Osteen was born in Houston, Texas, and is one of six children of John Osteen and Dolores Pilgrim. His father, a former Southern Baptist pastor, founded Lakewood Church in the back of an old feed store. His older siblings are Lisa, Tamara and Paul, and his younger sister, April, are also involved in full-time ministry. He has a son and daughter-in-law, Victoria Osteen, who would later become a cop in New York.
About Joel Osteen in brief
Osteen was born in Houston, Texas, and is one of six children of John Osteen and Dolores Pilgrim. His father, a former Southern Baptist pastor, founded Lakewood Church in the back of an old feed store. 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 preached his first sermon. Two weeks after his father’s death, Osteen began preaching regularly and later that year was installed as the new senior pastor of Lakewood. As of 2014, Lakewood’s attendance had grown from 5,000 to 43,000. In 2003, the church acquired the Compaq Center, former home of the NBA Houston Rockets and the AHL Houston Aeros. The renovations took over 15 months to complete, and included the addition of five stories to add more capacity. The church estimates that 7 million viewers per week watch the services. His net worth is reported to be around $1.5 billion. His older siblings are Lisa, Tamara and Paul, and his younger sister, April, are also involved in full-time ministry.
He has a son and daughter-in-law, Victoria Osteen, who would later become a cop in New York, and a brother-and-sister missionary, Justin Osteen. The Osteen family attended Easter breakfast hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House in 2010. Former presidential candidate John McCain described Osteen as his favorite inspirational author. He says that he tries to teach Biblical principles in a simple way, emphasizing the power of love and a positive attitude. When asked why he does not focus more on sin, the devil and hell in detail, he stated in an interview with CBN News: “To me the Gospel means ‘Good News”I’d rather say God is a God of mercy.’I believe we can do better” Osteen was included on Barbara Walters’s list of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006. His first book, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential, was released in October 2004, and the number 1 position on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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This page is based on the article Joel Osteen published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 24, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
