Joel Osteen
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, his 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.
read more about Joel
Victoria Osteen
Victoria Osteen serves as the co-pastor of Lakewood Church. She is a passionate and active leader and an integral part of each worship service at Lakewood. As a wife and working mother of two young children, Victoria understands the pressures that women face in today's society. Victoria believes that inside every woman lies a person of strength and beauty with unique gifts and talents placed there by God to make a significant impact on their families and their community. This philosophy, combined with her strong desire to meet the needs of women regardless of their age and background, led her to found the Women's Ministry at Lakewood Church. Under her leadership, The Women's Ministry strengthens and improves the lives of married, single, and professional women by inspiring them to discover their gifts and develop them to their fullest potential.
read more about Victoria
Paul Osteen, M.D.
After 17 years as a successful surgeon, Paul felt God's call to move to Houston and help at Lakewood Church in whatever capacity he was needed. Over the last several years he has provided oversight to all pastoral ministries at Lakewood and is one of the teaching pastors. Paul has always had a heart for missions and recently followed God's call to the mission field where he is able to enjoy two of his greatest passions: ministry and medicine. Each year he spends several months in Africa caring for patients, performing surgeries and visiting and ministering at local orphanages with his wife Jennifer and their children.
visit Dr. Paul's missions blog
Dodie Osteen
Dodie Osteen's genuine warmth and compassion is one reason why people feel so loved and accepted when they enter the doors of Lakewood Church.
Dodie Osteen ministered side-by-side with her husband, the late John Osteen, since the humble beginnings of Lakewood Church in 1959. Her hands-on experience in worldwide outreach over the years has given her a special place in the hearts of the Lakewood congregation.
After a dramatic and miraculous healing from terminal cancer in 1981, God called Dodie Osteen into a special ministry of prayer. Through that ministry of compassion, she has touched the lives of millions of people both in Houston and throughout the world on television. Download Dodie's Healing Scriptures in English and Spanish (en Español).
Dedicated to the family, Dodie brings a refreshing spirit to Lakewood Church. She is especially instrumental in focusing the vision of Lakewood Church on the needs of the entire body of Christ.
Lisa Comes
Lisa Comes is an Associate Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, under the leadership of her brother, Pastor Joel Osteen. Born with a crippling birth defect that doctors said might keep her from walking, Lisa was miraculously healed as a child. In 1990, God spared her life when a pipe bomb sent thru the mail exploded in her lap.
A graduate of Oral Roberts University, Lisa dedicated her life to fulltime ministry in 1983 and began working with her father, the late John Osteen. Since then, she has traveled the world teaching God's Word and ministering the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Lisa and her husband Kevin reside in Houston and are the parents of three children.
visit Lisa's ministry site
Marcos Witt
In 1987, Marcos Witt founded CanZion Group, a company-ministry that has established branches in more than 7 countries, becoming one of the most important companies that produce Christian music in Latin America.
Marcos is currently the associate pastor for the Hispanic congregation of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, USA. He is also a composer and singer and has recorded 30 albums. In addition, he has also won 3 Latin Grammys in the category of "Best Christian Album" and has written 10 leadership, motivational, and autobiographic books, some of which have been translated into English, French and Portuguese.
His concerts summon multitudes in the main arenas of Latin America, having the opportunity of communicating in each one of them, through his songs, messages of life and hope through Jesus Christ. Marcos has represented the Evangelical Hispanic community in several occasions in the United States and other countries.
Due to the diversity of areas in which he has stood out, he defines himself as mainly an ambassador of Christ in each one of the places where his ministry has taken him, as well as husband and father of a beautiful family, his first ministry.