FORT WORTH, TX – Mercy Culture Church is in full celebration mode after 13 couples were spontaneously married during church services this past Sunday (Aug. 2). The unplanned event started near the end of the church’s first service.
Senior Lead Pastor Landon Schott, who was on sabbatical for rest and recovery last month, told congregants about the vision God gave him during his time away. The “spiritual daydream,” as Pastor Schott put it, revolved around couples in the church who were living together while unmarried.
The clergyman did not seek to condemn the couples for what the Christian faith recognizes as a sin. Pastor Schott instead invited those individuals to come forward so he could perform a wedding ceremony.
“If there’s anyone in this room, I’ll marry you right now,” Pastor Schott said. Four couples responded to the invitation during the first service, which caused other congregants to applaud and cheer.
“So how cool is this,” Pastor Schott said as the couples stood before him. “When I’m on sabbatical, I have to try not to think about the church because I love it so much,” the clergyman said.
“And I was sitting on a dock, and I had this really strong, vivid vision,” Schott said of the vision that led him to give the invitation for marriage. “It was like a spiritual daydream, where I’m seeing a movie in my mind.”
“I felt like I was there. And then I was out of it. But this is how much God loves you. Now today, you’re going to be right with God.”
In all, 13 couples across both services responded to the invitation to wed. Three of the 13 couples that responded took to Instagram after the services to thank Pastor Landon Schott and Mercy Culture Church for making space for the spontaneous event.
“We are one of those couples, pastor,” one Instagram follower said. “My beloved and I got engaged last week in the Trinity river. God knew that I wanted my pastor to marry us and have the Lord’s covering us with his blessing.”
Another supporter wrote, “Thank you for helping make mine and my NEW husband’s dreams come true today and turning our home into a holy home covered in your blood. ‘Go and sin no more.’”
Perhaps, the most impactful response on Instagram was that of a couple who visited Mercy Culture Church for the first time and decided to take advantage of Pastor Landon Schott’s invitation to marry.
“Thank you, pastor. You are now part of our story,” the couple wrote online. “Today was the first day going to Mercy Culture. We were scared to walk into a new atmosphere. Being ‘new’ is always scary,” the couple said.
“We prayed for days about today and asked God to show us if the church was for us, to let us have a great experience. And we left married.”