Lakewood Church Complete Profile & Latest Information.
All important details about Lakewood Church. Lakewood Church is an evangelical non-denominational Christian megachurch. The ministry is presided by Joel Oesteen – an American pastor, televangelist and authour. It is one of the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 52,000 attendees per week.
LAKEWOOD CHURCH PROFILELakewood church is located in Houston, Texas, US and is reputed to be the largest church in the US.
History of Lakewood Church
Who is the founder of Lakewood Church?
Lakewood Church, originally called “Lakewood Baptist Church”, was founded by John Osteen and his second wife, Dolores (Dodie) on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1959, inside an abandoned feed store in northeast Houston.
John was a Southern Baptist minister, but after experiencing baptism in the Holy Spirit, he founded Lakewood as a church for charismatic Baptists. The church soon dropped “Baptist” from its name and became non-denominational.
By 1979, attendance was over five thousand, and the church was becoming prominent among Pentecostals and Charismatics. John and Dodie created and hosted Lakewood’s weekly television program, which could be seen in 100 countries worldwide. Upon John Osteen’s death on January 23, 1999, his youngest son, Joel Osteen, became the pastor.
In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison caused flooding in the Houston area. Lakewood church was opened as a shelter to approximately 5,000 displaced persons.
Under Joel Osteen, Lakewood’s congregation increased almost fivefold. Attendance increased to 30,000 weekly, prompting a move from its location at 7317 East Houston Road to a larger facility. In late 2003, the church signed a long-term lease with the city of Houston to acquire the Compaq Center, a 29-year-old former sports arena.
Lakewood Church relocated to the Compaq Center on July 16, 2005. It is a 16,800-seat facility in southwest downtown Houston along U.S. Highway 59, that has twice the capacity of its former sanctuary.
The church was required to pay $11.8 million in rent in advance for the first 30 years of the lease. Lakewood renovated the new campus at an estimated cost of $100 million.
On March 31, 2010, the Houston City Council voted 13–2 to sell the property to Lakewood for $7.5 million.
- FOUNDING DAY: Lakewood Church was founded on May 10, 1959
- NUMBER OF MEMBERS: the church has an attendance of over 5o,000 weekly, and 500,000 members.
- LOCATION/HEADQUARTERS: the headquarters is located in Houston, Texas
- BRANCHES: Iglesia Lakewood,
- FOUNDER: The founder of Lakewood Church is John Osteen
- CURRENT LEADER: The son of John Oesteen, Joel Osteen is the current leader of the church.
Lakewood Church Programme/ Event Calendar
- Lakewood Church Sunday service Livestream
- Monday Night Bible Study
- Online Experience
- Friday Freedom
- Wednesday Worship Service
The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center.
Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor. Lakewood Church is non-denominational (not affiliated), while the leadership may be considered part of the Word of Faith movement.
Joel Osteen as a televangelist has had his sermons reaching approximately 10 million viewers in the US and several million more in over 100 countries weekly. He is also the authour of several best-selling books.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
At Lakewood, we base all of our beliefs on the authority of Scripture. In every way, we strive to maintain Biblical standards of living and leadership. We believe that living life according to God’s Word is the way to an abundant, fulfilling life.
THE BIBLE
We believe the entire Bible is inspired by God and without error. The Bible is the authority on which we base our faith, conduct, and doctrine. See 2 Timothy 3:16.
THE TRINITY
We believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that God the Father is the Creator of the world and is actively involved in humanity. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to this earth as Savior of the world. We believe that the Holy Spirit is continuing the work of Jesus upon the earth. See Matthew 28:19.
SALVATION
We believe that Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for our sin. We believe that salvation is only found by placing our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is coming again. See Romans 5:1; 5:8-9.
WATER BAPTISM
We believe that water baptism is a symbol of the cleansing power of the blood of Christ and a testimony to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. See 1 Peter 3:21.
COMMUNION
We believe in the regularly receiving Communion as an act of remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for us through dying on the cross. See 1 Corinthians 11:24-25.
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
We believe that every believer should be in a growing relationship with Jesus by obeying God’s Word, yielding to the Holy Spirit and by being conformed to the image of Christ. See Philippians 3:12-13.
