Nigeria is a country with so many churches. You can find a church in almost every street in Nigeria. Recently, the number of church branches and denominations in Nigeria has increased drastically. The population in these churches have also grown significantly. Nigerian churches pride themselves in the largeness of population they have. Orthodox churches such as Catholic and Anglican used to be the only churches with the largest membership. However, some Pentecostal churches are now equal with orthodox churches in terms of population and membership. Below are the most populated churches in Nigeria in no particular order.
Top 20 Most Populated Churches in Nigeria
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The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)
The Redeemed church has branches in almost 200 countries in the world. It has its headquarters in Lagos state with an average attendance of 50,000 people. The church holds an annual event known as the Holy Ghost Service which is regarded as the most populated Christian gathering in Nigeria.
Living Faith Church Worldwide
Living Faith Church World Wide Ministry is popularly known as Winners Chapel International. The church has branches all over Nigeria and abroad. Its headquarters, the popular Canaan land is located in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. Living Faith holds an annual conference tagged Shiloh which is one of the biggest Christian events in Nigeria. The church was once recognised by the Guinness Books of Records as the largest church in the world.
Deeper Life Bible Church
Deeper Life Bible Church is one of the oldest and largest churches in Nigeria. The church was founded in 1973 by Pastor Williams Folorunsho Kumuyi. The church started with just fifteen persons but has now grown to have one of the largest memberships and worshippers all over Nigeria.
The Apostolic Church
The Apostolic Church is one of the oldest and most populated churches in Nigeria. It has various branches in different corners of the country. Its headquarters is located in Lagos with an auditorium that can sit thousands of people at once. The Apostolic church is believed to be the fourth biggest church in Nigeria.
Dunamis International Gospel Centre
Dunamis has its headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. The church currently has the world’s largest church auditorium with 100, 000-seater capacity.
Christ Apostolic Church
The Christ Apostolic Church is an Aladura church that shows pentecostal features. The church believes in the efficacy of prayers and divine healing. The number of members of the church exceeds a million. The Christ Apostolic Church has church branches in over 15 countries including the United States of America.
The Church of Nigeria
This is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as regards to baptized membership. It currently as membership of over 18 million people.
The African Church
The African church was established in Nigeria in 1901. The church membership numbers to over 2 million people. The Church is widely popular in major cities all over Nigeria.
Christ Embassy
Christ Embassy also known as Love World Incorporated or Believers Loveworld. The church was founded by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome in 1987. It has its headquarters in Lagos state and congregations in many other countries. The church has over 200,000,000 followers all over the world
The Cherubim and Seraphim
The Cherubim and Seraphim movement church, popularly known as the C&S was founded in 1925 by Moses Orimolade Tunolase. The church currently has about 10 million members in about 1500 branches all over the world.
Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN)
Synagogue Church of All Nations was founded by Prophet T.B Joshua. He is also the general overseer of the church. It is one of the popular churches in Nigeria and in the continent at large. The church has attendees from all over the world. Prophet T.B is popular for his miracles, healing ministrations, and his humanitarian works.
Daystar Christian Centre (DCC)
The church was founded by Pastor Samuel Adeyemi in 1995. It is currently one of the biggest churches in Lagos, with over 500, 000 members.
Mountain of Fire and Miracles
The ministry of Mountain of Fire and Miracles began in the home of Daniel Olukoya. The church has grown to over 300 churches within Nigeria and other western countries. The branches outside of Africa mainly cater to an African immigrant population.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church in Nigeria is part of the worldwide Catholic Church. In 2005, there was an estimated number of 19 million baptised Catholics in Nigeria. In 2010, the Catholic population accounted for approximately 12.6% of the Nigerian population. The Igbo ethnic group also accounts for over 70 percent of Nigeria’s Catholic population.
The Celestial Church of Christ
This is an African initiated church founded on the 29th of September in 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. The church has a population of about 50,000,000 in Benin. While there is no accurate figure in Nigeria, Nigeria holds the second largest population of the Celestial Church of Christ
The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement
This church is popularly called Lord’s Chosen. It was founded by Lazarus Muoka. The church has its headquarters located in Lagos State. It started with a few people but has experienced rapid growth with about 1,000,000 members in service and over 300,000 branches all over the world.
The Nigerian Baptist Convention
The Nigerian Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination, affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The church began in Nigeria with Thomas Jefferson Bowen in 1850 and has grown into over 10,000 Churches with about 7,000,000 baptized members
The Nigerian Methodist Church
It is one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world and one of the largest churches in Nigeria. The church has around two million members in 2000 congregations in Nigeria.
Salvation Ministries
Salvation Ministries was founded by David Ibiyiome. As of 2017, Salvation Ministries has an average attendance of about 50,000 attendees every Sunday at its headquarters. In February 2011, Salvation Ministries started 14 satellite churches in one day, while running five services each Sunday.
Word of Life Bible Church
This is a Pentecostal Christian megachurch located in Warri, Delta, Nigeria. It is one of the largest congregations in Nigeria with an average of about 30,000 attendees per week. The church now has congregations in over 70 locations worldwide.