Source: the InGather registry (Entities), re-pulled in full 2026-11-07: 418 records, 418 unique ids — unchanged from the 2026-11-06 founding count. Every founding-edition figure was reconciled identical. Every figure below was recomputed from the raw records on that date; definitions stated with each figure. This is a COUNT, not a survey: no sampling, no estimates, no imputation. A blank field is reported as blank, never filled by inference.
01 / FOUNDING EDITION
Headline figures
- 418 churches and ministries listed — 408 congregations, 9 para-church ministries, 1 church plant.
- 69 cities across the Houston metro carry at least one listing.
- 0 claimed. Every listing stands on public records today; none has yet been claimed and completed by its church. That number is this report's invitation (see "The open number").
- All 418 carry Public Listing = true under the list-first model: "Listed from public records. Yours to claim, correct, or remove."
02 / FOUNDING EDITION
Where the churches are (top cities, by registry City field)
| City | Listings |
|---|---|
| Houston | 69 |
| The Woodlands | 23 |
| Katy | 22 |
| Conroe | 13 |
| Pasadena | 11 |
| Needville | 11 |
| Cypress | 9 |
| Pearland | 9 |
| Sugar Land | 8 |
| Willis | 8 |
and 59 more cities beyond the top ten.
03 / FOUNDING EDITION
Churches per 10,000 residents
Listings recorded under each locality in the registry, per 10,000 residents of the Census place of the same name. Populations: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020–2024), Table B01003 (Total Population), retrieved 2026-11-07; geography exactly as the Census Bureau defines it (2024 National Gazetteer place file).
- Houston city — 69 listings ÷ 2,328,253 residents = 0.30 per 10,000
- The Woodlands CDP — 23 ÷ 121,002 = 1.90 per 10,000
- Katy city — 22 ÷ 25,184 = 8.74 per 10,000 (see caveat)
- Conroe city — 13 ÷ 102,360 = 1.27 per 10,000
- Pasadena city — 11 ÷ 149,433 = 0.74 per 10,000
- Needville city — 11 ÷ 3,094 = 35.55 per 10,000 (see caveat)
- Pearland city — 9 ÷ 127,514 = 0.71 per 10,000
- Sugar Land city — 8 ÷ 110,016 = 0.73 per 10,000
- Willis city — 8 ÷ 6,878 = 11.63 per 10,000 (see caveat)
- Cypress — not computed: the Census Bureau defines no Cypress place or CDP in Texas; "Cypress" is the unincorporated northwest Harris County locality name, and a ZIP-based substitute would be an estimate. This report does not estimate.
- Counties — not computed in this edition: the registry's County field is populated on only 55 of 418 records (Montgomery 34, Harris 16, Fort Bend 4, Galveston 1; blank on 363), so a county rate would publish a density roughly seven times too low. County populations were sourced for the four counties present (Harris 4,838,303; Fort Bend 893,767; Montgomery 684,432; Galveston 358,990 — ACS 2024 5-year, Table B01003) and county rates will arrive once the County field is completed on the registry itself.
The registry's City field is the locality name as recorded from public records — in practice the mailing/locality label — while the Census population counts residents inside the Census place boundary. For Houston, Pasadena, Pearland, Sugar Land, and Conroe the two are close. For Katy, Needville, and Willis the locality label reaches well beyond the small city limits (greater Katy, the Needville rural delivery area, the Willis mailing area), so those three rates — computed exactly as defined above — overstate density inside the city limits and compare localities as labelled, not municipal boundaries. The Woodlands CDP boundary is the closest match between the registry label and the Census geography.
04 / FOUNDING EDITION
The tradition mix (registry Denomination field, as recorded)
- Baptist (other)
- 51
- Roman Catholic
- 49
- United Methodist
- 36
- Southern Baptist
- 33
- Non-denominational
- 28
- Churches of Christ
- 22
- Episcopal
- 21
- Presbyterian (PCUSA)
- 19
- Lutheran (LCMS)
- 13
- Lutheran (ELCA)
- 11
- Anglican (ACNA)
- 11
- Global Methodist
- 10
- Seventh-day Adventist
- 10
- Calvary Chapel
- 9
- Assemblies of God
- 9
- Presbyterian (PCA)
- 9
- Pentecostal
- 9
- Bible Church
- 7
- Vineyard
- 7
- Eastern Orthodox
- 7
- Reformed
- 7
- Christian Church / Disciples
- 5
- Nazarene
- 5
- Evangelical Free
- 4
- Messianic
- 3
- Other
- 4
- Not yet classified
- 19
Grouped: the Baptist family (Baptist (other) + Southern Baptist) is the metro's largest at 84; Methodist family (UMC + Global Methodist) 46; Presbyterian/Reformed family (PCUSA + PCA + Reformed) 35; Lutheran family (LCMS + ELCA) 24. 26 named traditions in total.
05 / FOUNDING EDITION
Languages — counted with its coverage stated
Language data is published for only 38 of 418 records so far (it is never guessed): English 37, Spanish 10, Mandarin 1 among those 38. So the honest line is: at least 10 congregations are recorded offering Spanish — a floor, not a total. This figure is expected to move the most as churches claim and complete their listings.
06 / FOUNDING EDITION
Completeness, stated plainly
Website on file for 320 of 418. Service schedule published for 57 of 418. Denomination not yet classified on 19. These gaps are the registry's known edges; the claim flow exists to close them with the churches' own facts.
07 / FOUNDING EDITION
The open number
0 claimed is not a failure statistic; it is the founding condition this report is published into. The first edition of a counted census of Houston church life stands entirely on public records. Every claim moves three things at once: the claimed count, the completeness figures, and the authority of the next edition. The 2027 edition will report the delta.
08 / FOUNDING EDITION
Method
Counted 2026-11-06 from the production registry (418 records after the 2026-11-04 deduplication executed under the founder's delegation: 435 grown records → 418 distinct). Counting definitions: totals by Entity Type field; cities by distinct City values; traditions by the Denomination field exactly as recorded; languages counted only where a record carries published language data. Per-capita figures (v1.1 provenance note): added 2026-11-07 only after sourcing from U.S. Census Bureau figures with the same dated provenance as everything else here — ACS 2024 5-year (2020–2024), Table B01003, retrieved 2026-11-07, geographies verified against the Census Bureau 2024 National Gazetteer place file. Two geographies were deliberately left uncomputed rather than estimated: Cypress (no Census place geography exists) and all counties (the registry County field is populated on only 55 of 418 records). One vintage only; no decennial figure is blended in anywhere in the per-capita layer.
09 / FOUNDING EDITION
What this becomes
Houston is the founding edition of a counted — not surveyed — record of church life. The same registry method, run metro by metro, produces The State of the American Church: the first census of American congregations that churches themselves can claim, correct, and keep current.