Joel Osteen
| Joel Osteen | |
|---|---|
Osteen preaching at Lakewood Church, July 17, 2016
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| Religion | Non-denominational Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Evangelical, Word of Faith |
| Church | Lakewood Church |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | Joel Scott Osteen March 5, 1963 Houston, Texas |
| Spouse | Victoria Osteen (m. 1987) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
John Osteen (father) Dolores Pilgrim Osteen (mother) |
| Religious career | |
| Post | Senior pastor (1999–present) |
| Website | www |
Joel Scott Osteen (born March 5, 1963) is an American preacher and televangelist. He is the Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas. Osteen's televised sermons are seen by over 7 million viewers weekly and over 20 million monthly in over 100 countries. His sermons also broadcast 24 hours a day on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Channel 128. Osteen has written seven New York Times Best Sellers. He has been widely nicknamed "The Smiling Preacher".
In 2004, his first book, Your Best Life Now, was released by Time Warner and debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list. The book remained a The New York Times Best Seller for more than 200 weeks.
Osteen was born in Houston, Texas, and is one of six children of John Osteen and Dolores ("Dodie") Pilgrim. His father, a former Southern Baptist pastor, founded Lakewood Church, of which Osteen is the current senior pastor, in the back of an old feed store. Osteen attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he studied radio and television communications, but did not graduate and did not receive a degree from a divinity school. In 1982, he returned to Houston and founded Lakewood's television program, where he produced his father's televised sermons for 17 years until January 1999, when his father died unexpectedly from a heart attack.
Osteen's father encouraged him to preach for many years, but he declined, preferring to work behind the scenes until January 17, 1999, when he accepted his father's suggestion and he preached his first sermon. John Osteen died six days later of a heart attack. Two weeks after his father's death, Osteen began preaching regularly and later that year was installed as the new senior pastor of Lakewood Church on October 3, 1999. Since then, Lakewood's attendance has grown from 5,000 to 43,000.
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