Hope is hard to come by these days.

Mental health in the U.S. plummeted when the pandemic hit,

and between inflation, war, mass shootings,

and a whole host of other things,

it can be hard to find happiness in things,

whether they be large or small.

Maybe you find comfort escaping in a book or hanging out with friends, or maybe you find

comfort in the idea that maybe there's something bigger than you out there that's watching out for you.

If the latter is the case, you might go to church to learn about God.

Well, if you're one of roughly 45,000 or so members of the Lakewood Church in Houston, that means the person you'll be learning

from is the famous televangelist Joel Ostein.

For those who claim to love him, they say it's because he's charismatic and his message is all about hope.

O'stein and his wife even hosts live events called Night of Hope, packing stadiums full of tens of thousands of people.

I'm Joel O'stein. If you want to be inspired and uplifted, then join me for people.

The Lakewood Megachirch itself was once a sport stadium

The Lakewood Megacharch itself was once a sports stadium before Joel Ostestein ministries bought it in 2003.

For years now, Joel's audience has grown to the point of having a global reach.

If you ask him himself how he's done it, he'll admit that he isn't really preaching about a religion

but about real world troubles and how to live a good life.

Health issues and relationship issues, financial issues, and I try to speak to that.

I'm not really talking about religion, I'm talking about a relationship with God,

and I'm also talking about how to live a great life.

...