Elizabeth Hyman

Staff Writer

Inside of Lakewood Church. Photo credit: Lifeway Research

Did you know that, on average, 45,000 people attend Joel Osteen’s Lakewood megachurch in Texas weekly? Forty-five thousand. That’s more people attending a megachurch weekly than there are people experiencing homelessness daily in all of Texas. (That number is more than 27,000 as of 2024.) Unhoused people don’t have to seek this kind of shelter, of course, but if one building has space for nearly double the unhoused population, wouldn’t it make sense to utilize these spaces?  

I’ve been thinking about megachurches a lot lately. After all, they never escape the public eye, for better or worse. Joel Osteen’s church recently experienced a mass shooting, showing that tragedy will strike anywhere, even in the most popular places. Keeping the congregation in mind this week (with the best intentions), I wonder what would happen if the space given to megachurches became mega-shelters. I’ve had this thought since my first visit to a megachurch when I was 16. I can’t say I remember much of it, but I remember how confused I was. All this space, time, and money, yet they don’t even mention people experiencing homelessness.  

Now granted, that wasn’t the topic the day I was there. The sermon was about the prison system and how pastors had gone to Alabama to help prisoners for the holidays. Although it didn’t seem very positive, the sermon was more like a call for sympathy for the church, not the prison system. They did some good things, but there was no mention of hands-on support like offering their space. They weren’t even taking donations to support the population they talked about.   

According to prisonpolicy.org, formerly incarcerated people are ten times more likely to experience homelessness, but I don’t recall the sermon mentioning post-incarceration lives. It stands to reason that a megachurch can and should do more. They have the funds, they don’t pay taxes, and, most importantly, they have the community. The congregations could take people in, create a soup kitchen, and turn the rec halls into living spaces. Why it isn’t happening remains a mystery to me. I’m not bashing the churches, but instead, I’m offering an idea of how to make some progress against poverty. We could make the same argument for many abandoned buildings here in Greensboro.   

Still, I touch on megachurches because if a pastor is going to encourage charity, I hope they also practice it and encourage their 45,000 followers and all their donors to do so. If you preach the generosity of Jesus, then do what Jesus would do and share! Homelessness and poverty are rampant throughout the country. We must act, and that includes people in the upper 1%. Not every city has a megachurch, but every megachurch has room.