Church family, I want to thank the Personnel Committee and Elders for granting me a sabbatical. I will be in the office this week (January 5-11) and will preach on Sunday, January 11. My sabbatical will be January 12 through February 16. During that time, I have plans to read, write, rest, and refresh my soul.


You can be confident in the leadership and teaching/preaching while I’m out of the office. Your affirmation of our qualified elders has been a great blessing to me and a measure of health for Wilkesboro Baptist Church. On Sundays, Tad Craig and Steve Robinson are scheduled to preach on the book of James. On Wednesdays, each elder will take a Wednesday teaching slot working through the virtue list in 2 Peter 1:5-11.


Also, every Wednesday afternoon, an elder will be available in my office for counsel, prayer, or meeting with prospective church members. That schedule for elder availability will be posted in the Beacon and Worship Guide. During those five weeks, you will continue to see my family at church. I will be disconnecting from much communication during this season.


If you have a critical need, you can trust our pastors and elders to care for you. Here are some ways you can help me and WBC through this season. First, lead others to follow Jesus by worshiping, learning, serving, and replicating. Second, find a place to serve. If you aren’t serving, make time to talk to a pastor or elder about where you can serve. Third, pray for pastors, elders, deacons, and staff during these weeks where they will increase their workload. Fourth, pray for me during this season that I will rest in God and hear from God. Thank you for your prayers and support.


Grace and peace to you this season.

Pastor Chris


By Chris Hefner • October 28, 2026
Church family, Thank you for your involvement in the life and decisions at Wilkesboro Baptist. Our elders have vetted and presented candidates to you for consideration. Steven Mercer was approved by a 93% vote. The vote on Landon House will take place on November 1. You also received deacon nomination forms in the mail. Prayerfully consider who you could nominate to serve as a deacon. Our deacons make up our committees (Finance, Personnel, Property, Mission) and ministries (Hospitality, Ushers, Parking Lot, Welcome Team). They also care for widows, widowers, shut-ins, and aging members of WBC. As you prayerfully consider who to nominate, think about those already serving in the life of the church. Review 1 Timothy 3 for the qualifications of elders and deacons. We will finalize the deacon ballots with your nominations after our November deacons meeting, then mail the ballots to the congregation. Deacon ballots will be due in the church office by Sunday, December 6. Our mission at WBC is to lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus by worshiping, learning, serving, and replicating. If you are not serving, find out more about serving on our website. Pray for the WBC elders, deacons, and staff as we lead and serve WBC. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris
By Chris Hefner • October 21, 2026
Church family, What a blessing Sunday October 18 was! We had four baptisms at 11 am. We'll introduce those new members here in the Beacon and on our Facebook page this week. It's an exciting time to be a part of WBC. Our congregation elected Steven Mercer to serve as an elder with a 93% affirmative vote. Remember to nominate deacons to serve and turn in your deacon nomination form to the church office.  This upcoming Sunday, we'll be looking at Jesus' message to the Church at Sardis, a church who was asleep. One way we can avoid the slumber of compromise is to keep growing in Christlikeness. I would encourage you to read this post and subscribe to my blog . I share weekly articles related to our church and how we can pray weekly. My aim is to lead others to follow Jesus one word at a time. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris
By Chris Hefner • October 14, 2026
Church family, Thank you for joining us this past weekend for our annual church wide picnic. We had a great turnout even after the rainy weekend and even had a rainbow to close out our time at the picnic. A great thank you goes to our deacons and Madeline Myers for coordinating, preparing the venue, and transporting things back and forth. Thank you to all for bringing food and gathering with church family. Please prayerfully consider who you will nominate to serve as deacons for the term beginning in 2027. Remember October 18 will be a vote on elder candidate Steven Mercer. As we grow alongside one another, look for people in your life to whom you can be accountable. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris
By Chris Hefner • October 8, 2026
Church family, We need each other. Our mission offering on Sunday, October 4 is to send the gospel through mission partners to places and people where we cannot go. We need mission partners. We need friendships, accountability, and encouragement. We get that through the relationships we have in Sunday school, discipleship groups, Bible studies, and ministry partnerships. If you've not been to your group recently, you are missed. They'd love to see you again. If you attend regularly, don't lose sight of how important you are to others. Join us Sunday, October 11, for our church picnic at the Wilkes Community College Watson Stage at 5 pm. Participate in your group by sharing what you've read and learned this week from God's Word. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris
By Chris Hefner • October 1, 2026
Church family, Sunday, October 4, is our Mission Offering Sunday. Everything you give this Sunday will go to missions: 25% to the International Mission Board; 25% to the North American Mission Board; 10% to the Wilkes Pregnancy Care Center; 10% to the Honduras Mission Trip led by Dr. Joe Pinkerton; 10% to David Easler with Greater Europe Mission; 10% to local benevolence; 10% to Samaritan's Kitchen of Wilkes. Also, on October 4 at 6:30 PM we will have our first "extra" teaching session from the book of Revelation. To complement our series "Word and Witness: Vision of the King from the Book of Revelation," Pastor Chris will be teaching through Revelation 6-22. This is the first of 4 sessions to complete the book (Oct. 25, Nov. 8, and TBA). Here is an encouraging thought: God wants to speak to you today. He wants to have a conversation with you. It is our obligation to pause long enough to listen.
By Chris Hefner • September 28, 2026
Introducing Elder Candidate Landon House
By Chris Hefner • September 23, 2026
Church family, Thank you for your participation in our Member Meeting on September 20. You are a big part of how we're growing numerically and spiritually and how we're caring for one another. At the Member Meeting, we approved two motions. The first changes Tad Craig's title to Pastor of Administration and elevates Josh Pinkerton to the Minister of Students role. The second approved a new, part-time, position of Connections Director. We had a great Sunday of worship on September 20 and heard a fantastic message about "The Missionary Heart" from professor and missionary, Dr. Will Brooks. Each Sunday when we gather for worship, we have the privilege of engaging intentionally in worship. Here is a post about how we can worship faithfully . Grace and peace, Pastor Chris
By Chris Hefner • September 16, 2026
Church family, This Sunday (September 20), we welcome Dr. Will Brooks as a guest speaker. Will shared at our church some ten years ago, as he and his family headed to serve with the International Mission Board. We've prayed for Will and his family as a regular mission partner annually at WBC. He’s now serving as a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. As you listen to Dr. Brooks this Sunday, be prayerful about what God would have you give to our mission offering on Sunday, October 4. We have a Member Meeting at 5:30 PM on September 20 and will be sharing two staffing motions from our Personnel Committee as well as church fostering and church growth updates. As we think about the tensions in the world and remember 9/11 some twenty-five years ago , let's remember our obligation to hold and share the truth of the gospel. Grace and peace, Pastor Chris
By Chris Hefner • September 14, 2026
Introducing Elder Candidate Steven Mercer
By Chris Hefner • September 12, 2026
Church family, God is exceedingly good, and we should praise him. With church family suffering and struggling, God is answering prayers-we should praise him. With sinners believing in Christ and being baptized, we should praise him. With God working in our midst, giving us opportunities to trust him-we should praise him. Mark your calendars for the September 20 Member Meeting at 5:30 PM and Sunday, October 4, as our annual mission offering Sunday. For more on praising God, here is a post about saying or singing praise daily .