Church History
Zebulon - Wendell Baptist Temple was founded in 1974 by Rev. David Dupree. The Lord used Bro. Dupree's Pastor, Larry Upchurch, pastor of Mid-Way Baptist Church, to introduce the thought of starting a new Independent Baptist church in Zebulon. The Lord opened doors by providing a location and several families supportive to a new work, and the church was planted. In the years following, the Lord blessed ZWBT and the church began to grow.
In 1977 the Lord allowed Pastor Dupree to lead the first building program, to build a new auditorium, and move to the current location on Mack Todd Road. Also during this time the Lord impressed upon Bro. Dupree's heart to start another work; this time, a Christian School. After extensive debates with the town, ZWBT was granted permission to start a Christian School. In the fall of 1977, Baptist Temple Christian School opened its doors as a K5 - 12th grade school. Like the church, the school began to grow and eventually a pre-school was added for 3 and 4 year olds. In 1980, a new academic building was erected with classrooms for BTCS and Sunday School use. These facilities also housed our first gymnasium.
As time passed and the church and school grew, expansion was needed again. By 1991 more classrooms were needed for the church and school. Instead of building a new academic building, the old gym was divided into two floors for additional classrooms and a new larger gymnasium facility was built.
In 1998 the Lord saw fit to lead us into a time of transition. The church sanctuary was becoming too small and it was time to build. The church voted to change the name of the church and school to Heritage Baptist Church and Christian Academy. The following year, the Lord allowed us to move into our new auditorium and church office building. The Lord has truly blessed Heritage Baptist Church and we pray that in the years to come He will continue to do so.