Mother’s Day in the US this year falls on May 10 – the same date as it did in 1959.
And while few Americans may know that, members of the largest church in America are almost certain to say they knew, given that on the same day 50 years ago their church first opened its doors.
This weekend, Lakewood Church in Houston will be marking its 50th anniversary in a place far different from the old, abandoned feed store that it started off as.
Its 38,000-large congregation will be celebrating in the arena formerly home to the Houston Rockets, where it has worshipped for the past four years.
“I can hardly believe that we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Lakewood Church this coming weekend on Mother's Day,” said the megachurch’s senior minister, Pastor Joel Osteen.
“Most people know the story of how the church started off in an old, abandoned feed store with less than 100 people. But who would have ever guessed that my parent's hard work and dedication would establish a ministry that has literally affected people all over the world in every country from every race, tribe, and tongue,” he added.
Aside from the 38,000 churchgoers that Osteen draws each week to his 16,000-seater church, up to seven million Americans each week and more than 20 million each month reportedly view Osteen’s weekly sermon, which is broadcast into television markets across the United States and in over 100 nations around the world including Canada, Australia, India, South Korea, Africa and throughout Europe.
“I can't even begin to imagine how many lives have been touched over the years through the seeds they've sown,” Osteen wrote in his blog Wednesday.
Though Osteen has been praised by many for his uplifting messages and popular bestselling books, the charismatic minister has also received much criticism for his lack of formal theological training and for preaching what critics call the “prosperity gospel”, a belief that prosperity and success – particularly financial – is a sign of God’s favour.
Osteen, however, insists that his theology is not “dangerous”, as some say it is, and that God has used him to turn people’s lives around and to give them hope.
"I don’t know what can be so dangerous about giving people hope [or] causing people to have better relationships. I'm not leading them to some false God or something like that," Osteen said last year to Byron Pitts of CBS.
