About Us: Heritage Baptist Church

 

God-honoring worship builds a platform for discipleship and helps create a dynamic to promote practical spiritual growth and maturity. Heritage Baptist Church strives to be a church that is Holy Spirit-driven, not consumer-driven; and a church where God’s people can exercise their spiritual gifts in serving and building up one another.

Heritage Baptist Church is an independent, family-integrated church in Blaine, Minnesota. We focus on Bible-centered instruction, with the aim of strengthening families in spiritual growth. We invite you to meet with us for worship, teaching, fellowship, and prayer on Sunday mornings and throughout the week!

 

History

A small group of people met in March of 1982 to explore the possibility of starting a church in the Blaine, Minnesota area. Under the leadership of Pastor Joe Birdwell, the group agreed that they would trust God and follow His direction. Three weeks later, Pastor Birdwell was killed in a car/train collision after he had finished visiting one of the church families. The group of people who remained asked the Lord for direction and then contacted Liberty Baptist Seminary (Lynchburg, VA) for assistance. David Watkins was just finishing his Master of Divinity degree and, after his graduation, they asked him to accept the challenge of picking up where Pastor Birdwell left off. Pastor Watkins and his family moved to Minnesota and began their ministry on July 4, 1982.

North Town Baptist Church (as the church was originally named) was chartered as an Independent Baptist church in the fall of that year. For a number of years, while the church was small, Pastor Watkins worked a full-time job in addition to his pastoral responsibilities. By 1997, the Lord had caused the church to grow to the point that they were able to provide full-time support for the pastor.

The church changed its name to Heritage Baptist Church to better reflect the desire to build up a spiritual legacy of Godly generations that follow Scriptural principles. God has blessed the commitment to follow Jesus Christ in growing toward spiritual maturity.

 

Pastor David Watkins

David and his wife, Linda, met while attending Oklahoma Baptist University (Shawnee, OK). After graduation in 1971, they served in various capacities in churches in Missouri and Virginia. David went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Liberty Baptist Seminary. David has worked in various areas of church leadership for more than fifty years and has been pastor of Heritage Baptist Church since 1982.

David's and Linda's hearts are to strengthen families to serve in the capacities in which God has chosen for them and to train parents how to disciple their own children. They also have a deep desire to help bring about a God-breathed Spiritual awakening that would bring our nation back to the Lord and its Scriptural heritage.

They home educated their eight children for twenty-one years and continue to be active in home education circles. David and Linda served together on the board of the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators (MÂCHÉ), retiring in 2020 after eighteen years of serving Minnesota home educators. Both David and Linda currently serve on the board of the National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership (ALLIANCE). David and Linda have eight children and thirty-one grandchildren.

 

Missions

Heritage Baptist Church has a heart for missions and supports several missionaries around the world.  For more information on their needs and prayer requests, please send a message to Pastor Watkins to ask about their latest missionary letters and prayer requests. All missionaries covet your fervent prayers!