july 18, 2006
Church Report Announces Annual List of 50 Most Influential Churches
The Church Report has released their annual list of The Most Influential Churches in America. The list is a result of a survey of 2,000 pastors from across the country, asking them who they feel are the churches influencing today’s Christianity. Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago was chosen as this year’s most influential.
“Congratulations to Willow Creek Community Church and all of its staff and members”, says Jason T. Christy, CEO of Christy Media, publishers of The Church Report magazine, “this list is very unique in that it is pastors honoring other pastors.” Christy went on to say that, “Willow Creek and all of the churches on this list should be proud of their accomplishments and the examples of the type of impact a Christian church can have in a community.”
The 2006 survey was emailed to leaders of more than 2,000 of the largest non-Catholic congregations in the nation by Church Growth Today in April and May. A small selected group of smaller churches were also invited to recommend churches. Participants were asked to recommend up to 10 churches (vs. five last year) they considered to be among the nation’s most influential. A total of 83 churches were recommended. A total of 57 percent of all church leader recommendations named these five churches.
According to The Church Report, "These churches are recommended by other church leaders as congregations that represent the passion and sense of mission mandated in the New Testament. Each just considers itself as a church wanting to be pleasing and useful to God and their understanding of His mandates to them."
Commenting on the report, Jody Brown of Agape Press notes, "Almost 40 percent of the 50 most influential churches in the United State are not affiliated with a denomination -- and size apparently equates to influence. Those are among the interesting findings coming out of a survey of more than 2,000 Protestant pastors conducted earlier this year."
"Apparently the number of congregants is an indicator of influence -- in the eyes of pastors, anyway -- as is the notoriety of a church's senior pastor," Brown continues. "Heading the list are five mega-churches that currently average more than 16,000 weekend attenders and that are consistently found among America's fastest growing churches each year."
The top ten churches listed include:
- Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybels; South Barrington, IL);
- Saddleback Church (Rick Warren; Lake Forest, CA);
- North Point Community Church (Andy Stanley; Alpharetta, GA);
- Fellowship Church (Ed Young, Jr.; Grapevine, TX);
- Lakewood Church (Joel Osteen; Houston, TX).
- Southeast Christian Church (Bob Russell; Louisville, KY)
- Life Church (Craig Groeschel; Edmond, OK)
- Potter's House (T.D. Jakes; Dallas, TX)
- Brooklyn Tabernacle (Jim Cymbala; Brooklyn, NY)
- North Coast Church (Larry W. Osborne: Vista, CA)
The entire 50 Most Influential Church list can be seen online at www.thechurchreport.com.
Your thoughts: What do you think are the most influential churches in America? Why?
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