First-Ever Pastor Influence 100 Ranks the World's Most-Followed Pastors; Joel Osteen Leads U.S. at No. 3
The Pastor Influence 100, REACHRIGHT's data-driven ranking of the 100 most influential pastors online — 348 million combined followers across 22 countries.
New data-driven index ranks pastors by personal social media reach. Brazil's Bruno Leonardo tops the 2026 list with 90.4 million followers.
The No. 1 pastor is not a household name in the United States. Bruno Leonardo, bishop of Igreja Batista Avivamento Mundial in Brazil, reaches 90.4 million followers, led by a YouTube channel with 76.3 million subscribers that grew 25.5 percent in the past year. Nigerian pastor Jerry Eze of Streams of Joy International ranks No. 2 with 10.7 million followers. Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston is the highest-ranked American at No. 3 with 37.6 million followers, 30.3 million of them on Facebook.
The index evaluated a candidate pool of nearly 1,000 pastors worldwide and scored the top group across four platforms: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Only personal accounts count. Church brand accounts belong to the companion Church Influence 100, which REACHRIGHT publishes separately, and the two lists tell different stories. Elevation Church ranks No. 1 among churches, but its pastor, Steven Furtick, ranks No. 9 on personal reach.
Other findings from the 2026 edition:
American pastors hold 44 of the 100 spots but only 38 percent of the list's combined 348 million followers. The largest audiences belong to pastors in Brazil, Nigeria, and across the global south.
Texas is home to 11 of the 44 American pastors on the list, more than any other state.
Ten women rank in the top 100. Michelle Corral of Breath of the Spirit Ministries ranks highest at No. 6, and her YouTube channel grew 347 percent this year, among the fastest on the list.
The fastest-growing channels belong to lesser-known pastors. Ten of the twenty fastest-growing started the year under 100,000 subscribers.
Rankings score three factors: total reach across the four platforms, one-year growth, and consistency of presence. The scoring formula, eligibility rules, and correction policy are published at reachrightstudios.com/pastor-influence-100/methodology/. The index takes no payment for placement and accepts no submissions.
"Pastors used to influence the people who walked through the door. Now a pastor in Salvador, Brazil reaches more people every morning than American television ever did," said Thomas Costello, founder of REACHRIGHT and an executive pastor himself. "We built this index because that influence is real, it is measurable, and the people carrying it deserve an honest scoreboard. Reach is a stewardship."
The full ranking, individual pastor profiles, and methodology are available at reachrightstudios.com/pastor-influence-100/.
About REACHRIGHT: REACHRIGHT is a church marketing agency founded in 2016, based in Round Rock, Texas, serving churches across the United States. It publishes the annual Church Influence 100 and Pastor Influence 100 indexes.
Media contact: Thomas Costello, info@reachrightstudios.com
Thomas Costello
REACHRIGHT
+1 608-561-2777
info@reachrightstudios.com
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