by Rev. Jason Waeber
Foothills Reformed BP Mission
the Missions Banner, October/November 2026
It’s an unpleasant reality that churches are all secretly (or not so secretly) in a competition with other churches or institutions for the eyes and ears of their people. This has led to all manner of compromise in the American church, as we try to pull attention to ourselves: many services today look like concerts, people flock to larger-than-life personalities, and much of the mercy ministry done by the church is simply performative virtue signaling. Everyone knows this, both in the church and outside of it, but we all pretend that it’s not happening.
Folks in our lane of the church complain about this competition all the time, and with good cause. Since we have actual convictions about worship that don’t permit this kind of chaos, we constantly feel outmanned and outgunned in this arms race. This can lead to a kind of defeatism, where, since we feel that we can’t compete, we don’t even try. We just obey the Word, keep chugging along, and hope that the Lord works it all out in the end. While this is a far better path than the path of compromise and disorder, it is actually a dereliction of our duties as well. Following the example of Paul, we not only ought to be praying that the Lord would open a door for the word (Col 4:3), but taking to heart his witnessing in the marketplace, arguing publicly, and generating those opportunities for which he has prayed (Acts 17). We are not permitted to duck out of the competition, pleading a passive submission to God’s sovereignty.
What we are discovering at Foothills Reformed is that this opposition, between compromising assertiveness and passive faithfulness, is a false choice. We’ve been experiencing steady, slow growth, and virtually everyone who has come to us has a similar type of story: they are tired of the chaos, tired of the emotionalism, tired of inoffensive, thin preaching, and they can’t find any substance. Many of these folks are not Reformed or Presbyterian, but they are looking for refuge and are finding it with us. They are ordinarily open to conversations about our doctrine, but the doctrine is not what pulls folks to us. It is the regularity and peace which comes from biblical, orthodox Christian worship. The ways in which we cannot compare to the larger churches around (and yes, even in small counties there are mega-church style gatherings) are actually the key virtues which speak to the real needs of folks in our county. We have had to make our case publicly and argue for the necessity of this approach to worship, and the Lord has been blessing that argument. There are tons of conservative folks around us who acknowledge the truth of the Bible and the value of Christ’s sacrifice, but who have been held back from the enjoyment of being his sheep since they have swallowed a chaotic, revivalist method of church which always and everywhere leaves its adherents unsettled.
Friends, if you feel like it’s a choice between faithfulness and growth, let me encourage you that you need not choose one. Allow the faithfulness of your worship and service be the selling point for your church, and you will find that there are people around you who desperately need what you are doing. That said, they will never find you if you simply keep your faithfulness within the walls of the church. Get out there, make the case, listen to the concerns of the people around you, and apply the scriptural cures.
