{"id":359234,"date":"2026-07-02T23:05:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/359234\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T23:05:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:05:40","slug":"the-southwest-believers-convention-and-kenneth-copelands-impact-on-fort-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/359234\/","title":{"rendered":"The Southwest Believers’ Convention and Kenneth Copeland’s Impact on Fort Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Large-scale Christian arena conferences in the United States have declined in size and influence. Major evangelism gatherings that once filled stadiums have scaled down, merged or closed altogether. Kenneth Copeland Ministries\u2019 Southwest Believers\u2019 Convention<\/a> in Fort Worth has gone the other direction.<\/p>\n

For 45 consecutive years, Kenneth Copeland Ministries<\/a> has hosted the Southwest Believers\u2019 Convention at the Fort Worth Convention Center, including through 2020. Admission has remained free throughout that run. Registrations in 2025 reached nearly 18,000 attendees representing all 50 states and 54 countries, eclipsing pre-COVID numbers.<\/p>\n

That gathering made measurable contributions to downtown Fort Worth\u2019s tourism and hospitality businesses. Visit Fort Worth<\/a>, the city\u2019s destination marketing organization, has publicly thanked KCM for the partnership.<\/p>\n

Against a National Decline in Faith Conferences\u00a0<\/p>\n

Patheos contributor Shawn Paul Wood<\/a> has documented the decline of Christian arena conferences in the United States, from stadium-era crusades tied to evangelists like Billy Graham, Luis Palau, and Oral Roberts through more recent programs such as Promise Keepers and Acquire the Fire, which have since wound down.<\/p>\n

Streaming absorbed much of the audience during the same period. Patheos cites industry data showing that roughly 87% of U.S. churches now stream their services and 67% offer apps for remote viewing.<\/p>\n

SWBC has held steady against that pattern. Attendance rebuilt after the 2020 pandemic season and returned to pre-COVID levels at the 45th anniversary gathering in 2025. Admission is free, a structure that has not changed since the convention first opened in 1981.<\/p>\n

What Happens Over Six Days\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each year, the Southwest Believers\u2019 Convention runs six days at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Sessions include Bible teaching, worship, corporate prayer, and healing services (known as Healing School), led by Kenneth Copeland and a rotating lineup of invited ministers.<\/p>\n

After nearly 60 years of ministry travel, Kenneth Copeland has reduced his itinerant schedule to focus more of his work at home and at the Fort Worth headquarters. That transition has made SWBC a larger share of his annual teaching calendar and reinforced the convention\u2019s role as the ministry\u2019s central gathering.<\/p>\n

Speakers in 2025 included Terri Copeland Pearsons (KCM\u2019s eldest daughter and president of Kenneth Copeland Bible College), George Pearsons (pastor of Eagle Mountain International Church), Nancy Dufresne of World Harvest Bible Training Center, and Bill Winston of Living Word Christian Center. A Friday night concert featured the GRAMMY-winning Gaither Vocal Band.<\/p>\n

Children and youth have dedicated tracks. Services in 2025 hosted 550 children ages 6 to 12 and 583 youth ages 13 to 18, with 807 salvations and 95 water baptisms recorded across the week.<\/p>\n

Economic Impact on Fort Worth\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2025 Southwest Believers\u2019 Convention generated an estimated $8.8 million in economic impact for Fort Worth. The convention supported nearly 1,100 food, lodging, and entertainment jobs near or inside Sundance Square, the city\u2019s downtown district. Spending concentrated on hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues in that area.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of Visit Fort Worth and our hospitality community, I want to thank Kenneth Copeland Ministries for bringing their Southwest Believers\u2019 Convention to our city for the past 45 years,\u201d said Bob Jameson, president and CEO of Visit Fort Worth<\/a>, in remarks following the 2025 event. \u201cTheir longstanding commitment to Fort Worth fills a vital time on our summer calendar and supports jobs across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar figures have recurred across the convention\u2019s 45-year run. Hospitality workers benefit from a predictable July-August booking on the city calendar.<\/p>\n

A Global Audience, Year After Year\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attendees traveled from all 50 states and 54 countries to the 2025 convention. Registrations totaled nearly 18,000, including 871 pastors from churches and ministries worldwide. International breadth has been a consistent feature of SWBC across its 45-year run.<\/p>\n

KCM covers hosting costs for the free convention through partner contributions and ministry revenue. That funding model has remained consistent since the first convention in 1981.<\/p>\n

Victory Channel livestreams services to viewers who cannot travel to Fort Worth in person, carrying SWBC sessions in real time across the network\u2019s satellite, cable, and streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

Why the City Has Welcomed SWBC for 45 Years\u00a0<\/p>\n

SWBC fills a week on the Fort Worth event calendar that returns to the same venue every summer. Attendees from around the world fill hotel rooms, buy meals at downtown restaurants, and shop in Sundance Square before, during, and after sessions at the convention center.<\/p>\n

KCM has maintained its headquarters in the Fort Worth area throughout its nearly 60-year ministry. That geography ties the convention to a permanent base rather than a rotating host city. Eagle Mountain International Church, Kenneth Copeland Bible College, and Victory Channel production facilities all operate from within or near Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

John Copeland, chief executive officer of KCM, has described SWBC as the ministry\u2019s central annual event. \u201cThis is our Super Bowl,\u201d he said after the 2025 convention, \u201cso we needed to turn up the volume and create an attraction to rival any trade show or national convention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copeland added that attendee feedback sought something beyond spectacle. \u201cThey sought a more meaningful and unforgettable experience that would change their lives by creating an opportunity to gather with like-minded believers and experience the presence of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Year 46 and Counting\u00a0<\/p>\n

Forty-five consecutive years of operation at the Fort Worth Convention Center have distinguished SWBC from its peers in the American Christian conference circuit: same city, same venue, same free-admission structure, year after year.<\/p>\n

That continuity has produced measurable returns for Fort Worth. Hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues near Sundance Square count on a reliable August week each year. City leadership has publicly credited the partnership as a pillar of summer tourism.<\/p>\n

Registration is open for the 46th annual Southwest Believers\u2019 Convention<\/a>, scheduled for July 27 through August 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Have you read?
David Achord: Building Lasting Success Through Service, Leadership, and Resilience<\/a>.
From Chaos to Growth: How SOPs and AI Transform Service Businesses<\/a>.
David Achord: Building Success Through Service, Leadership, and Persistence<\/a>.
The Post-Intranet Era: Why Internal Communications Must Start Thinking Like Media<\/a>.
Inside the Fortune 500 AI Playbook: Specialize Before You Scale<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Large-scale Christian arena conferences in the United States have declined in size and influence. Major evangelism gatherings that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[127659,127660,127667,127661,127664,127665,127662,127663,127666,116,118,117],"class_list":["post-359234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-executive-capital-advisory-circle","tag-executive-capital-foresight-forum","tag-executive-capital-leadership-network","tag-executive-capital-strategy-circle","tag-executive-wealth-decision-forum","tag-executive-wealth-futures-council","tag-executive-wealth-intelligence-circle","tag-executive-wealth-leadership-circle","tag-executive-wealth-strategy-forum","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}