Birmingham’s Church of the Highlands named second largest megachurch in America by CBS News

From their cars to their fries and even to their churches, Americans have shown that they believe in the phrase “Bigger is better.”

In a CBS News report listing the largest megachurches in America, Birmingham’s Church of the Highlands claimed the No. 2 spot. The list was compiled based on the average number of weekly visitors.

So first things first. What exactly is a megachurch?

You’ve probably heard the term thrown around before, assuming it just meant a really, really big church – you know, the type that takes up an entire block or more? In a nutshell, yes, that may be true. But there are more logistics to it.

According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, a megachurch is a very active Protestant congregation with an average of 2,000 or more weekly attendees and a multitude of outreach programs and ministries.

Currently, there are over 1,300 megachurches in the United States. Roughly 50 of these churches have a weekly attendance between 10,000 to 47,000 people. A truly staggering amount!

This brings us back to Church of the Highlands holding the No. 2 spot of megachurches in the country. Can you guess how many attendees they have weekly? Get ready! 43,600!

This is just 9,400 fewer than the No. 1 megachurch in the U.S., Life Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, which draws in 53,000 weekly visitors.

If you don’t know much about Birmingham’s Church of the Highlands, here is some info.

Church of the Highlands is a non-denominational, Christian multi-site megachurch founded in 2001 by Pastor Chris Hodges.

Though its first location built and current headquarters lies in Birmingham, it branches off to many campuses throughout the state of Alabama. Click here for a full list of campuses.

While Church of the Highlands may be the second largest megachurch in the United States, it is actually the largest congregation in Alabama.

Want to visit Church of the Highlands’ main campus in Birmingham? Check it out at 4700 Highlands Way, Birmingham, AL 35210. For more information, find it here.

For the full list of megachurches in America, click here.