Church family, you overwhelmingly approved Bruce Nisley to serve as a lay elder at Wilkesboro Baptist with your vote nearing 92% approval. Our elders serving into 2026 are as follows: Chris Hefner and Tad Craig (staff elders); Steve Melton (beginning his second three year term January 2026); Steve Robinson (beginning his final year of his first term beginning January 2026); Tam Hutchinson (beginning his second year of his first term in January 2026); Dustin Deal (beginning his first year of first term November 2025); Bruce Nisley (beginning his first year of first term December 2025); Marsh Lyall (completing his three year term December 2025). Deacon ballots have been mailed to the congregation and are due on December 7. Please turn them into the church office or bring them with you to worship on December 7. Also on December 7, we will vote on the proposed 2026 church budget as a part of the Sunday morning worship services. Please pray for your church staff, elders, and deacons as we lead and serve the church in the coming months. On Wednesday, December 10 during the adult Bible study time, we will have an ordination service for Dustin Deal as elder as well as an installation service for Bruce Nisley. This will be in the Fellowship Hall at 6:15 pm. Grace and Peace, Pastor Chris

Church family, thank you for inviting people to visit with us at WBC. Parents, thank you for bringing your children to church/Awana and for talking with them about faith. The vast majority of our baptisms this year have come from children whose parents have shared their faith with them and from church members who have invited friends and family to WBC. When you invite others to worship, and they come to faith in Christ, that’s replicating. That’s what it means to lead our neighbors to follow Jesus. Keep it up! Thank you for participating in our Member Meeting and 2026 budget presentation on Nov. 16. Your faithfulness to give, participate, and grow is an inspiration and encouragement to others. Grace and Peace to you this week! Grace and Peace, Pastor Chris

Church family, Thank you for your prayers, support, and participation in church decisions. Your vote regarding Dustin Deal as an elder was overwhelming: 97% approved of Dustin serving as an elder. Here are several other opportunities for engagement by church members in the coming weeks: Member Meeting Nov. 16 at 5:30 (Committee/Ministry Updates; Strategic Planning Committee Update; 2026 Budget Review); Elder vote on Bruce Nisley Nov. 30; Deacon ballots due on Dec. 7; 2026 Budget vote on Dec. 7. Thank you for your faithfulness in giving and serving during this fall season. As we move into the holiday season, keep praying for unbelievers, inviting them to church, and sharing Christ with them. Grace and Peace, Pastor Chris

Church family, Thank you for your participation and donations for our fall activities over the past week. We had a great celebration of baptism at our 11 am service on Sunday. It is a beautiful thing to see God at work. We were able to baptize an eight year old whose parents have done an excellent job building a framework for the gospel, a converted Buddhist Chinese national who came to faith more than 20 years ago, and a converted Mormon. God is a work! Keep praying. Keep inviting. Keep sharing. Over the next few Wednesday nights, we’ll work through the short pastoral epistle to Titus. Hope you can join us on Wednesdays for this study.

Church family, thank you for your generosity for pastor appreciation month. Our pastoral staff and leaders feel loved and blessed! One of the best things you can do for your church leaders is to participate in the life of the church in two specific ways. First, thank you for joining our mission to lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus by worshiping, learning, serving, and replicating. Second, thank you for participating in the life of the church through votes and nominations (elders, deacons, and Member Meetings). We’ve linked a blog post for you with the two elder testimonies for Dustin Deal and Bruce Nisley . The post also details the vetting and interview process for elder candidates. Please be prayerful this season with upcoming elder votes (Nov. 9, Dustin Deal, and Nov. 30, Bruce Nisley), Member Meeting (Nov. 16), deacon ballots due (Dec. 7), and 2026 church budget vote (Dec. 7). Grace and Peace, Dr. Hefner

Elder Nomination and Vetting Process

Church family, What a great picnic on Sunday! It was so good to see so many of you share a meal with us last night. I’m so grateful for deacons and staff putting our mission into action by serving yesterday. Being a part of a church family carries privileges and responsibilities, joys and struggles. On Sunday, we worshiped loudly and joyously, baptized an 8 year old, had another 8 year old pray to receive Jesus, and celebrated a meal together at our picnic. We also had the memorial service for a longtime church member, Roy Phillips, who has struggled with severe health issues for a number of years. In our congregation yesterday, many are fighting health challenges, walking with family through the valley of the shadow of death, and grieving.  Paul wrote in Romans 12:15 that we are to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” Thank you WBC for being a “family,” where we laugh, worship, celebrate, share, serve, cry, suffer, struggle, and mourn together. This is part of what it means to be the body of Christ, his family. Grace and Peace, Dr. Hefner

Church family, We’re looking forward to the church picnic on Sunday, October 19! We meet at the Watson Stage at Wilkes Community College from 5 to 7 pm. The picnic is a great time to visit with one another, meet new people, and talk with deacons and elders. Bring your favorite foods to share and enjoy time with your church family. One of my favorite things about WBC is the number of people living out our mission of leading our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus by serving. It takes a small army of servants/leaders to make Sunday mornings and mid-week ministries happen. And for our picnic, pay attention to how many people are serving, sharing, and making the event happen. WBC, we ought to be exceedingly grateful to our staff, deacons, and elders who serve our congregation. Hope to see you on Sunday for worship and then for the picnic! Grace and peace, Pastor Chris

Church Family, Thank you for your participation in leadership decisions at WBC. You should have received by mail the deacon nomination forms. Please prayerfully consider who you should nominate to be a deacon. We want to introduce you to a candidate for elder, Dustin Deal. Grace and Peace this week, Dr. Hefner ELDER CANDIDATE Dustin Deal came to Christ as a young child and began attending the youth group at Wilkesboro Baptist Church in middle school at the invitation of many of his closest friends. He became a member at the age of 16 in June of 2001. He is married to his high-school sweetheart, Whitney Deal, and they have three daughters: Glory Maeve, Mercer, and Ruthie. The Deals lived and worked away from Wilkes after college before finding their way back home (and back to WBC) in 2012. Dustin was a praise team volunteer for many years before joining our staff on a part-time basis as Minister of Music. He served in that role from January 2022-September 2024. Additionally, he served on the Pastor Search Committee (2014-2015), as a Deacon (ordained in 2015), and as an adult Sunday School teacher. Currently, Dustin is active teaching High School Sunday school and still participates in the worship team. On Friday mornings, you can find him at Cagney’s in a discipleship great group. He holds a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree from NC State University and co-owns an insurance agency in Wilkesboro with his sister. He is a lifelong musician and music lover, an avid reader, a student of God's word, and loves life and adventures with his wife and three daughters. Dustin will be sharing during the adult Bible study window on Wednesday night, October 15. He will lead in the confession and prayer time on Sunday morning, October 19. At both of those opportunities, Dustin will be available for questions you may have. The church will vote on Dustin Deal for the role of Elder on Sunday morning November 9.