# List of megachurches in the United States
A megachurch in the United States is a Protestant congregation that draws 2,000 or more adults and children for in-person worship on a typical weekend, counting all services and, for a multisite church, all campuses combined[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). The United States has just under 2,000 of them, less than 1% of the country's 335,000 Protestant churches, yet they draw ten million weekly worshippers, roughly one in six of everyone in a Protestant church on a given weekend[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). The largest, Life.Church of Edmond, Oklahoma, averages about 85,000 attenders across its multiple campuses[2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Definition | 2,000+ adults and children in weekly in-person worship, all services and campuses combined; the Hartford survey series analyzes churches at 1,800 and above[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf) |
| Count | Just under 2,000 US megachurches (survey frame roughly 1,850); the Hartford Institute page gives approximately 1,800[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf) • [3](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/) |
| Share of worshippers | About 17% of US worshippers, ten million weekly, in the 99th percentile of Protestant church size[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf) |
| Largest | Life.Church (Edmond, OK), about 85,000 weekly; Church of the Highlands (Birmingham, AL) 60,000; Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) 45,000[2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset) • [4](https://eu.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2024/07/03/life-church-oklahoma-is-largest-congregation-us-outreach-100/74138077007/) |
| Multisite | 67% multisite in 2025 (70% in 2020); average 4 campuses, and 11 for churches over 10,000[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf) |
| Denominations | 40% nondenominational, 15% Southern Baptist, 7% unspecified Baptist, 5% Assemblies of God, 5% Christian, 4% Calvary Chapel, 2% United Methodist[3](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/) |
| Medians | 2025 median in-person weekly attendance 2,805, 1% above the 2020 median of 2,779; median regular attenders 5,000, up 18% from 4,200[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf) |
## What counts as a megachurch
The working definition is attendance, not membership. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research, which has surveyed the group since 2000, counts a church as a megachurch when 2,000 or more adults and children attend weekly worship in person, combining all services and all campuses[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). Warren Bird's doctoral dissertation documented that this attendance-based figure of 2,000 adults and children is the widely used threshold (citing Vaughan 1993 and Thumma 2000), while noting that no universally accepted definition exists[5](https://adam2.org/writings/modern_church/bird_dissertation.pdf). The survey series itself analyzes churches with in-person attendance of 1,800 and above, a slightly lower working threshold[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf).
The definition matters because the two measures diverge. Some journalism describes the Hartford definition in membership terms[6](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/megachurch-gigachurch-expansion-geography), but the institute's own materials and its survey series define it by attendance[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). Sociologist Robert Putnam has observed that megachurch leaders themselves do not particularly like the term[5](https://adam2.org/writings/modern_church/bird_dissertation.pdf).
Churches of 10,000 or more are sometimes called gigachurches; Central Church of Henderson, Nevada, which tops 21,000 in weekly attendance across its campuses and ranks 13th largest in the country, falls in that category[6](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/megachurch-gigachurch-expansion-geography).
## How many there are and where
The count depends on which Hartford figure is used. The institute's standing research page says approximately 1,800[3](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/), while the 2025 survey report puts the count just under 2,000, with a survey frame of roughly 1,850 US megachurches[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). Both figures are tiny against 335,000 Protestant churches, yet megachurches hold about 17% of all worshippers[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). The average megachurch draws 4,092 people weekly[3](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/), and most report attendance in the 2,000 to 2,500 range[7](https://brill.com/downloadpdf/display/book/edcoll/9789004412927/BP000005.pdf).
**Regional distribution** is heavily weighted to the South and West. California (913,648 weekly megachurch congregants), Texas (877,471), and Florida (473,000) lead in raw totals[2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset). Adjusted for population, Oklahoma leads at 45.7 weekly megachurch attenders per 1,000 residents, followed by Tennessee (33.1), Georgia (32.4), Alabama (30.6), and Texas (28.4); Utah is the least active Western state at 1.7 per 1,000[2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset). Of the 20 largest congregations, three are in Texas and six in California[8](https://www.newsweek.com/megachurches-united-states-1996700), and scholarship has long noted that megachurches have been established especially in Texas and California[7](https://brill.com/downloadpdf/display/book/edcoll/9789004412927/BP000005.pdf).
**Denominational mix** is broader than the nondenominational stereotype suggests. Nondenominational churches make up 40%, Southern Baptist 15%, unspecified Baptist 7%, [Assemblies of God](https://www.edgepedia.org/assemblies-of-god) 5%, Christian 5%, Calvary Chapel 4%, and United Methodist 2%; these groups account for 80% of all megachurches, and the majority are denominationally affiliated[3](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/). The nondenominational 40% are autonomous, accountable only to themselves apart from informal network connections[9](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-rise-of-american-megachurches-and-new-challenges-to-their-influence).
## Largest megachurches by attendance
Life.Church of Edmond, Oklahoma, affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church, is the largest US megachurch with nearly 85,000 weekly attendees[2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset). It topped the Outreach 100 list of largest congregations in 2023 for the second year in a row, with Church of the Highlands of Birmingham, Alabama, second at 60,000 and [Joel Osteen](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-osteen)'s Lakewood Church third at 45,000[4](https://eu.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2024/07/03/life-church-oklahoma-is-largest-congregation-us-outreach-100/74138077007/). [Craig Groeschel](https://www.edgepedia.org/craig-groeschel) founded Life.Church in 1996 with about 45 people; it now operates satellite campuses in Oklahoma and beyond and is known for creating the YouVersion Bible App[4](https://eu.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2024/07/03/life-church-oklahoma-is-largest-congregation-us-outreach-100/74138077007/).
The scale of the top tier is high by any historical standard. All of the top 25 churches exceed 15,000 in weekly attendance, and the top four exceed 30,000[2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset). Churches over 15,000 make up only 0.05% of all US churches, against an average US church weekend attendance of 60 people[8](https://www.newsweek.com/megachurches-united-states-1996700).
**A decade of growth at the top.** Ryan Burge, who compiles the largest-church dataset, reports that the ten largest US churches combined for just over 260,000 in attendance in 2015 versus over 427,000 in 2025; the 2025 fifth-largest church, North Point, had 37,000 attenders, a figure that would have topped the entire 2015 list[10](https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/americas-largest-churches-over-a). Churches in the top ten in both years include North Point, Church of the Highlands, CCV (Peoria, AZ), Crossroads Church ([Cincinnati](https://www.edgepedia.org/cincinnati)), Christ Fellowship (Palm Beach Gardens), Southeast Christian (Louisville), and Saddleback (Lake Forest, CA); newcomers to the 2025 list include Life.Church (added to the dataset in 2022), [Lakewood Church](https://www.edgepedia.org/lakewood-church), and Eagle Brook Church (Centerville, MN)[10](https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/americas-largest-churches-over-a). Burge himself cautions that the list is probably not 100% accurate and that compiling it without omissions is next to impossible[10](https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/americas-largest-churches-over-a).
One Hartford figure differs from the rest: the institute's research page states the largest megachurch in America averages 75,000 in attendance[3](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/), while the 85,000 figure for Life.Church appears in journalism citing Hartford researcher Scott Thumma and in the dataset analysis[8](https://www.newsweek.com/megachurches-united-states-1996700) • [2](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset).
## How the numbers are counted
The Outreach 100 rests on self-reported figures. It is published by Outreach magazine with Lifeway Research, solicits data from more than 10,000 churches, and bases its list on in-person weekend attendance averages for February and March, not membership; it supplements the survey with Hartford Institute secondary research from publicly available data such as church websites, year-end reports, and interviews[11](https://outreach100.com/largest-churches-in-america/2025) • [12](https://outreach100.com/about). The list counts in-person attendance only, and some large churches are omitted because they disclosed membership rather than attendance or combined in-person and online figures[12](https://outreach100.com/about).
**Online attendance is counted chaotically** where it is counted at all. A Christian Standard survey found no universally accepted method: 41% of churches count total views on all platforms regardless of watch time; 48% count only viewers who watch a minimum time, averaging 13 minutes (15 for megachurches); 49% apply a multiplier per device, averaging 2.03 (megachurches were most likely to use one, at 76%, and one used 3.3); and 78% count viewers from any location[13](https://christianstandard.com/2021/07/deconstructing-the-digital-church/). These choices change the number enormously: a church counting raw views with a 3.3 multiplier reports far more "attendees" than a neighboring church of the same size counting 15-minute viewers once per household.
The Christian Standard 2024 report, covering the Christian Churches movement, shows what combined counting produces: its 33 megachurches averaged 4,447 in-person weekly attendance but 6,119 when online figures were added, and 77% of its churches submitted online numbers[14](https://christianstandard.com/2025/05/2024-fast-facts-from-christian-standard-church-report/). Because the Outreach 100 and Hartford exclude online figures while some churches self-report combined numbers, rankings from different sources are not directly comparable.
## Multi-site and online expansion
Multisite operation, one church in two or more geographic locations, has become the norm. In 2015, 62% of megachurches were multisite and 30% hosted an online campus, offering an average of five services a weekend[15](https://robertbellah.com/megachurch/megachurch-2015-summary-report.html). By 2020 the multisite share reached 70%, and in 2025 it stood at 67%, with 9% more churches considering it and 5% having returned to single-site; the decrease may reflect pandemic-era consolidation of school-based and other campus locations[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf).
Campus counts scale with size. Megachurches average 4 campuses each, and churches with in-person worship of 10,000 or more across all campuses average 11[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). Life.Church is the extreme case: Scott Thumma, professor of sociology of religion at Hartford Institute, describes the typical large multisite church as having 5 to 7 or more locations and cites Life.Church's 45 campuses, many with seating for 500 to 1,000 or less[8](https://www.newsweek.com/megachurches-united-states-1996700); a [USA Today](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-today) network report gives 44 satellites, 18 in Oklahoma and 26 outside the state across 11 states including six in Texas and five in Kansas[4](https://eu.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2024/07/03/life-church-oklahoma-is-largest-congregation-us-outreach-100/74138077007/). Lakewood Church, at 45,000 attenders, is an exception to the multisite pattern among very large churches[8](https://www.newsweek.com/megachurches-united-states-1996700). Almost every church on the largest-church list is multisite[16](https://baptistnews.com/article/what-ryan-burge-sees-in-americas-megachurches/).
## Recent developments
The headline growth numbers flatten at the median. The 2025 median megachurch in-person weekly attendance of 2,805 is only 1% above the 2020 median of 2,779, though median regular attenders (once a month or more) rose 18%, from 4,200 to 5,000[1](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf). Post-COVID recovery has been uneven: comparing the Outreach 100 lists of 2020 and 2022, only eight congregations posted large increases while 25 reported double-digit attendance declines, and of 20 churches on the largest list, six either declined or grew by fewer than 1,000 people over the past decade[16](https://baptistnews.com/article/what-ryan-burge-sees-in-americas-megachurches/). Within one movement, megachurch attendance grew 15.9% from 2023 to 2024 against 7.0% overall, suggesting the largest churches are still pulling away from the rest[14](https://christianstandard.com/2025/05/2024-fast-facts-from-christian-standard-church-report/).
## How US megachurches compare globally
The largest US congregation, at about 85,000, is far from the global ceiling. The world's largest Christian megachurch congregations can number up to 480,000 people[6](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/megachurch-gigachurch-expansion-geography).
## References
1. [Megachurch Resurgence 2026, Bird and Thumma, Hartford Institute for Religion Research](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Megachurch-Resurgence.pdf)
2. [Megachurch USA: Our first look into the HIRR dataset, New Sage](https://www.newsage.press/home/megachurch-usa-our-first-look-at-the-hirr-megachurch-dataset)
3. [Megachurch Research, Hartford Institute for Religion Research](https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/research/megachurch-research/)
4. [Edmond-based Life.Church topped list of largest U.S. congregations, The Leaf-Chronicle (USA Today network)](https://eu.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2024/07/03/life-church-oklahoma-is-largest-congregation-us-outreach-100/74138077007/)
5. [Warren Bird, doctoral dissertation on megachurches](https://adam2.org/writings/modern_church/bird_dissertation.pdf)
6. [America's megachurches are rapidly expanding, thanks to geography, National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/megachurch-gigachurch-expansion-geography)
7. [Toward a Typology of the Megachurch, Brill](https://brill.com/downloadpdf/display/book/edcoll/9789004412927/BP000005.pdf)
8. [Map Shows States With the Biggest Churches, Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/megachurches-united-states-1996700)
9. [The rise of American megachurches and new challenges to their influence, PBS News Weekend](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-rise-of-american-megachurches-and-new-challenges-to-their-influence)
10. [America's Largest Churches: Over a Decade of Data, Ryan Burge, Graphs about Religion](https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/americas-largest-churches-over-a)
11. [Outreach 100: 2025 Largest Churches in America, Outreach magazine](https://outreach100.com/largest-churches-in-america/2025)
12. [About the Outreach 100, Outreach magazine / Lifeway Research](https://outreach100.com/about)
13. [Deconstructing the Digital Church, Christian Standard](https://christianstandard.com/2021/07/deconstructing-the-digital-church/)
14. [2024 Fast Facts From Christian Standard Church Report, Christian Standard](https://christianstandard.com/2025/05/2024-fast-facts-from-christian-standard-church-report/)
15. [2015 Summary Research Report of Recent Shifts in America's Largest Protestant Churches, Hartford Institute](https://robertbellah.com/megachurch/megachurch-2015-summary-report.html)
16. [What Ryan Burge sees in America's megachurches, Baptist News Global](https://baptistnews.com/article/what-ryan-burge-sees-in-americas-megachurches/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Philosophy, religion, and mythology › Religion and spirituality › Religious bodies and jurisdictions › Local congregations (individual churches and synagogues)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 10, 2026*
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