Vance blindsides church he's never visited by plastering it on cover of his faith memoir

Confusion is swirling at a small Virginia church after it appeared on the cover of Vice President JD Vance’s new memoir – despite members saying he’s never set foot inside.

Members of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church say Vance has never visited, and they have no known connection to him, according to the Washington Post.

“I’d have to see it to believe it,” said longtime congregant Marshall Funk, who was surprised to learn that the modest church in a rural part of the state appears on the cover of the vice president's forthcoming memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith."

The image is used to illustrate Vance’s spiritual journey, which traces his path to Catholicism, the Post noted Friday. It features a brick church with a white steeple surrounded by trees and a glowing sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But locals were surprised to find the quiet congregation of a few dozen regulars thrust into the national spotlight.

A spokesperson for the book’s publisher said in an email to the Post that the image reflects the region where Vance grew up.

“The church comes from the part of the country where Vice President Vance grew up,” Tina Andreadis, director of publicity at HarperCollins said. “He was raised in Protestant and evangelical churches; he talks about Christianity in an ecumenical sense throughout the book.”

Still, that explanation hasn’t fully cleared things up for members, who noted the church sits hundreds of miles from where Vance lived. “That’s between him and God,” Funk told the Post.

Despite the confusion, a retired Mt. Zion pastor saw a potential upside, suggesting that the attention could spur MAGA supporters to help raise money for the church.

“I hope they all know it’s on the cover,” Pastor Gleasanna Dixon said to the publication. “That would make them feel better.”