Marty Sloan, lead pastor of Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois, was well aware that amongst his congregation of roughly 5,700 people, there were many couples living together — some raising families — outside of marriage.
So, on Saturday, June 1, with the church’s help, seven couples brought their relationships within the boundaries of marriage in a non-stop series of weddings at the Church.
Just before the New Year, Sloan spoke on the sacredness of marriage and its reflection of Christ and the Church. And then came the offer: any couple currently attending the church and living together who wanted to get married, the church would provide a free wedding experience for them, including the venue, flowers, photography, videography, and a light reception.
However, the offer came with some stipulations. Those couples interested needed to contact the church for consideration as this offer was limited to those couples who sincerely wanted to invite God into the middle of their family through marriage. They would also have to go through the church’s premarital counseling program, which included the highly regarded SYMBIS marriage assessment.
The weddings began at 10 a.m., each one taking about 20 to 25 minutes, followed by a reception, and ran consecutively through the day.
What’s more, each of the newly wed couples also received complimentary tickets to the church’s two-day marriage conference coming this fall