Houston , Texas ( CNN ) -- Joel Osteen strides into the former Compaq Center . Some 20,000 people are standing and singing . Purple lights softly pulse across the ceiling , and mist floats around two giant screens flashing words to the songs . It 's not a pulpit but a podium . It 's not an altar but a stage . There is no cross . Instead a huge globe spins , and two massive bubbling creeks flank the stage . A lighting system softens distant corners of the massive arena and spreads colored light and smoke in strategic spots . Somehow , the space that will hold 40,000-plus on Sunday morning does n't feel like a sports arena . In the control room , producers watch multiple camera angles and feeds . Smiling broadly , Osteen bounds up the few stairs to the stage , closes his eyes , lifts his hands and leads a prayer . `` God , I 'm going to start this week off in faith . Expecting your goodness . Expecting to have a blessed and a prosperous week . Amen . Well , God bless you . Give him your very best today . '' Welcome to Sunday morning at Lakewood Church in Houston , Texas . It 's reportedly the nation 's largest congregation and probably one of the most diverse places in America . One third of these churchgoers are Hispanic , one-third African-American and a quarter white . There are dozens of nationalities . Osteen will give this sermon twice . He later said he knows immediately which segments to edit together into a sermon that will air on television to millions three weeks later . Between services , he is signing his most recent book in the lobby , just past the bookstore that is one of the highest-grossing Christian bookstores in America . His wife , Victoria , is co-pastor of the church and a best-selling author in her own right . In fact , the Osteens are not paid to be pastors at Lakewood , according to the church , but they live off the considerable proceeds of their books . Joel Osteen 's advance for `` It 's Your Time , '' his third book , an instant best-seller , was $ 12 million , according to the church . Settled into the pastor 's suite after two Sunday services and book signings , Osteen explains why he is telling people it 's the time to `` thrive . '' `` I tell them that this is not the time to get discouraged or put your life on hold and really to be talked into having a down year , '' Osteen said . `` I really believe that fear is contagious , that worry and anxiety ... if you let that get into you long enough , it almost paralyzes you . '' `` So if you get talked into saying , 'Well , I 'm just going to survive this year and make it and not get laid off , ' I believe you draw more negativity in , versus if you get up and say , 'OK , yes , we 're not in denial the economy is terrible , stuff 's not going great , but I believe that God calls me to be at the right place at the right time ' and you know put your faith out there -- do n't have a survival mentality , believe that you can thrive . '' That message is resonating . His publisher , Simon & Schuster , said some 850,000 copies of `` It 's Your Time '' are already in print . Osteen shrugs off criticism from mainstream Protestants , evangelicals and others who call Lakewood Christianity lite , more showbiz than theology -- a religious Disneyland , where after the `` ride , '' the doors open into the gift shop to buy books DVDs , calendars and all things Osteen . `` I 'm not a debater , '' he said , shrugging . He said he 's been called to deliver God 's message to as many people as possible , and God gave him a unique set of gifts to do so . One of those gifts is the ability to market brand Osteen across multiple media : podcasts , Twitter , books , DVDs , CDs and television . He produced his father 's telecasts for years and stepped into the spotlight after his death . Osteen 's expertise behind the camera has taken his father 's church to a stratospheric level . Osteen 's supporters and associates suggest mainstream Christian mistrust of his success may be as much jealousy as theology . `` Have you been to church in America recently ? '' one aide said . `` They put on a funeral . If you put on a funeral every week , eventually people stop coming . '' Osteen 's is the largest , but according to Hartford Seminary , there are 1,350 megachurches in the country , and they are spreading , while more traditional Christian churches struggle to fill the pews . `` What megachurches represent for good or bad is the world that we live in , '' said Scott Thumma , a sociology of religion professor at the Hartfold Seminary in Connecticut . `` I do n't think it is the only form of religion that is going to survive into the future ; I think there is also a very strong place for small intimate worship settings , like house churches and small cell churches . But the megachurch is appealing and attracting people for a reason ; it parallels the experience that we have with rock concerts and sports arenas and the mall . '' Joel and Victoria Osteen appear profoundly , unfailingly positive . On the screen that recent Sunday are these words -- God plans to prosper you and not harm you . `` I do n't believe it 's just money -- money is a part of it -- but prosper is to give you a good life , meaning good relationships , and give you health , '' Osteen said , explaining the `` prosper '' phrase comes from the Book of Jeremiah . It 's to `` give you a good job and money to pay your bills and do other things , but you know I encourage people to have a prosperous mindset . '' Osteen said . Osteen is often characterized , and criticized , for being a `` prosperity preacher . '' `` I do n't like to be called a prosperity minister because I think in most people 's minds that do n't know me they think , 'Well , all he talks about is money , ' `` Osteen said , `` Which I do n't , I talk about being blessed in so many different ways . '' Yet he does offer advice about finances and he has some experience . Osteen said Lakewood still has $ 40 million to pay off on $ 100 million he borrowed to convert Compaq Center from a basketball arena into a church . In `` It 's Your Time , '' he writes , `` If you have a burden of heavy debt , you need to announce to that debt , 'It is finished . ' Look at that house payment . 'It is finished . ' Look at that college loan . 'It is finished . ' Look at those unpaid bills . 'It is finished . ' `` Can God really wipe out your debts ? `` It starts ... with the vision that you have to believe that God can help you to get out of debt to fulfill your dreams , '' Osteen said . `` I do n't think anything is going to happen if you do n't believe , so I think that 's where you start . '' And what of the Bible verse that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven ? Or that Jesus preached his followers to give up all their belongings and follow him ? `` Years back at least , you know you had to be poor and to show you were holy , '' Osteen said . `` You 're supposed to sacrifice everything , and I 'm all for sacrifice and I believe in that , but I also believe that God wants us to be leaders . He 's put gifts and talents in every person , that they 're supposed to come out to the full . '' CNN 's Ben Tinker contributed to this report .
Joel Osteen preaches before 40,000 people in Houston , Texas , plus millions more on TV . Osteen reported received $ 12 million advance for his latest book . Comment: The balance between faith and finances on CNN 's `` In God We Trust '' at 8 p.m . ET Saturday .