Joel Osteen is a native Texan and the Pastor of Lakewood Church, which according to Church Growth Today is America's largest and fastest growing church. On July 16, 2005 after completing $95 million dollars in renovations, Joel moved Lakewood Church into its new 16,000-seat home - the former Compaq Center. It is the largest regularly-used worship center in the United States. Each week Joel delivers God's message of hope and encouragement to more than 38,000 attendees. According to Nielsen Media Research, Joel is the most watched inspirational figure in America. His weekly sermon is broadcast into every U.S. television market where it is viewed by seven million Americans each week and more than 20 million each month. His weekly broadcast is also seen in almost 100 nations around the world.
In 2004, Osteen’s first book, Your Best Life Now, was released by Time Warner debuting at the top of the New York Times Bestsellers List and quickly rising to #1. It remained on the New York Times Bestseller for more than 2 years and has sold more than 4 million copies. Most recently, Joel was named as one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2006" and he was selected as the "Most Influential Christian in 2006" by the readers of Church Report Magazine.
Osteen has no college or seminary degree. He studied briefly at Oral Roberts University, then worked behind the scenes in Lakewood's TV ministry until his father's death in 1999. He gave up his $200,000 church salary in 2005, after Your Best Life Now (Warner Faith) had become a New York Times best-seller. In 2006, with 3 million hardcover copies of that book sold, he reportedly signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Free Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, for future work. His critics range from fundamentalists who say he is soft on sin to evangelicals and liberals who say "prosperity preaching" is at odds with Jesus' life and teachings.
Joel resides in Houston with his wife, Victoria, and their children, Jonathan and Alexandra.
