A Baptist pastor known for his passion for Scripture has reportedly set an unofficial milestone after preaching for 96 consecutive hours at his church in Jones County, Mississippi.
Pastor Matt Olson of First Baptist Church of Sharon delivered a sweeping message through the entire Bible, moving from Genesis to Revelation across a four-day span, Fox News reported Sunday.
“Jesus is Lord. He is worthy of every sentence I preached, every sacrifice that was made, and every step of obedience that has been taken since,” Olson told the outlet, emphasizing that the effort was centered on declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Video footage from Protestia showed Olson’s concluding statement when he declared, “Jesus is worthy.” The congregation then gave him a standing ovation:
Olson said the idea took shape after he attended missionary training in 2025 designed for service in hostile regions. During the exercise, he spent 96 hours in the woods without a physical Bible, an experience that left him longing for Scripture and relying solely on the passages he could recall from memory.
According to Fox News, Olson said the church followed Guinness World Records guidelines but decided not to seek official certification, saying they did not want the Bible treated as a publicity stunt. He also noted that obtaining an official adjudicator through Guinness’s nonprofit tier would cost $16,500, a sum the church did not view as a responsible use of funds.
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Another clip showed how Olson’s voice was strong in the beginning, but even though it was tough and his voice was somewhat strained toward the end, he kept preaching:
The marathon preaching effort drew comparisons to evangelist George Whitefield, whose powerful sermons helped shape colonial America during the Great Awakening, according to the Christian History Institute.
Whitefield was known for preaching many times each week and for spending close to 50 hours in the pulpit. Over his lifetime, he delivered an estimated 18,000 sermons, sometimes speaking with such force and stamina that it affected his health.
Following his sermon marathon, Olson said, “The Word of God is truth… and it’s sufficient. It is what sustained me for 96 hours when, physically, I should not have continued to… no one should be able to do that.”
According to his church’s website, Olson’s “greatest joy is preaching and teaching the Word of God.”
