The Top 100 Churches

Outreach Magazine is out with its annual list of the Top 100 Largest U.S. Churches.  Here are the Top 10:

1. Lakewood Church, Houston Texas – Joel Osteen (47,000)
2. Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Ill. – Bill Hybels (23,500)
3. Second Baptist Church, Houston – Ed Young Sr. (23,198)
4. Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif. – Rick Warren (22,000)
5. LifeChurch.tv, Edmond, Okla. – Craig Groeschel (19,907)
6. Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Ky. – Dave Stone (18,013)
7. North Point Church, Alpharetta, Ga. – Andy Stanley (17,700)
8. Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Va. – Jonathan Falwell (17.445)
9. Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Bob Coy (17,000)
10. The Potter's House, Dallas – T.D. Jakes (17,000)

My own Crossroads Community Church here in Cincinnati cracked the list for the first time, ranking #58 with an average 8,000 weekly attendance.  It's been quite a ride, as my wife and then-young kids were among the 200 folks at the inaugural service in March 1996, and we've watched in awe as the church has continue to grow and change lives. For the accompanying article, see here.