by Howard Goldthwaite • 3 minutes
Our client, Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth, Texas, has been trying for two years to construct a building on their property to care for victims of sex trafficking. These victims — mainly women and children — have a very difficult time escaping this shadowy world and starting new lives. That’s why Mercy Culture was stirred to create a safe place for them to escape from traffickers, recover from the nightmare, learn new skills, get discipled, and reconnect with normal society.
The building could have been finished by now, but plans were delayed because city officials opposed the project. It was obvious that Mercy Culture’s freedom to exercise their faith was being suppressed, so they reached out to First Liberty for help.
We sent a letter to the Fort Worth officials clarifying that the law gives them no authority to tell a church what is or is not a church ministry on their own premises. On December 10, a vote of the city council was held and they finally granted permission to proceed with the building project by a vote of 6 to 4.
The members of Mercy Culture Church even made a huge enlargement of our letter and brought it to the council meeting! Thousands of women and children will now be ministered to in the future as a result of this win and this church’s steadfast commitment to others.
Watch a personal video message from Mercy Culture’s pastors Landon and Heather Schott:
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