Church (Phoenix, AZ) - J. Mark Martin
- 11,340 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **11,289 (2010) // Kensington Community Church (Troy, MI) - Steve Andrews
- 11,201 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 11,200 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 11,023 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- 11,000 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **11,000 (2007) // Word of Faith International Christian Center (Southfield, MI) - Keith Butler
- 10,848 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **10,800 (2009) // Calvary Chapel South Bay (Gardena, CA) - Steve Mays
- **10,800 (2008) // Valley Bible Fellowship (Bakersfield, CA) - Ron Vietti
- **10,550 (2009) // Redemption World Outreach (Greenville, SC) - Ron Carpenter
- 10,494 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **10,300 (2009) // Faith Fellowship Ministries (Sayreville, NJ) - David Demola
- **10,263 (2009) // Northland a Church Distributed (Longwood, FL) - Joel Hunter
- 10,147 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- ** 10,047 (2010) // McLean Bible Church (Vienna, VA) - Lon Soloman
- **10,035 (2008) // St. Matthew’s Baptist Church (Williamstown, NJ) - Raymond Gordon
- 10,000 // see Outreach’s 2011 list
- **10,000 (2009) // First A.M.E. Church (Los Angeles, CA) - John Hunter
- **10,000 (2008) // Faith Community Church (West Covina, CA) - Jim Reeve
- **10,000 (2008) // Faith Landmarks Ministries (Richmond, VA)
- **10,000 (2008) // Heritage Christian Center (Denver, CO) - Dennis Leonard
- **10,000 (2008) // Mount Zion Baptist Church (Nashville, TN) - Joseph Walker III
- **10,000 (2008) // World Changers Church International (College Park, GA) - Creflo Dollar
- **10,000 (2007) // Mars Hill Bible Church (Grandville, MI) - Rob Bell
- **10,000 (2006) // Church on the Move (Tulsa, OK) - Willie George
- **10,000 (2006) // The Brooklyn Tabernacle (Brooklyn, NY) - Jim Cymbala
So how many gigachurches are there really in the United States?
Outreach magazine has released their 2008 list of the Top 100 Largest Churches in America. To see the full list, you can (1) buy a downloadable PDF or (2) buy a copy of the magazine’s special issue.
For a sneak peak at this year’s rankings, here are the top 15 largest churches in America for 2008 as well as how they ranked in 2007 and 2006.
Top 15 (of 100) Largest Churches in America for 2008
- Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen
Founded 1959 :: 1 location
#1 = 43,500 (2008)
#1 = 47,000 (2007)
#1 = 45,000 (2006)
- Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX) :: Ed Young Sr.
Founded 1927 :: 5 locations
#2 = 23,659 (2008)
#3 = 23,198 (2007)
#3 = 22,266 (2006)
- North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
Founded 1995 :: 3 locations
#3 = 22,557 (2008)
#7 = 17,700 (2007)
#12 = 16,700 (2006)
- Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
Founded 1975 :: 4 locations
#4 = 22,500 (2008)
#2 = 23,500 (2007)
#5 = 21,500 (2006)
- LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
Founded 1996 :: 11 locations
#5 = 20,823 (2008)
#5 = 19,907 (2007)
#13 = 16,071 (2006)
- West Angeles Church of God in Christ (Los Angeles, CA) :: Charles Blake
Founded 1943 :: 1 location
#6 = 20,000 (2008)
#50 = 8,350 (2006)
- Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
Founded 1989 :: 5 locations
#7 = 19,913 (2008)
#16 = 13,000 (2007)(rumored misreport)
#9 = 18,124 (2006
- Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
Founded 1980 :: 2 locations
#8 = 19,414 (2008)
#4 = 22,000 (2007)
#6 = 20,595 (2006)
- Calvary Chapel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) :: Bob Coy
Founded 1985 :: 3 locations
#9 = 18,000 (2008)
#9 = 17,000 (2007)
#8 = 18,300 (2006)
- The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX) :: T.D. Jakes
Founded 1996 :: 1 location
#10 = 17,000 (2008)
#10 = 17,000 (2007)
#20 = 14,000 (2006)
- Woodlands Church (The Woodlands, TX) :: Kerry Shook
Founded 1993 :: 3 locations
#11 = 16,380 (2008)
#12 = 15,600 (2007)
#18 = 14,120 (2006)
- Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) :: Dave Stone
Founded 1962 :: 1 location
#12 = 16,264 (2008)
#6 = 18,013 (2007)
#7 = 18,520 (2006)
- Hopewell Missionary Baptist (Norcross, GA) :: William Sheals
Founded 1860s :: 1 location
#13 = 16,000 (2008)
- New Birth Missionary Baptist (Decatur, GA) :: Eddie Long
Founded 1984 :: 1 location
#14 = 15,000 (2008)
#13 = 15,000 (2007)
#4 = 22,000 (2006)
- NorthRidge Church (Plymouth, MI) :: Brad Powell
Founded 1929 :: 1 location
#15 = 14,762 (2008)
#15 = 13,865 (2007)
#23 = 12,700 (2006)
These “largest churches” are great sources of ministry ideas and examples. This does not mean you should copy what they do. Your ministry has a unique calling that requires unique actions.
Learn from the mistakes and successes of these “largest churches.” Learn how to do what they do better and within the context of your calling.
