Dolores 'Dodie' Osteen, who founded Houston's Lakewood Church with her husband and helped guide her son to become one of the world's most popular televangelists, died at her home, her family has announced. She was 91.
On Wednesday evening, Lakewood Pastor Joel Osteen and his sister, Lisa Osteen Comes, posted similar messages sharing the news of their mother's death on X and Instagram.
"It is with a heavy heart that Victoria and I, along with our family, announce the passing of our cherished mother and grandmother," Joel said on X, mentioning his wife and co-pastor Victoria Osteen. "She was the beloved matriarch of Lakewood Church, an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and a faithful servant of God. Known as ‘Mama Dodie’ to the entire Lakewood family, together, we celebrate her amazing life and lasting legacy. She passed of natural causes, peacefully at her home."
Dodie and her late husband, former Southern Baptist minister Pastor John Osteen, founded Lakewood in 1959. The couple’s initial services involved speaking in tongues and faith healing. Together, they also hosted a weekly TV program, with audiences spread throughout 100 countries worldwide.
Dodie was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1981. She went on to write Healed of Cancer, her testimony that prayer and the power of Jesus had miraculously healed her—a message she and her five children, including Joel, would spread to their global congregation for decades to come.
Her husband, John, died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 77. Joel took over the pulpit that same year and has since grown the Charismatic-style church's weekly attendance from an average of about 5,000 to more than 50,000, while claiming millions of weekly viewers through his TV broadcasts and digital platforms worldwide. Lakewood has become one of the country's largest and wealthiest churches, and is now housed in the former Compaq Center, previously the home of the Houston Rockets.
Dodie maintained an active presence in the church in recent years, delivering on-stage testimonies, authoring books and appearing on Christian-based Trinity Broadcasting Network to share her beliefs. She had also amassed a growing social media following, often sharing photographs of her children and grandchildren (including Joel's kids, Alexandra and Jonathan, who now work for the church) on her accounts.
In early 2024, Dodie took part in commemorating Lakewood's 65th anniversary and Joel's 1,000th sermon. Later that year, the Osteens celebrated Dodie's 91st birthday in October.
By Thursday morning, Lakewood's announcement of Dodie's death had drawn comments from pastors, gospel singers and celebrities. Keion Henderson was among the religious figures sharing his condolences; the pastor of Houston's Lighthouse Church held services at Lakewood in 2024 after his congregation was temporarily displaced due to the destruction of Hurricane Beryl. "Oh no," Henderson commented on Joel's announcement on Instagram, with broken hearts and prayer hands emojis.
"I am truly without words. She made my family, my wife, in fact all of us who have lost our own mothers feel as though she stepped in as a sacred surrogate," Bishop T.D. Jakes from Dallas, who also has close ties to Lakewood, said of Dodie on Instagram. "She was nothing short of an angel among us—moving through life with a rare and radiant grace, marked by class, dignity, and a humility that made her all the more majestic."
Pastor Jentezen Franklin, of North Carolina, who has been a guest speaker at Lakewood, wrote on social media that Dodie was "a true saint" as he offered "love and prayers" to the Osteens. Singaporean evangelist Joseph Prince, who has also preached at Lakewood, commented that Dodie was "a great inspiration" to his family and that he was "grieving" with the Osteens at this time.