A Visit to Lakewood Church

One of the largest fellowships in the United States is Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas pastored by Joel and Victoria Osteen. Last Sunday morning, I attended one of their services for the first time.

Lakewood Church meets in an arena where the Houston Rockets once played. Before going inside, I had to walk through a metal detector, plus have my backpack searched. I’m guessing increased security measures were enacted in response to a shooting that happened there two years ago. Since I arrived a half hour early for the 8:30 a.m. service, I took time to browse around. That included a huge bookstore. As expected, there were many of Pastor Joel’s books, but also some from other authors.


Just before the service started, I picked a seat in the tenth row on the main floor (I could’ve sat closer but preferred an aisle seat). I also talked to an usher to make sure it was okay for me to take pictures. The arena eventually filled to about 25-30% capacity. That’s still a large crowd for an early church service (there’s also one at 11:00, plus a Spanish service at 2:00 p.m.). The congregation had a mixture of whites, blacks, and Hispanics.


After the opening praise song, Pastors Joel and Victoria came on stage to greet the people and make introductory remarks. Then they took seats on the front row while more songs were sung. Some I didn’t recognize. Among the few I did was the classic hymn “To God Be the Glory.” I liked the light show and the graphics shown behind the stage. At one point, there was an invitation to come forward to receive prayer. Joel and Victoria were among those praying for people.


At the midpoint of the service, a video clip was shown of a woman who testified about God guiding her to establish a nonprofit organization to support unwed mothers. Mattie Mason was then introduced in person. While Pastor Joel spoke about her, he nearly broke down in tears. That’s one thing I’ve come to admire about Joel: his compassion for people.


The offering lasted about five minutes. Joel and Victoria briefly talked about how God wants us blessed to be a blessing to others. No offering buckets were passed around. Instead, people could give online or drop their offering in one of the depositories located outside the sanctuary. 


Joel‘s sermon titled “Always in Blossom” began with him asking us to turn to Psalm 1. I don’t recall seeing him do that before on TV. Joel usually shares biblical truths without referring to the chapter and verse. Later, he specifically quoted from Jeremiah 17:5-8. The scriptures were shown at the bottom of the video screens.


At the end of the service, there was a call for salvation. Although we were initially asked to close our eyes, Pastor Joel soon instructed those who wanted to be saved or rededicate their lives to Christ to stand up (a few did). He emphasized that Jesus doesn’t want us to be ashamed of Him. New believers were handed information about the “New Beginnings” follow-up classes available at the church. 


Joel had announced from the pulpit he would like to meet people visiting Lakewood. Again, security measures were in place. When I got in line, volunteers told us we could have pictures taken with the pastor, but someone else would hold our smartphones. I was asked to have my backpack set aside just before Joel stood in front of me, I told him it was my first time there, but I previously attended one of his “Night of Hope” events. Then I mentioned being a missionary who does street evangelism around the country, but have been coming to Houston more often. Joel offered a quick prayer for me and later faced the camera while someone took photos of us with my iPhone. 


Before leaving, I went up to the information desk to ask if they do any evangelism. Lakewood Church has community service outreaches, but not a one-on-one street ministry. I prefer churches that emphasize soul winning. Nevertheless, I’m glad I visited Lakewood. They are making a difference in Houston and beyond. I’ve also grown to appreciate Pastor Joel’s messages of encouragement. We could use more of that in the body of Christ. 


“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)

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