Tim Tebow -- 15,000 Show Up for His Easter Sermon

Some of the crowd came from as far as 100 miles away. Pastor Joe Champion said, "In Christianity, it's the Pope and Tebow right now. We didn't have enough room to handle the Pope."

Tebow preached that it was important for people to be outspoken about their faith (never a problem for Tim) and that athletes are role models, whether they like it or not.

According to local reports, several hundred people left after Tebow finished speaking ... not even staying for the pastor's main Sunday sermon.