2016 Largest Participating Churches

The shape of the American megachurch is constantly shifting.
What are the churches at the forefront of the movement and how are they innovating?

Each year, the Lifeway Research team surveys churches, verifies the numbers, calculates the results and compiles the lists. In preparation for this annual report, we solicited participation from the churches that were featured in our previous reports. This is a self-reported survey, based on attendance averages, not membership. Churches that participated answered questions about their 2022 in-person, online and adult discipleship attendance averages for February and March (excluding Easter) as compared to their 2021 numbers.

In addition this year, to provide as complete of a list as possible for the Largest churches, we also drew numbers from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research (HIRR.Hartsem.edu ), which is not a survey, but is secondary research drawn from publicly available attendance data. We integrated that public data with the self-reported survey from Lifeway. Whenever the survey and the public data reported on the same church, we reported the church’s response in the survey.

Explore the Outreach 100 study and how your church can participate in the coming years »
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1
North Point Ministries
North Point Ministries Alpharetta, GA - Andy Stanley
● Fastest ● Largest
2
Church of the Highlands
Church of the Highlands Birmingham, AL - Chris Hodges
● Fastest ● Largest
3
NewSpring Church
NewSpring Church Anderson, SC
● Fastest ● Largest
4
Gateway Church
Gateway Church Southlake, TX - Robert Morris
● Largest
5
Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church Lake Forest, CA - Rick Warren
● Largest
6
Willow Creek Community Church
Willow Creek Community Church South Barrington, IL - Bill Hybels
● Largest
7
Christ's Church of the Valley
Christ's Church of the Valley Peoria, AZ - Ashley Wooldridge
● Largest
8
Christ Fellowship Church
Christ Fellowship Church Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Todd Mullins
● Fastest ● Largest
9
Southeast Christian Church
Southeast Christian Church Louisville, KY - Kyle Idleman
● Largest ● Reproducing
10
Crossroads Church
Crossroads Church Cincinnati, OH - Brian Tome
● Largest
11
Elevation Church
Elevation Church Matthews, NC - Steven Furtick
● Fastest ● Largest
12
Eagle Brook Church
Eagle Brook Church Centerville, MN - Jason Strand
● Largest
13
Second Baptist Church
Second Baptist Church Houston, TX - H. Edwin Young
● Largest
14
Woodlands Church
Woodlands Church The Woodlands, TX - Kerry Shook
● Largest
15
Flatirons Community Church
Flatirons Community Church Lafayette, CO - Jim Burgen
● Largest
16
King Jesus International Ministry
King Jesus International Ministry Miami, FL - Guillermo Maldonado
● Fastest ● Largest
17
Mariners Church
Mariners Church Irvine, CA - Eric Geiger
● Largest
18
Mount Zion Baptist Church
Mount Zion Baptist Church Nashville, TN - Joseph W. Walker III
● Largest
19
12Stone Church
12Stone Church Lawrenceville, GA - Kevin Myers
● Largest
20
Family Christian Center
Family Christian Center Munster, IN - Steve Munsey
● Largest