Search churches in Houston
Find churches across Houston and surrounding communities.
Lakewood Church — America's largest congregation
Houston is home to Lakewood Church — the largest congregation in the United States by weekly attendance. Led by Joel Osteen, Lakewood draws an estimated 45,000–52,000 people to its services each week in a converted former sports arena (the former Compaq Center, home of the Houston Rockets) in the Greenway Plaza area. Millions more watch via television broadcast and online streaming.
Lakewood is non-denominational, prosperity-gospel in theological emphasis, multiethnic, and holds services in English, Spanish, and sign language. Whatever one thinks of its theology, it represents one of the most remarkable phenomena in American religious history — a church that fills an 18,000-seat arena multiple times every weekend.
Large evangelical and Baptist churches
Beyond Lakewood, Houston has a remarkable concentration of large evangelical and Baptist churches:
- Second Baptist Church — one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the country; approximately 23,000 members; multiple campuses; led for decades by Ed Young Sr.
- Houston's First Baptist Church — historic SBC congregation founded 1841; vibrant downtown campus and suburban locations
- Grace Church Houston — multi-site evangelical church with strong expository preaching
- Ecclesia Church, Midtown — urban church known for arts integration and social justice emphasis
- Crosspoint Church — large non-denominational congregation in the Katy/West Houston area
Latino churches in Houston
Houston's Hispanic population — the largest in Texas — has built one of the most extensive networks of Spanish-language and bilingual churches in the South:
- Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, downtown — primary Catholic cathedral for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston; multiple Spanish-language Masses; serves the city's enormous Hispanic Catholic population
- Iglesia Lakewood — Lakewood's Spanish-language service is one of the largest Spanish-language Protestant services in the country
- Assemblies of God Hispanic District — Houston is a major center of Hispanic Assemblies of God congregations
- Numerous Mexican, Central American, and South American Catholic parishes across the southwest, north, and east Houston metro
African American churches in Houston
- Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church — one of the oldest and most storied Black Baptist churches in Houston; significant civil rights history; community anchor in the Third Ward
- Windsor Village United Methodist Church — under Bishop Kirbyjon Caldwell, one of the most influential Black Methodist congregations in the South; extensive community development work
- Antioch Missionary Baptist Church — large congregation on the South Side with strong community ministry
- Church Without Walls — founded by Ralph West; one of the fastest-growing Black evangelical churches in Houston
International and ethnic churches in Houston
Houston's extraordinary international diversity — it has been called "the most diverse city in America" — has produced churches in dozens of languages:
- Vietnamese Catholic and evangelical churches — Houston's southwest side (Alief area) has one of the largest Vietnamese Catholic communities in the U.S.
- Nigerian Pentecostal churches — Missouri City and southwest Houston have a large Nigerian immigrant community with dozens of Pentecostal congregations
- Korean churches — Korean Presbyterian and Methodist congregations throughout the Clear Lake, Sugar Land, and west Houston areas
- Indian Christian churches — Malayalam-speaking Kerala Christian congregations; Tamil evangelical churches; Telugu-speaking communities
- Chinese evangelical churches — several large Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking evangelical congregations in the Sugar Land and Bellaire areas
Frequently asked questions
What denomination is Lakewood Church?
Lakewood is non-denominational. It does not belong to any denomination and is an independent congregation. Theologically, it operates in the Pentecostal/charismatic tradition and is associated with the "Word of Faith" or prosperity gospel movement, though Joel Osteen rarely uses those labels.
Is Houston a religious city?
Very much so. The Houston metro area consistently ranks among the top American cities for church attendance, charitable giving through religious organizations, and overall religious participation. The strong Southern Baptist, Catholic, and Pentecostal cultures that shape Texas are especially visible in Houston's enormous church infrastructure.