Mississippi pastor sets unofficial world record with 96-hour marathon sermon

A Baptist pastor in Mississippi reportedly broke an unofficial world record after he preached from the Bible for 96 hours, according to his church.

Matt Olson, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Sharon, told Fox News Digital he preached from Genesis to Revelation over four days. He followed Guinness World Record guidelines, taking five-minute breaks every hour or banking the time to take longer breaks for showers and quick naps.

His 96-hour sermon, as first reported by Protestia, surpassed the record for marathon speaking by an individual, held by Ananta Ram KC of Nepal, who spoke for 90 hours and 2 minutes. 

Olson said the experience taught him the power of Scripture.

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"The Word of God is truth... and it's sufficient," Olson said. "It is what sustained me for 96 hours when, physically, I should not have continued to... no one should be able to do that."

The pastor said he was inspired to attempt the feat after completing an intense 10-day missionary training program, where he spent 96 hours in the woods in a simulated hostage scenario without access to his Bible. He said the experience made him realize how much of Scripture he had yet to master, prompting him to feel called to preach for that same amount of time.

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Olson said when he told church leaders about his idea, they thought he was crazy but gave him full support. The congregation rallied behind him, providing a rotating medical team to monitor his vitals, a technical crew to film the event and round-the-clock prayer teams.

Church members formed round-the-clock teams to pray, manage logistics and read Scripture during the four-day marathon preaching event. (iStock)

The marathon sermon was livestreamed from the church's website, where videos of the days-long event remain archived.

Olson said that while the church followed Guinness World Record guidelines, they chose not to submit the achievement for official verification, explaining that they did not want the Bible to be used as a publicity gimmick. He also said that securing an official adjudicator under Guinness's non-profit tier carries a steep $16,500 price tag, and they didn't believe that would be a wise use of money.

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"We're called to be good stewards of what God has given us," he explained to Fox News Digital, saying that even if the church was gifted the hefty sum, they would've put it toward mission work instead.

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"This has never been about a world record," he continued. "It was only about proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ because it saves and just being faithful to what God called us to do."

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Ultimately, he wants the focus to be on Jesus.

"Jesus is Lord," he added. "He is worthy of every sentence I preached, every sacrifice that was made, and every step of obedience that has been taken since."