For Liberty & Justice was founded as a 5O1C3 in 2021 out of Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

After one of the elders at Mercy Culture Church, Steve Penate, decided it was time to step into the political arena because the city of Fort Worth lacked Godly leadership, he filed to run for Mayor and the local church rallied around him. Pastors Landon and Heather Schott committed to rallying behind him with their whole heart even though the odds were stacked against him from the very beginning. In the words of Pastor Landon, “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, all that matters is that we obey the voice of the Lord.” Pastor Steve was new to the city, had very little name I.D., and would be competing against millions of dollars in establishment money, but that didn’t stop him. He hired a local pastor, Nate Schatzline, to be a part of his campaign team, who helped build the strategy with the rest of the team that would ultimately wake up the city to a new movement.

Although Pastor Steve did not win the election, something even greater happened, he stirred the heart of the church. In a moment where the church should have felt defeated, they were surprisingly energized. Pastor Landon approached Nate Schatzline about launching an organization that would equip strong spiritual leaders like Pastor Steve to not only boldly run for office, but to win and lead righteously once they do. So in 2021, Nate Schatzline launched a new Housed Vision at Mercy Culture Church called For Liberty & Justice. A housed vision is an organization that has one foot in the church and one foot reforming culture.

Since the fall of 2021, For Liberty & Justice has created an online program called “Campaign University” that trains activists and candidates how to run for local office, honor the Lord and their family, and lead righteously once they win. They’ve lead “liberty rallies” consistently that have influenced the decisions of local school boards and city councils to lead with Christian values in Tarrant County. And they’ve also raised up and/or supported 48 different candidates who share the Biblical values of the organization that have won their elections in Tarrant County, Texas alone. One of those 48 is the founder of For Liberty & Justice, Nate Schatzline, who now serves as the Texas State Representative for House District 93. The Lord has and is transforming Tarrant County, Texas, and now For Liberty & Justice will start the journey of expanding to all 254 counties of Texas to bring righteous reformation statewide.