Local church leaders talk about ministering in a predominantly Mormon area

REXBURG — It was a little over 15 years ago that Pastor Joe Lacy of the Grace Baptist Church and his wife felt the need to minister to the people of Rexburg.

Fulfilling that calling could seem a bit challenging for one in Lacy’s position, since the vast majority of the population are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Association of Religion Data Archive reports that ninety-eight percent of Madison County’s population is Mormon. About 1.5 percent of the population is Catholic, and less than one percent identify as Protestant.

Lacy said being one of the only non-LDS churches in the area doesn’t faze him, as he seeks to act in accordance with his calling as a pastor, and preach the message of Christ.

“I came here for that reason, I wanted to help the church,” Lacy said. “I wanted to help the pastor here before me, my wife had a burden for ministry, and we wanted to come and share the love of Christ and God’s plan of salvation to this town of Rexburg.”

Lacy said the Grace Baptist Church has a purpose in the community, despite the majority of the population being Latter-Day Saints. Members of his church make it a point to reach out to those in need and take time to visit the local nursing home and county jail.

Recent convert Jennifer Bash said she had attended other churches in the area, but didn’t feel quite at home until stumbling upon the Grace Baptist Church. She said she found the church in the local paper, fell in love with the name and then the church.

Bash says the church’s presence is slowly becoming more recognized in the community.

“I think we’ve got the persistence, and we’ve got the Spirit behind us,” Bash said.

Although the members are strong, the church has not seen a significant uptick in new members over the last several years. Physical numbers are one way to measure success in a church, but Lacy uses a different criteria to define growth.

“I feel like (our members) have grown. Growing to me is less about numbers, because we’re not a large community in terms of people, but to me growth is in your heart,” Lacy said. “It’s about growing in the Lord … I do feel like our church has done that.”

While members may grow spiritually other local church leaders say they haven’t seen many additional members in their meetings, and some have even seen a decline.

Transitional Pastor Cathy Chisholm said she hasn’t seen significant growth patterns at the First Presbyterian Church in Idaho Falls, which has 425 members.

Chisholm says living in an area with the many Mormons is one of the realities she faces, but it hasn’t changed the way she administers to her congregation.

Chisholm said being a pastor among various faiths is a challenge, but a motivating one. A bigger challenge modern churches and people of faith face, Chisholm said, is in reaching out to those who don’t believe or don’t feel that they have a need of any religion in their lives.

Chisholm chooses to focus on the bigger picture of conversion instead of the competing views.

Father Adrian Vasquez, a Catholic priest of the Mary Immaculate Church, was appointed to minister among branches in Rexburg, St. Anthony and Driggs.

He admits he feels uncomfortable with the approach of Mormons in the area.

“The church is small compared with them, but at the end it’s really the way that they approach you. They think that people enjoy (hearing about their religion). They are very insistent, so deep that they make you uncomfortable. For me that’s not the way you should (do it),” Vasquez said.

He believes that people should be free to choose, and not be pushed to accept a certain religion.

Vasquez appreciates the kindness shown by Mormons in the area, but said they don’t share their the same theology.

Brett Sampson, a Latter-Day Saint Bishop said he would be surprised and disappointed if someone of another religious affiliation did not feel comfortable living in Rexburg.

Sampson said members of his congregation have made efforts to reach out to those of other faiths by inviting them to church activities. He said he hasn’t seen any form of prejudice displayed toward those outside the Mormon faith.

“I’m sure there is occasional insensitivity, but I have never witnessed outright discrimination in our community. In any group of people there is a range of personalities, but I think we honestly do live in the friendliest town anywhere,” Sampson said.

In the end, Lacy, Chisholm, and Vazquez are undaunted by the predominantly Mormon population. For them it’s about fulfilling their callings as church leaders. Their overall focus is to tell people about Jesus Christ.

“Our purpose is not just to maintain ourselves, but to share the good news and to share the love, and be a community that risks and advocates for justice, and speaks out on behalf of those who don’t have a voice, and works to make the world a better place. ” Chisholm said.