Church family,


What an Easter weekend! Easter should be big because it represents "the event" in salvation history. We ought to celebrate our risen Savior gloriously and greatly. Attendance records for Easter 2026 were broken, having to put out chairs for the 390 people that came to the 9:30 service! For me, the weekend did not go as I planned. After two painful days of stomach pain, I went to the ER early on Friday morning, April 3, to discover I had an infected and inflamed gallbladder with a gallstone blocking a bile duct. Over the weekend, I had surgery and came home late Sunday evening to recover. I was able to watch and worship during the live stream at the 9:30 service.



Church family, we need to recognize that God is doing something special at WBC. Lives are being changed, believers are becoming followers, and God is preparing us for what he has in store. Let me offer some special thanks for Sunday. Thanks to Pastor Tad for preparing an Easter sermon on 48 hours' notice, along with all his normal logistical work. Thanks to the choir, praise team, musicians, and our Minister of Music, Brian Price, for leading us musically in all three services! Sunday's music was outstanding and celebratory.


Thanks to the ushers who made extra space available at 9:30. Thanks to those in Sprout (nursery) for their availability at 9:30 and 11:00. Thanks to all the volunteers who made all the moving parts of Sunday's worship work. While I deeply missed you all in person on Sunday, I'm so grateful to be a part of a church and leadership team of elders, staff, deacons, and servants who helped make Easter so meaningful. May God continue to bless Wilkesboro Baptist Church. Keep inviting friends and acquaintances. You never know what God may do this week.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Chris

Return to Summer Programing

By Chris Hefner • August 26, 2026
Church family, we're glad to be returning to fall programming in the coming days. As folks return to worship, we are experiencing consistently high attendance each week. Please park as far away as you are able, and when you arrive for worship at 9:30 or 11:00 move to sit toward the middle of the aisle. Check out the parking map below to see available parking options and help us make space for others. As we conclude our series "More Grace: How God's Interventions Make it Possible to Follow Him," we do need more grace for our daily journey. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris

The Church We Aspire to Be?

By Chris Hefner • July 29, 2026
The Church We Aspire to Be?

God is Sending You!

By Chris Hefner • July 22, 2026
Church family, Thank you for your prayers and support for our student mission trip to El Salvador! At worship yesterday, our students shared their experiences about how God worked in and through them. Josh challenged us to adopt Paul's mindset of embracing our identity in Christ, our responsibility to lead others to Christ, and the people to whom God has sent us. Do you realize God is sending you? Wherever you are (work, home, leisure, hobby), there are people who need to know the love of God and the goodness of his gospel. Will you look around you? Who is someone you can pause to pray for right now? Who do you need to set an appointment with to share the gospel? We should be deeply thankful that God sent someone to us with his gospel so we could experience his grace and redemption. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris God alone is worthy of our worship and adoration. For more, check out The Cure for an Idolatrous Heart

Student Mission Trip Update

By Chris Hefner • July 15, 2026
Church family, We hope you can join us Sunday, July 19, as we hear from our students and El Salvador mission team. We will also have our Member Meeting on July 19 at 5:30 pm. This past Sunday, as we looked at Numbers 21, we reflected that the course we're on is tainted by grief and sadness, littered with difficulties and battles, and often jaded by the lengthy journey. Some of us are going through situations right now. Others have been through them recently. All of us will face difficulties and trials in the coming days. I've tried to write regularly to encourage others and for the benefit of my own soul. The following post comes from the Bible study on Wednesday July 8 and the condition of my own soul. I pray it helps and encourages you through situations and circumstances. https://chrishefner.org/2026/07/10/medicine-for-a-deserted-heart/

Taking Time to Pray

By Chris Hefner • July 8, 2026
Church family, As God's people, we should be amazed by God's grace and goodness in making us his own. That we belong to the Lord, we should pray for our nation. One of the most effective things we can do for others and for our country is to pray. This week, would you make time to pray for our church, for those who don't know Jesus, and for God to send a revival to our nation? Also, pray for our church mission team heading out to El Salvador early Thursday morning. Follow my blog for a post later this week on prayers you can pray for our mission team. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris Eight Prayers You Can Pray for Our Mission Teams

Sovereignty and Freedom

By Chris Hefner • July 1, 2026
Church family, This week our nation will celebrate 250 years of freedom. We ought to rejoice in the freedoms we have as we lament the amoral condition of our country. As you go about your week, look around you for evidence of God's sovereign interventions. Be assured of his sovereignty. This coming week, I will share two additional posts to my blog. Monday's meditation is about courage and following God even out of our comfort zones.  On Wednesday, I'll share a Christian perspective on our nation's 250-year celebration. I would encourage you to follow the link below for a post about God's sovereignty. At the bottom of the post, subscribe, and you'll get each of my posts sent to you. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris

VBS Recognition

By Chris Hefner • June 26, 2026
Church family, what a great week at VBS! Our children traveled to Rome to see Paul in prison for the gospel. A great shoutout to our Minister of Children and Families, Danielle Hicks, our VBS Director, Rachel Rogers, and the nearly 100 volunteers and leaders who made this year's VBS possible. We had several children make decisions to follow Jesus and many more continue conversations with leaders and parents about Christ. Parents and grandparents who are reading this, let me offer this advice to you: "Lead your children to follow Jesus one conversation at a time." Ask them what they learned at VBS or in Sunday school or in Awana. Ask them what it means to be a Christian. Ask them if they would like to hear how you became a follower of Jesus. Those kinds of questions keep the conversation going about following Jesus. Whatever we do for the gospel, we do "for the sake of his Name." https://chrishefner.org/2026/06/19/for-the-sake-of-his-name/

Camp and the SBC

By Chris Hefner • June 17, 2026
Thank you church family for your prayers last week. Our students had a great time at camp, and we will be planning a baptism soon! The Lord answered our prayers. Thank you for praying for the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. I will be giving a report on Wednesday evening, June 24, at 6:15pm. There will be time for questions as well. You can read some of my initial observations below. For this week, keep all the VBS workers and children in your prayers.  Pray for energy, strength, patience, and clarity for the workers. Pray that the children who don't yet know Christ will hear the gospel clearly and respond by following Jesus.

Summer at Wilkesboro Baptist

By Chris Hefner • June 12, 2026
Church family, Summer is here! The next few weeks are significant for our students and children. Our students will be at camp. Pray for them to experience God and for those who don't know Jesus. Remember to register your children for VBS and consider registering to serve at VBS. Pray for our leaders, volunteers, and especially for the children who don't yet know Jesus. I believe the next couple of weeks for many of our children, students, and adults will provide opportunities for divine appointments. We should anticipate the appointments ahead of us. Let's make the most of this summer. Maximize Your Summer: Spiritual Growth Tips  Grace and Peace, Dr. Hefner

VBS and Spiritual Life During Summer

By Chris Hefner • June 4, 2026
Church family, the summer months are here. Next Monday (June 8 ), our students will go to camp. Sunday, June 14, begins VBS . Would you take some extra time over the next few weeks to pray for our children, students, leaders, and families? Camp and VBS are important opportunities for the gospel to bear fruit in hearts and lives. As we navigate the start of summer, keep in mind God's command to gather for worship weekly. We know that many of us will be traveling, but plan to gather with us regularly for worship. Practicing our Journey Outcomes that flow from our mission will help us remain faithful even during the busyness and traveling of the summer. #Say or sing praise to God daily. #Engage in gathered worship. #Listen to God daily through Scripture and worship. For more on practicing rest and worship, see the post below about Sabbath. https://chrishefner.org/2026/05/29/sabbath-a-noun-or-verb/