The United States has more megachurches than the rest of the world combined, but the biggest churches in Asia and Africa give new meaning to “mega,” the Washington Post reports.
No U.S. congregation comes close to the 480,000 weekly attendance at the world’s largest church, Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, according to data from the Christian nonprofit Leadership Network.
The biggest U.S. megachurch, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, is less than one-tenth the size at 43,500 average attendance, numbers from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research show.
Overall, Seoul has 17 megachurches—those with at least 2,000 worshipers each week—and Houston has more than twice as many. But combined megachurch attendance is nearly four times higher in Seoul than in Houston.
Median attendance at megachurches outside the United States is almost double the U.S. median. Experts say believers abroad simply may have fewer options.
