NOTE: This piece was originally published at our newsletter A Public Witness.
During the latest worship service at the Pentagon on Wednesday (Oct. 21), Pete Hegseth’s pastor prayed for God to “strengthen” the U.S. military and told military leaders they are making an eternal difference for God. The service marked the fourth time in 18 monthly services to feature a sermon by Brooks Potteiger, who leads a new church plant in Washington, D.C., that Hegseth, who likes to call himself “secretary of war,” often attends.
“Faithfully perform your service to our country in the place God has providentially placed you for such a time as this,” Potteiger told those gathered in the Pentagon. “Christ holds you fast right now, today, as you pour yourself out for God and for country.”During his sermon, Potteiger read from 1 Corinthians 15 about the promised resurrection of the dead. At the end of that chapter, the early Christians were told that because of this their labor for God is not in vain. Potteiger then used that verse to argue that the labor of those at the Pentagon is for God and therefore also matters as it “will help shape the architecture of eternity.”
“Your service here — done in faith, done in dependence upon the living God who has placed you there — will far outlive you in ways you can’t begin to fathom,” he said. “Every effort you make here in your life, including your time at the Pentagon as you honor Christ in the service he’s called you to, is helping to shape the eternal story God is telling.”
“As Christians, a key to remaining steadfast with a holy intention, fresh encouragement, vigilance at your Pentagon post for however long Jesus has you here, it’s knowing morning by morning that it matters. It matters not just for today; it matters for generations that will come in America, but even beyond that, it will matter beyond America into eternity,” he added. “Because Jesus rose, the way he uses me today at the Pentagon, in the field, or overseas, the way he uses me in defense of our homeland, including the freedom that you protect to worship Christ and spread his gospel, which you help secure, that will rise. It will matter. It will bear fruit. It will, in some very real way, contribute to the glory of the life to come.”
Screengrab as Brooks Potteiger leads singing during a worship service at the Pentagon on Oct. 21, 2026.
While Potteiger told a story about a colonial figure’s life being saved, he did not mention the impact of the military today in ending the lives of others. The Pentagon is still delaying a report on a strike in February when U.S. Tomahawk missiles struck a girls’ school in Iran and killed more than 160 civilians, most of them children. When Hegseth launched his monthly Christian services at the Pentagon in May 2025, he invited Potteiger to offer the first sermon. During that service, the pastor claimed God directed where U.S. missiles landed: “If our Lord is sovereign even over the sparrows’ fallings, you can be assured that he is sovereign over everything else that falls in this world, including Tomahawk and Minuteman missiles, including strategy meetings and war room debriefings. Jesus has the final say over all of it.”
Beyond baptizing the Pentagon’s work as labor done for God, Potteiger also prayed during Wednesday’s service for God to bless the largest military in the world and its leaders.
“As I stand in this symbolic center of our military might, with these dear and faithful service members before me, O God, again with the secretary, I would pray down your blessings upon them and upon all our armed forces. Make them all keen-eyed. Make them sure-handed. Make them wise. Make them unwavering,” he prayed. “Strengthen our military.”
Potteiger also prayed for Hegseth, asking God to “protect him from those who would seek to undermine him.” He also prayed that God would “surround [Hegseth] with faithful counselors that are worth listening to, that have true Solomonic wisdom and fear you above all.” Borrowing language from Psalm 90:17, Potteiger changed the pronouns to ones he preferred to make a verse about the ancient people of Israel instead about Hegseth: “Establish the work of his hands — yes, establish the work of his hands.”
Citing a Thanksgiving proclamation by President George Washington, Potteiger insisted it is the “duty” of the United States (and all nations) “to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and to humbly implore his protection and favor.” Insisting God has protected and guided the nation “from our founding and even before,” he told God in a prayer that the United States is “the greatest nation in the history of the world.” Potteiger also quoted Proverbs 14:34 (“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people”) before offering a confession to God for the sin of the American people.
“We have sinned grievously and boldly, and in many ways as a people. We have turned the definition of liberty exactly on its head. When our fathers spoke of liberty they did so in the classic sense, namely freedom from being ruled by our base and corrupting passions. But we, as a nation, now see it as the freedom to pursue base passions and corrupt lust and indecencies that are an offense to you and unbecoming all who bear your image,” he prayed. “So, Lord, we would ask now that you would forgive us our sins and that you would turn our collective heart back to you. Give us true liberty — that liberty that can only come through the freedom Christ secured through his cross and freely offers.”
Potteiger previously pastored a church in Tennessee that Hegseth attended before joining the Trump administration. Earlier this year, Potteiger moved to D.C. to lead a new church. Both congregations are part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, founded by self-described “paleo-Confederate” Idaho pastor Doug Wilson (who preached at the February 2026 Pentagon service).
‘Honor Christ’
Others during Wednesday’s service joined Potteiger in blessing the U.S. military as working for God. Navy Chaplain Donny Keim opened the service by reading Jeremiah 17:7 about being blessed for trusting in the Lord, and then he prayed that all those present would learn “to place our confidence not in ourselves, but in Christ Jesus, who reigns over all.” After his prayer, he introduced Hegseth as “our host and our brother in Christ.”
Hegseth called it “a blessing” to hold the service “to honor Christ in this moment” and “in what we do each and every day.” He then mentioned his recent announcement about the creation of the Office of Religious Affairs, a proposal which quickly sparked confusion and criticism from some faith leaders involved in the military chaplaincy. During Wednesday’s service, Hegseth said the office was created since faith should not be “a side thing” or “an afterthought” but “needs to be central to our formations” because it helps with “readiness” and is “a good thing across the force.”
Screengrab as Pete Hegseth speaks during a worship service at the Pentagon on Oct. 21, 2026.
As he announced the new religious office last month, Hegseth quoted several Bible verses, including from Psalm 33, Ephesians 6, Isaiah 6, and Psalm 118. During Wednesday’s service, he read Psalm 37:3 (“Trust in the Lord and do good”) and 1 Corinthians 16:13 (“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love”).
“Lord God, we give it all to you, each and every aspect of our lives, each and every aspect of our formations and our duties and our responsibilities,” Hegseth prayed during the service before asking for God’s protection over “our war fighters” who serve the nation. “Lord God, may you protect them in that process. We don’t know all the reasons why things happen, but we know that you keep your hand on the wheel on our behalf.”
At the end of the service, Potteiger led those gathered in saying the Lord’s Prayer and in singing “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” and the “Doxology.”
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The Last Service?
With the midterm elections less than two weeks away, Hegseth’s job security is increasingly uncertain. The least popular member of the Trump Cabinet, only 32% of Americans approve of how he’s doing his job while 57% disapprove. Many congressional Democrats have criticized him and various decisions, and some Republicans in Congress have also voiced their disagreement with some of his moves (like ousting popular military leaders). Thus, some political analysts believe he could be the key target for removal if Democrats win the midterm elections, with his firing or forced resignation essentially traded in order to gain support from Senate Democrats for a military appropriations bill and other defense legislation.
If Trump removed Hegseth, it wouldn’t be the first time a defense secretary got axed after a midterm election where an unpopular war hurt the Republican candidates. The day after the 2006 midterms that saw the Democrats flip control of both houses of Congress, Donald Rumsfeld found himself out of the top job at the Pentagon. If Trump does not follow that model, Hegseth could be the first impeachment target for a new Democratic-controlled Congress.
With the unpopularity of the Iran war and the increase in fuel and other prices because of it, Trump has said the United States started the war because of Hegseth, which suggests Trump might make Hegseth the fall guy for the failures of the war. Democratic candidates have even been singling out Hegseth in campaign ads about the war and high prices. Additionally, Trump last week overruled Hegseth’s plan to livestream a firing squad execution after bipartisan criticism of Hegseth’s idea.
At the same time, Hegseth’s recent travel suggests to some that he might be eyeing a move to a political position in Congress or elsewhere, perhaps for a face-saving exit amid the growing push for his removal. Hegseth previously ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination to a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota in 2012. And he’s been engaging in partisan politics this year more than secretaries of defense historically have.
Pete Hegseth appears at a campaign event for U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican in Iowa, on Aug. 17, 2026, at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. (Hannah Fingerhut/Associated Press)
Regardless of the reason, if Hegseth leaves his post shortly after the midterms, he would not be leading the Pentagon at the time that the next Christian worship service would be set to occur. Such a departure might lead to the end of the services, which have no precedent in the Pentagon or even in other federal agencies. However, there is precedent of services ending following the departure of a Cabinet secretary.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer started monthly worship services at the Department of Labor last December after attending one at the Pentagon. After five months of services (which I reported on, each time being the only reporter to watch and write about the service), the May one was suddenly canceled after Chavez-DeRemer was fired by Trump amid allegations of sexual and financial misconduct. The services have not resumed under her replacement. Lawsuits against the Labor Department and the Pentagon over the worship services are ongoing.
As a public witness,
Brian Kaylor
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