The Largest Churches in the World
The biggest congregations on earth, with something no other list gives you: honest flags on which numbers are verified and which are church-reported.
Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea is the biggest church in the world, with about 480,000 registered members and an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people attending weekly. The rest of the top tier is not in America: Nigeria, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia all host churches larger than anything in the US, where Life.Church leads at 85,000 weekly. Every figure below is flagged as verified or church-reported, because no independent body audits church attendance anywhere on earth. 13 of these 16 churches also appear in the Church Influence 100, which ranks them by measurable online reach instead.
The 16 Largest Churches in the World (2026)
Ordered by reported congregation size. "Members" and "weekly attendance" are different measurements, so read the type column, not just the number.
| # | Church | Reported Size |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoido Full Gospel Church Seoul, South Korea | 480,000 |
| 2 | Deeper Life Bible Church Lagos, Nigeria | 120,000 to 555,000 |
| 3 | Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide Bocaue, Philippines | 333,000 |
| 4 | Calvary Temple Hyderabad, India | 300,000+ |
| 5 | Christ’s Commission Fellowship Pasig, Philippines | 243,000 |
| 6 | Victory (Every Nation Manila) Manila, Philippines | 75,000+ |
| 7 | Bethany Church (Nginden) Surabaya, Indonesia | 140,000 |
| 8 | Winners Chapel (Faith Tabernacle) Ota, Nigeria | 100,000+ |
| 9 | Dunamis International Gospel Centre Abuja, Nigeria | 100,000 |
| 10 | Life.Church Edmond, OK, United States | 85,000 |
| 11 | Lagoinha Church Belo Horizonte, Brazil | 50,000 |
| 12 | Lakewood Church Houston, TX, United States | 45,000 |
| 13 | El Lugar de Su Presencia Bogotá, Colombia | 42,000 |
| 14 | New Creation Church Singapore, Singapore | 20,600 to 33,000 |
| 15 | City Harvest Church Singapore, Singapore | 24,000 |
| 16 | Casa de Dios Guatemala City, Guatemala | 20,000 to 25,000 |
Congregation figures are church-reported unless noted, compiled June 2026 from public reporting. Online reach: REACHRIGHT Church Influence 100, June 2026. The Redeemed Christian Church of God's Redemption Camp in Nigeria draws 500,000+ to its monthly Holy Ghost Service, excluded here because it is not a weekly gathering.
The Largest Church Buildings in the World
"Largest church" can also mean the building. Four records worth knowing, because they belong to four different churches.
Largest church building by area
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace
Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire
30,000 m² (320,000 sq ft), 158 m tall
Larger footprint than St. Peter’s Basilica, but holds only 18,000 people
Largest capacity (traditional)
St. Peter’s Basilica
Vatican City
About 60,000 standing, 20,000 seated
Completed in 1626
Largest church auditorium
Glory Dome (Dunamis)
Abuja, Nigeria
100,000 seats (church-reported)
Faith Tabernacle in Ota held the verified record at 50,400 seats from 1999
Tallest church
Sagrada Família
Barcelona, Spain
Surpassed Ulm Minster in October 2025
Ulm Minster (161.5 m) held the record for 135 years; Sagrada Família is still unfinished
The takeaway
The biggest churches on earth are no longer American, and most Americans have never heard of them. But size and influence are different measurements: rank these same churches by verified online reach and the order changes completely. See how on the Church Influence 100, compare the US-only view on the largest churches in America, or get your own church's Influence Score.
Questions, Answered
What is the biggest church in the world?
Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea is widely considered the biggest church in the world, with about 480,000 registered members and an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people attending weekly across its campuses. Several churches claim larger numbers, including Deeper Life Bible Church in Lagos, but their figures vary too widely between sources to rank with confidence.
What is the largest church building in the world?
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire is the largest church building in the world by area, covering about 30,000 square meters with a 158-meter dome, larger in footprint than St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter’s still holds far more people: roughly 60,000 standing versus 18,000 at Yamoussoukro.
What is the largest church auditorium in the world?
The Glory Dome in Abuja, Nigeria, home of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, is reported to seat about 100,000 people, which would make it the largest church auditorium in the world. The figure is church-reported. The last independently recognized record holder was Faith Tabernacle in Ota, Nigeria, which seats 50,400 and was recognized as the world’s largest church auditorium when it opened in 1999.
What is the tallest church in the world?
The Sagrada Família in Barcelona became the tallest church in the world in October 2025, surpassing Ulm Minster in Germany, whose 161.5-meter steeple had held the record for 135 years. The Sagrada Família is still under construction, so its final height is still rising.
Is Lakewood Church the biggest church in the world?
No. Lakewood Church in Houston reports about 45,000 weekly attendees, which makes it one of the largest churches in America but not the world. Churches in South Korea, Nigeria, India, and the Philippines report weekly gatherings and memberships several times that size. Lakewood does hold one of the largest single church sanctuaries in the US, a converted arena seating about 16,000.
How reliable are church attendance numbers?
Not very. Nearly every figure on this page is self-reported by the church itself, and no independent body audits congregation size anywhere in the world. Where sources conflict, we show the range instead of picking a number. That is also why the Church Influence 100 ranks churches by public platform data instead: follower counts are imperfect, but anyone can verify them.
Influence like this gets built on purpose.
Every church on this list posts consistently, in formats people actually watch. That's not luck. That's a system. We run that system for churches every week: sermon clips, graphics, carousels, captions, posted for you.