Top 10 Most Influential Pastors and Preachers Today

Tim Keller co-founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989, planting it in one of the most secular urban environments in the United States and growing it to thousands of weekly attendees from largely unchurched backgrounds. His books — including The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and Making Sense of God — brought rigorous Reformed theology into dialogue with secular philosophy and made him the foremost apologist for Christianity in the intellectual mainstream. Keller died in May 2023, but his influence on urban church planting continues to shape a generation of pastors worldwide.

T.D. Jakes is the founder and senior pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, a megachurch with over 30,000 members and a global television audience reaching 220 countries. His preaching style — emotionally powerful, narratively rich, and deeply rooted in the African American prophetic tradition — has made him one of the most recognizable Christian voices in the world. Time magazine named him "America's Best Preacher" in 2001, and his influence extends across film, publishing, and global ministry.

John Piper served as senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis for thirty-three years before founding the Desiring God ministry, which now distributes over 10,000 free resources to millions of readers and listeners worldwide. His theology of "Christian Hedonism" — that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him — reshaped evangelical spirituality across the English-speaking world and beyond. His book Desiring God alone has sold over a million copies and been translated into dozens of languages.

Francis Chan founded Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California in 1994 and led it for sixteen years before walking away to pursue radical discipleship on a smaller scale — a decision that itself became one of the most talked-about acts in modern evangelicalism. His book Crazy Love sold over a million copies and challenged comfortable American Christianity to take the demands of the gospel seriously. Chan now works in underground church movements in Asia, training thousands of house church leaders in regions hostile to Christianity.

Joyce Meyer overcame a childhood marked by severe abuse to become one of the most widely broadcast female Bible teachers in the world, with her program Life in the Word airing in sixty-seven languages across 150 countries. Her practical, confession-driven approach to faith and personal growth has sold over 100 million books and built Joyce Meyer Ministries into a major international charitable organization. She is widely credited with opening evangelical ministry platforms to women at a scale previously unseen.

Joel Osteen leads Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas — the largest congregation in the United States, with a weekly attendance exceeding 50,000 and television broadcasts reaching over 100 million viewers. His prosperity-influenced, optimism-centered message is both the most widely consumed and most theologically contested in American Christianity. His books, including Your Best Life Now and Become a Better You, have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, making him simultaneously the most popular and most criticized pastor of his generation.

Andy Stanley founded North Point Ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia in 1995, and it has grown into a network of churches with combined weekly attendance exceeding 40,000 — making it one of the largest church networks in North America. His communication style is widely studied in seminaries and ministry training programs for its clarity, narrative structure, and cultural accessibility. His book Irresistible argues for a return to the New Testament church's approach to engaging culture without compromise.

Charles Stanley served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta for over five decades and founded In Touch Ministries, which broadcasts his teachings in over fifty languages to virtually every country on earth. He served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention and is widely regarded as one of the most consistently faithful preachers in twentieth and twenty-first century American Christianity. His straightforward, verse-by-verse exposition style shaped the homiletics of thousands of Southern Baptist pastors.

Ravi Zacharias built RZIM into one of the most globally recognized Christian apologetics organizations in the world, with a team of speakers operating in over thirty countries and universities. His books, including Can Man Live Without God and Jesus Among Other Gods, made him the foremost defender of Christian truth claims against secular and pluralist challenges for three decades. His legacy became deeply complicated following posthumous revelations of serious misconduct, making him one of the most tragic and instructive figures in modern Christian ministry history.

Tim Keller co-founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989, planting it in one of the most secular urban environments in the United States and growing it to thousands of weekly attendees from largely unchurched backgrounds. His books — including The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and Making Sense of God — brought rigorous Reformed theology into dialogue with secular philosophy and made him the foremost apologist for Christianity in the intellectual mainstream. Keller died in May 2023, but his influence on urban church planting continues to shape a generation of pastors worldwide.

T.D. Jakes is the founder and senior pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, a megachurch with over 30,000 members and a global television audience reaching 220 countries. His preaching style — emotionally powerful, narratively rich, and deeply rooted in the African American prophetic tradition — has made him one of the most recognizable Christian voices in the world. Time magazine named him "America's Best Preacher" in 2001, and his influence extends across film, publishing, and global ministry.

John Piper served as senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis for thirty-three years before founding the Desiring God ministry, which now distributes over 10,000 free resources to millions of readers and listeners worldwide. His theology of "Christian Hedonism" — that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him — reshaped evangelical spirituality across the English-speaking world and beyond. His book Desiring God alone has sold over a million copies and been translated into dozens of languages.

Francis Chan founded Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California in 1994 and led it for sixteen years before walking away to pursue radical discipleship on a smaller scale — a decision that itself became one of the most talked-about acts in modern evangelicalism. His book Crazy Love sold over a million copies and challenged comfortable American Christianity to take the demands of the gospel seriously. Chan now works in underground church movements in Asia, training thousands of house church leaders in regions hostile to Christianity.

Joyce Meyer overcame a childhood marked by severe abuse to become one of the most widely broadcast female Bible teachers in the world, with her program Life in the Word airing in sixty-seven languages across 150 countries. Her practical, confession-driven approach to faith and personal growth has sold over 100 million books and built Joyce Meyer Ministries into a major international charitable organization. She is widely credited with opening evangelical ministry platforms to women at a scale previously unseen.

Joel Osteen leads Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas — the largest congregation in the United States, with a weekly attendance exceeding 50,000 and television broadcasts reaching over 100 million viewers. His prosperity-influenced, optimism-centered message is both the most widely consumed and most theologically contested in American Christianity. His books, including Your Best Life Now and Become a Better You, have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, making him simultaneously the most popular and most criticized pastor of his generation.

Andy Stanley founded North Point Ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia in 1995, and it has grown into a network of churches with combined weekly attendance exceeding 40,000 — making it one of the largest church networks in North America. His communication style is widely studied in seminaries and ministry training programs for its clarity, narrative structure, and cultural accessibility. His book Irresistible argues for a return to the New Testament church's approach to engaging culture without compromise.

Charles Stanley served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta for over five decades and founded In Touch Ministries, which broadcasts his teachings in over fifty languages to virtually every country on earth. He served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention and is widely regarded as one of the most consistently faithful preachers in twentieth and twenty-first century American Christianity. His straightforward, verse-by-verse exposition style shaped the homiletics of thousands of Southern Baptist pastors.

Ravi Zacharias built RZIM into one of the most globally recognized Christian apologetics organizations in the world, with a team of speakers operating in over thirty countries and universities. His books, including Can Man Live Without God and Jesus Among Other Gods, made him the foremost defender of Christian truth claims against secular and pluralist challenges for three decades. His legacy became deeply complicated following posthumous revelations of serious misconduct, making him one of the most tragic and instructive figures in modern Christian ministry history.