In four years, Mercy Culture Church has moved from a north side Fort Worth congregation into one of the most consequential political forces in Tarrant County — electing a state representative, endorsing council candidates, driving school-board fights and co-hosting county events with the top of the local GOP. With Rep. Nate Schatzline exiting the Legislature for a national faith role and the Nov. 3 midterm approaching, the church’s footprint is reshaping what comes next.

2021: ‘We’re coming for City Hall’

The church’s political arc began with the 2021 municipal cycle. Mercy Culture elder Steve Penate ran for Fort Worth mayor, and lead pastor Landon Schott hosted Penate and City Council candidate Erik Richerson on stage beneath a banner reading “visit stevepenateformayor.com,” according to Star-Telegram reporting. “Come on Mercy Culture, the body of Christ, we’re coming for City Hall,” Schott yelled during a prayer that spring.

That summer, Penate was among Mercy Culture pastors arguing systemic racism was a myth as the critical race theory fight erupted at Fort Worth school board meetings. The church’s political posture was set: Christian conservative, confrontational and willing to name candidates from the pulpit.

2022: The Johnson Amendment challenge

In a November 2022 sermon, Schott endorsed Republicans Tim O’Hare for Tarrant County judge and Phil Sorrells for district attorney — both seated in the pews — and dared the IRS to revoke the church’s tax-exempt status. “Big whoop,” he said, according to Star-Telegram reporting. Guest speaker Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty Institute framed the moment as an invitation to litigate the Johnson Amendment itself. The IRS has enforced the ban on church electioneering only twice since 2002.

Schatzline, then a pastor at The House Fort Worth, won House District 93 that same cycle. By 2024, he was addressing the state GOP convention: “I’m tired of politicians that scream ‘faith, family and freedom’ and prostitute the church for a vote.”

For Liberty & Justice

Though the church says it does not directly endorse, its For Liberty & Justice ministry — founded by Schatzline — publishes slates for state and local races. The ministry mobilized members to the February 2024 Fort Worth school board meeting that adopted an abstinence-based sex-education curriculum, holding signs reading “Parents should have the final say.”

In August 2024, Schott told followers Christians who vote Democrat are “pretend Christians” supporting a “demon party.” In April 2025, he endorsed Marshall Hobbs for the District 6 council seat from the pulpit, dismissing critiques that he had broken the Johnson Amendment: “every time a white pastor gets up and endorses somebody they say ‘separation between church and state.'”

The shelter fight and the Parker pivot

The clearest test of the church’s political leverage came over its Justice Residences, a 100-bed trafficking-victim shelter. After a two-year zoning stalemate with Oakhurst neighbors, Mercy Culture’s attorney sent an 89-page brief threatening a federal religious-discrimination suit. Schatzline’s representative reached out to the council member whose district includes the church. A Sept. 29, 2024, sermon by Schott accusing the city of discrimination led to an Oct. 4 meeting with Mayor Mattie Parker that broke the deadlock, according to records obtained by the Star-Telegram. The council approved the project 6-4 on Dec. 10, with Parker citing religious freedom and litigation risk.

2025: The network consolidates

County Judge Tim O’Hare has hosted the Tarrant County National Day of Prayer luncheon two years running, with Mercy Culture musicians leading worship and the Justice Reform among the beneficiaries in 2025. Patriot Mobile and Grapevine’s First Baptist co-sponsored.

In March 2025, Schatzline announced plans to give Mercy Culture Preparatory Academy a “medical freedom award” for its 14.29% kindergarten vaccination rate, as a measles outbreak in the South Plains spread.

In September, Schatzline joined Sheriff Bill Waybourn at the downtown rally honoring assassinated activist Charlie Kirk, calling him a “martyr for Christ.” In October, Parker asked faith leaders — in a meeting organized by O’Hare — to attend council meetings and “saturate them in prayer,” per a video posted by Schatzline. U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, called the group “very symbolic” of churches that were “on the wrong side of civil rights.”