This list of the largest evangelical megachurches contains only evangelical Christianmegachurches related to the following currents: Baptist, Pentecostalism, the evangelical charismatic movement, neo-charismatic movement and Nondenominational Christianity, in a single place, and not the assistance of affiliated campuses. Large churches from other denominations, like Catholicism, are not included as they are not deemed to belong to the megachurch phenomenon which by definition is part of Protestantism. The list is not exhaustive, there are large annual changes, and there are difficulties to compare the churches as different methods to count can be used.
The term megachurch is used for churches with regular attendance of 2,000 people. When it has more than 10,000 people who gather together, the term gigachurch is sometimes used.[1][2]
Research institutesEdit
Annual publicationsEdit
Church Growth Today is a research center which publishes annually lists of evangelical Christian megachurches in USA and the world.[3][4]
Lifeway research is a research center which publishes annually a list of evangelical Christian megachurches in USA.[5]
DirectoriesEdit
The Leadership Network contains a directory of all Christian megachurches of the world (excluding Canada and USA).[6] This global list has over 270 megachurches. The Hartford Institute has compiled directories in Canada and the USA. The US list has more than 1,668 megachurches[7][8] and the Canadian list 22.[9]
Data accuracyEdit
The numbers reported are not accurate by any means, as attendance and membership may be defined very differently.[10] Attendance may include people that are not legally members of the church, not baptised, non-believers, children, and may even belong to other churches. Some churches include their, sometimes loosely, affiliated churches in other places and even people that attend by electronic media. As many have several services on one day, there may be some overlap, with people attending more than one service. The exact number of people is seldom counted[citation needed], thus estimation errors can occur. There is an obvious psychological boost from reporting growing numbers, "success", for enhanced credibility and motivation to support the work. The megachurches may quite be different from traditional evangelical congregations where clear membership records are maintained, to define who has legal right to vote in the church assembly, who can be appointed to public offices and who belongs to the flock under direct pastoral care, and the pastor can often be replaced. The megachurches are often formed around a strong leader that stays in charge for decades, it is often like his "own personal enterprise", many times with limited economic transparency, a tendency that has been questioned in various countries.[11][12][13] In notable cases the headship has been passed on from father to son, like in Lakewood Church. Many megachurches have had an affiliation to a denomination, but have become independent, thus outside the denominational supervision that is common for non-independent congregations. Thus, in cases of irregularities, a pastor may continue without disciplinary measures, due to their sheer power, and any disappointed members may leave but new people keep coming in, with reduced effect on attendance.[14]
Hence, due to inaccuracies, the same church can sometimes be reported to have attendance and membership counts that differ 5-10 times, depending on how reporting is done and who is doing it, e.g. Yoido Full Gospel Church can sometimes be mentioned with attendance numbers over 800,000.[15]
ListEdit
The list below is of the largest Evangelical megachurches with weekly attendance of more than 30,000 people.
^Alicia Budich, cbsnews.com, From Megachurch to "Gigachurch", USA, April 6, 2012
^Ed Stetzer, Newspaper christianitytoday.com, Megachurch Research - Terminology, USA, October 9, 2008
^ abRuth Gledhill, Newspaper Christian Today, Church growth: World's largest churches are getting bigger, USA, September 08, 2016
^Dr. John Vaughan, Church Growth Today, About 2016-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, USA, retrieved February 15, 2020
^ abLifeway research, Largest Churches List, outreachmagazine.com, USA, retrieved January 16, 2021
^ abcdefghijklmnMegachurches spread across the world - Leadership Network
^ abHartford Institute Database of megachurches in the US 2016-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, hartfordinstitute.org's website, USA, retrieved February 15, 2020
^Rick Noack, Lazaro Gamio, Newspaper washingtonpost.com, How US-style megachurches are Taking Over the World, in 5 maps and charts, USA, 24 July 2015
^Hartford Institute Megachurches of Canada 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, hartfordinstitute.org's website, USA, retrieved February 15, 2020
Content on this page has been translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at fr:Liste de megachurches évangéliques; see its history for attribution.
"Megachurches". Hartford Institute. 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
Sébastien Fath. Dieu XXL, la révolution des mégachurches. France: Édition Autrement, 2008.
October 29, 2023
list, largest, evangelical, churches, this, list, largest, evangelical, megachurches, contains, only, evangelical, christian, megachurches, related, following, currents, baptist, pentecostalism, evangelical, charismatic, movement, charismatic, movement, nonden. This list of the largest evangelical megachurches contains only evangelical Christian megachurches related to the following currents Baptist Pentecostalism the evangelical charismatic movement neo charismatic movement and Nondenominational Christianity in a single place and not the assistance of affiliated campuses Large churches from other denominations like Catholicism are not included as they are not deemed to belong to the megachurch phenomenon which by definition is part of Protestantism The list is not exhaustive there are large annual changes and there are difficulties to compare the churches as different methods to count can be used Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Research institutes 2 1 Annual publications 2 2 Directories 3 Data accuracy 4 List 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 Sources 7 Further readingCharacteristics EditThe term megachurch is used for churches with regular attendance of 2 000 people When it has more than 10 000 people who gather together the term gigachurch is sometimes used 1 2 Research institutes EditAnnual publications Edit Church Growth Today is a research center which publishes annually lists of evangelical Christian megachurches in USA and the world 3 4 Lifeway research is a research center which publishes annually a list of evangelical Christian megachurches in USA 5 Directories Edit The Leadership Network contains a directory of all Christian megachurches of the world excluding Canada and USA 6 This global list has over 270 megachurches The Hartford Institute has compiled directories in Canada and the USA The US list has more than 1 668 megachurches 7 8 and the Canadian list 22 9 Data accuracy EditThe numbers reported are not accurate by any means as attendance and membership may be defined very differently 10 Attendance may include people that are not legally members of the church not baptised non believers children and may even belong to other churches Some churches include their sometimes loosely affiliated churches in other places and even people that attend by electronic media As many have several services on one day there may be some overlap with people attending more than one service The exact number of people is seldom counted citation needed thus estimation errors can occur There is an obvious psychological boost from reporting growing numbers success for enhanced credibility and motivation to support the work The megachurches may quite be different from traditional evangelical congregations where clear membership records are maintained to define who has legal right to vote in the church assembly who can be appointed to public offices and who belongs to the flock under direct pastoral care and the pastor can often be replaced The megachurches are often formed around a strong leader that stays in charge for decades it is often like his own personal enterprise many times with limited economic transparency a tendency that has been questioned in various countries 11 12 13 In notable cases the headship has been passed on from father to son like in Lakewood Church Many megachurches have had an affiliation to a denomination but have become independent thus outside the denominational supervision that is common for non independent congregations Thus in cases of irregularities a pastor may continue without disciplinary measures due to their sheer power and any disappointed members may leave but new people keep coming in with reduced effect on attendance 14 Hence due to inaccuracies the same church can sometimes be reported to have attendance and membership counts that differ 5 10 times depending on how reporting is done and who is doing it e g Yoido Full Gospel Church can sometimes be mentioned with attendance numbers over 800 000 15 List EditThe list below is of the largest Evangelical megachurches with weekly attendance of more than 30 000 people Name Association Denomination City Country AverageweeklyattendanceYoido Full Gospel Church Assemblies of God Pentecostalism Seoul South Korea 480 000 6 Church of Signs and Wonders No Charismatic Christianity Jalandhar Punjab India 400 000 16 17 Calvary Temple No Nondenominational Christianity Hyderabad India 350 000 6 18 Nginden Bethany Church Bethany Indonesian Church Charismatic Christianity Surabaya Indonesia 140 000 6 Victory church Every Nation Churches Nondenominational Christianity Manila Philippines 80 000 6 New Life Fellowship Association New Life Fellowship Association Nondenominational Christianity Mumbai India 70 000 6 Deeper Life Bible Church No Pentecostalism Lagos Nigeria 65 000 6 Christ s Commission Fellowship Christ s Commission Fellowship Nondenominational Christianity Pasig Philippines 55 000 6 Lakewood Church No Nondenominational Christianity Houston United States 52 000 3 Church of the Highlands No Nondenominational Christianity Birmingham United States 52 000 7 Faith Tabernacle Living Faith Church Worldwide Charismatic Christianity Lagos Nigeria 50 000 6 Igreja Batista da Lagoinha Convencao Batista Nacional Baptist World Alliance Baptist Belo Horizonte Brazil 50 000 6 Mision Cristiana Elim Internacional No Pentecostalism San Salvador El Salvador 50 000 6 Redeemed Christian Church of God No Pentecostalism Lagos Nigeria 50 000 6 Comunidad Cristiana Agua Viva No Charismatic Christianity Lima Peru 42 000 6 New Life Assembly of God General Council of the Assemblies of God of India Assemblies of God Pentecostalism Chennai India 40 000 6 North Point Community Church No Nondenominational Christianity Alpharetta United States 38 589 5 See also Edit nbsp Christianity portalList of the largest evangelical church auditoriums List of megachurches in the United States Worship service evangelicalism References EditCitations Edit Alicia Budich cbsnews com From Megachurch to Gigachurch USA April 6 2012 Ed Stetzer Newspaper christianitytoday com Megachurch Research Terminology USA October 9 2008 a b Ruth Gledhill Newspaper Christian Today Church growth World s largest churches are getting bigger USA September 08 2016 Dr John Vaughan Church Growth Today About Archived 2016 10 31 at the Wayback Machine USA retrieved February 15 2020 a b Lifeway research Largest Churches List outreachmagazine com USA retrieved January 16 2021 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Megachurches spread across the world Leadership Network a b Hartford Institute Database of megachurches in the US Archived 2016 04 29 at the Wayback Machine hartfordinstitute org s website USA retrieved February 15 2020 Rick Noack Lazaro Gamio Newspaper washingtonpost com How US style megachurches are Taking Over the World in 5 maps and charts USA 24 July 2015 Hartford Institute Megachurches of Canada Archived 2016 03 06 at the Wayback Machine hartfordinstitute org s website USA retrieved February 15 2020 Do Pastors Exaggerate Attendance Figures Senator Probes Megachurches Finances Controversial Megachurch Pastor Won t Discuss Finances Because of Jesus Are Prosperity Preachers Destroying the Traditional Black Church A Review of Black Church Inc Will Europe s Third Largest Church Punish Pastor for Multiple Affairs The Economist O come all ye faithful Ankur Narula Ministries The Church of Signs and Wonders 4th Largest Church in World May 8 2020 Archived from the original on 6 June 2020 ankurnarula org about ankur narula ministries calvarytemple in about Sources Edit Content on this page has been translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at fr Liste de megachurches evangeliques see its history for attribution Megachurches Hartford Institute 2016 Retrieved 2016 06 26 World Megachurches Leadership Network 2020 Retrieved 2020 02 15 Further reading EditSebastien Fath Dieu XXL la revolution des megachurches France Edition Autrement 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of the largest evangelical churches amp oldid 1156947413, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
