52 Couples Marry After Texas Pastor Urges Cohabiting Partners to ‘Put a Ring on It’

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A Texas pastor’s recent challenge to cohabiting couples prompted dozens in his church to volunteer for a mass wedding ceremony – with an outpouring of support from his congregation.

Pastor Josh Howerton of Lakepointe Church in Dallas issued the challenge near the end of a Feb. 22 sermon on what the Bible teaches about marriage, divorce, and remarriage – delivering the message with a balance of grace and truth throughout.

Howerton acknowledged that some in attendance may be hearing the Bible’s teachings on marriage and sex for the first time.

“We're reaching a whole bunch of young men and women right now – it's awesome, I love it,” he said of the church’s growth.

But “a lot of” those in attendance, he said, “didn't know what you were supposed to do.”

“You're living with somebody that's not your spouse, you're sleeping with somebody that's not your spouse, or you've actually already started a family and had kids with somebody that's not your spouse – and right now are coming under the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit that you need to honor God, bend your knee to Jesus, put a ring on it, and enter into a covenant with a person that you're already acting like you're in a covenant with,” Howerton said.

Emphasizing the grace-filled nature of his challenge, Howerton added, “We’ve got a little saying at Lakepointe: The only time we look down on people is to give them a hand up.”

“We are ready to have a mass wedding ceremony across – I'm 100 percent serious,” he said.

He then shared a text number for those interested – and later discovered that numerous couples had responded. Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen was the first to report on the inspiring event.

“We're gonna walk with you, counsel you, help you – and then we're gonna get you married. We're gonna throw a big party,” Howerton said. “And guess what, your church family is not gonna be doing? These people aren't gonna be judging you. They're gonna be cheering you on as you step forward into obedience to Jesus Christ.”

Nearly two weeks later, on Friday, March 6, that mass wedding took place at the church – with couples participating.

“If this doesn’t make your eyes sweat a little, check your pulse,” he wrote on Facebook. “These 52 couples heard the marriage sermon two weeks ago, came under conviction. They wanted to honor God and get married, met with pastors for counsel, and tonight they got married.”

He added: “52 couples, 52 families, 52 lineages and legacies and family trees changed forever.”

The mass wedding drew a huge turnout from the church community.

“Over A THOUSAND people showed up to cheer them on!!!” the pastor wrote.

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Photo Credit: ©Lakepointe

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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