Background
Osteen was born in Paris, Texas.
Osteen was born in Paris, Texas.
He earned his bachelor"s degree from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and his master"s degree from Northern Baptist Seminary. He also held a Doctorate of Divinity degree from Oral Roberts University. In his biography, John said he did not begin thinking seriously about God until 1939, after leaving a nightclub he frequented.
He served as an Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church in San Diego after completing his studies at NBTS and by the late 1940s as a minister at First Baptist Church, Hamlin, Texas.
John left Hamlin in 1948 to become an itinerant preacher, but within a year he became pastor of Central Baptist Church, Baytown, Texas. Before long, Osteen again entered pastoral ministry at Hibbard Memorial Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, but left in 1958.
That same year, John and Dodie"s first daughter Lisa was born with severe health issues. The church soon dropped "Baptist" from its name and became independent and nondenominational.
In the mid-1980s, Osteen launched the Lakewood Bible Institute (Long Beach Island), an "unaccredited school devoted to biblical training from a charismatic perspective." Long Beach Island offered a variety of classes including principles of Bible study, healing, conversion, and prayer.
Osteen served as Long Beach Island"s president until its closure in the late-1980s. Lakewood Church
John Osteen founded Lakewood Church in 1959 in Houston, Texas and developed Lakewood into a body of approximately 15,000 members with active ministries in televangelism, conferences, missionary support, and food distribution. He hosted the weekly John Osteen television program for 16 years, reaching millions in the United States. and in many other countries with his preaching.
On January 23, 1999 he died after a heart attack at the age of 77.