When you’re talking about the largest churches in the world, you’ve gotta be specific: Is by physical size? Congregation size? There’s even a list of the 10 tallest churches in the world on Wikipedia. However, since the 10 largest churches by physical size has been done by many others, and done much better, here are the 10 largest churches in the world by congregation size. Where available, the current weekly attendance and website are listed after the church description.
1.Yoido Full Gospel Church (Seoul, Korea). Since 1958, Pastor David Yonggi Cho has been tirelessly preaching and teaching in South Korea, beginning his first service in his mother-in-law’s home, until today the church membership stands at over a million. The church’s massive cell-group network serves to bring in new converts as fast as the mother church can farm them out to satellite churches. (250,000)
2.Work and Mission Baptists Church (Abidjan, Ivory Coast). Pastored by Dijon Roberts. (150,000)
3.Yotabeche Methodist P. Church (Santiago, Chile). Founded in 1909, the Catedral Evangelico de Chile is today the largest Methodist church in the world. Pastor: Yotabeche Vasquez (150,000)
4.Mission Carismatica Internacional (Bogata, Colombia). Pastor Cesar Castellenos and his vision of groups of 12 stand poised to overtake Yoido Full Gospel in a few years, at least in terms of weekly attendance. The secret lies in the cell group division/multiplication process: Yoido’s cell groups simply divide into 2 when the group becomes too large, whereas MCI encourages every cell group member to become a leader, thus multiplying 12 cell groups from out of 1. (150,000)
5.Deeper Life Bible Church (Lagos, Nigeria). Pastor William Kumuyi is known mostly for supernatural healings and his clear, easy-to-understand preaching. (120,000)
6.Mision Cristiana Elim Church (San Salvador, El Salvador ). Founded by Pastor Sergio Solorzano, this church held the distinction of largest church in the world, until it was overtaken by Yoido Full Gospel. Now led by P. Mario Vega, the church still holds massive “Time of Restoration” events during which all the sports stadiums in the city of San Salvador are rented out at the same time. (117,000)
7.Nambu Full Gospel Church (Korea). (110,000)
8.Assembly of God Grace and Truth (Kyonggi-do, Korea). Run by David Yonggi Cho’s brother, Yongmok Cho, this church uses the same cell system employed by Yoido F.G.—and apparently with the same success. (
9.Kum Ran Methodist Church (Seoul, Korea). Bishop Hong Do Kim began the church 30 years ago, and after hearing Billy Graham preach one day he realized the true power of the Cross. His evangelistic fervor ever since has grown the church from 100 to its present day size. (80,000)
10.Vision de Futuro (Santa Fe, Argentina). From the website: “God looked for a man…who [especially] had love in his heart for the nominal Catholics. [Reverend] Omar Cabrera accepted the challenge.” (70,000)
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