History

Walnut Hills Baptist Church was ESTABLISHED BY a request FROM a student at the College of William & Mary in the early 1960’s.

The first meeting was held in an old schoolhouse in April, 1963, near the present site with 18 charter members in attendance. Walnut Hills was constituted as a church in September, 1964, with 98 members. The church quickly outgrew its facilities and moved to a permanent building on Jamestown Road in 1969 with Reverend Jerry Haywood as Pastor. Additional construction added a new sanctuary and church offices which were dedicated in November of 1987.

Reverend Linda Ward was called in 1996 as Minister of Education. In 1998 Reverend John Thompson was called as Minister of Music and Reverend Graham Cheek was called as Minister of Youth and Children. Jerry (then Dr. Haywood) retired in 2004 after 35 years of service. More renovations continued under the new Senior Pastor, Reverend Dr. Tony Neal who began his pastorate in August 2006. Dr. Neal brought the church through “Pursuing Missional Faithfulness” a visioning process that took several years and is still active in the church’s programs today. Dr. Neal retired in April 2015. In April of 2016, Reverend Linda Ward retired. Following interim periods with Reverend Dr. Bruce Powers and Reverend Dr. Jim White, Walnut Hills called Reverend Dr. James Hunter II in June of 2017 as Senior Pastor.

from the constitution

Core Values

The identity of Walnut Hills Baptist Church is centered around, but not limited to, the following Core Values:
  • There is only one living and true God, and He exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  • Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He is God’s only Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
  • The Holy Spirit reveals God in Christ to us, leads us to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, is the power of God within believers that enables them to live for Christ, and leads believers in making wise choices.
  • The Bible is the inspired and authoritative word of God.
  • God created human beings in His own image. By our free choice, we ushered sin into the world. Therefore, all people inherit a nature and environment inclined toward sin.
  • The mission of Christ to the world was to redeem the sinful. This was accomplished through His reconciling death on the cross for the sins of the world.
  • Salvation is by God’s grace, alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.
  • Christ was resurrected from the grave and is alive today with the Father in heaven.
  • A person who is saved, by faith, will follow Jesus in believer’s baptism by immersion to show his or her identification with, and in obedience to, Christ.
  • The church is the Body of Christ and is commissioned by God to witness to His love throughout the world.
  • All believers should actively unite with a local church for worship, service, fellowship and support of one another.
  • Men and women serve in leadership positions through discipleship classes, the body of deacons, adult and children’s education programs, and ministry and mission organizations.