Earlier this month, 24 couples held hands and committed to a lifetime of marriage in the fourth annual “Grand Wedding” at Dallas-based Concord Church, as reported by Christianity Today.
The wedding is an all-expense paid event made possible by generous vendors—including artists, hairstylists, and musicians—from the congregation and concludes Pastor Bryan Carter’s 90 Day “Cohabitation Challenge.”
The challenge, started four years ago by Carter, encourages couples to either move out or get married. The congregation offers to pay rent for anyone who decides to move out and couples who choose marriage enter 90 days of premarital counseling and relationship classes, as well as mentorship with a married couple for the first year of marriage.
“It helps us to model the gospel, because the gospel is redemptive,” Carter said to Christianity Today. “It’s not just about us calling out a struggle that people may have, but let’s talk about how I can move from where I was to the place where God is honored.”
The challenge began while Carter was teaching a series on singleness.
“I didn’t want to preach about [cohabitation] without giving people a pathway forward. And so we just began tossing around ideas, and somehow we landed with: What would happen if we married them?” he said.
The congregation wanted to tackle cohabitation because of…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.