Sand Run Baptist Church sits along North Bend Road in Hebron, Kentucky, a quiet stretch of Boone County where the same congregation has met since March 20, 1819. The church takes its name from the creek that runs through the area, and the same three-acre plot the trustees bought in 1820 for twenty dollars an acre still anchors the property today. Members describe themselves as a small church family with a big heart, gathered under a simple motto: Love God. Love people. Serve our community.
Two Centuries on North Bend Road
The story of Sand Run begins with a paragraph written into the original church preamble on March 20, 1819. Members of Bullittsburg Baptist Church, living too far from their home meeting house, asked to be set apart as a separate body. Brother Chichester Matthews, who had been licensed to preach in Virginia in 1800, was appointed to bring the Word. Two deacons were ordained that summer and five trustees set out to find land. By February 1820 they had bought three acres on North Bend Road, and by July the first building was finished at a cost of two thousand one hundred dollars. Two cast-iron stoves were donated by Brother Carneal and Brother Cave Johnson, the cemetery was laid out beside the building, and a fence went up around the whole thing. By 1823 the church was out of debt.
The earliest members buried their dead in the corner of the lot nearest the church, beginning with Chichester Matthews himself in September 1828. Brother William Whitaker was called as pastor in 1830 and stayed for forty-one years. The old minutes record the cost of everything: candles for light, a new roof in 1855 at seventy-five dollars and seventy cents, an organ for sixty-six dollars and sixteen cents, six song books for eleven dollars and twenty-seven cents. A Sabbath School began in April 1873, women were placed on committees starting in 1877, and the envelope system for giving was adopted in December 1887.
The twentieth century brought the first full-time pastor in November 1942, a Sunday School addition built for eleven thousand five hundred dollars and dedicated in September 1954, and a 150th anniversary celebration on May 25, 1969, when ladies dressed in old-fashioned dresses and bonnets, and former pastors returned to preach. The church was incorporated on August 27, 1979, and today carries that 1819 charter forward as Sand Run Baptist Church of Francisville.
Sunday Morning at Sand Run
The weekly rhythm at Sand Run centers on Sunday morning. Sunday School for all ages begins at 9:45 a.m., with separate classes for elementary children, a middle and high school group, and an adult pastors group. The worship service follows at 10:45 a.m. and runs about seventy-five minutes. Members describe the gathering as heartfelt and hope-filled, with uplifting music, honest prayer, and a practical message from God's Word that connects to everyday life. People are not asked to stand or share unless they want to, and after the service there is time to talk with the pastor, ask questions, or simply linger.
The service is offered both in person and online. Recordings of recent sermons are posted to YouTube, and a livestream is shared through Facebook so that members who are traveling or homebound can keep up with the message. Visitors who want to know exactly what to expect can fill out a short online connection card ahead of time, and greeters at the door will be ready to help them find a seat and a cup of coffee.
Midweek Studies for Adults and Women
Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. belong to adult Bible study. The setting is intentionally casual - comfy clothes, coffee in hand, honest questions, and thoughtful discussion. The group works through passages together, explores context, and applies the text to everyday life. Newcomers can drop in anytime, no homework required, just an open Bible.
Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. belong to the women's Bible study. Women of all ages and stages gather to explore Scripture through discussion, share real-life insights, pray for one another, and enjoy fellowship. The atmosphere is relaxed and grace-filled, with coffee and light snacks on hand and monthly fun nights mixed in. The 2026 group traveled to the Riverside Inn in Warsaw, Kentucky, for a retreat.
The Mission Youth Group and Sprouts Children
The youth ministry at Sand Run is called the Mission, named for the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Students in grades six through twelve meet on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. for an evening of fun, fellowship, and time in Scripture. Their stated goals are simple: know and love God, connect with others, serve the church, and make heaven crowded. Throughout the year the Mission adds service projects, retreats, and trips to the calendar.
Elementary children have their own program called Sprouts, also meeting on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. Sprouts is a Christ-centered Bible study for first through fifth graders built around four pillars: spiritual enrichment through Bible study, prayer, and learning to love others; cultural enrichment through fine arts and crafts; recreational enrichment through exercise and nutrition; and a steady stream of service projects, field trips, game nights, movie nights, and picnics.
A clean, background-checked nursery is offered during Sunday School, the worship service, and Bible studies for families with little ones. Parents are encouraged to let the church know ahead of time if they would like to use it.
Family Events Through the Year
Sand Run runs a packed calendar of family events. Vacation Bible School fills the middle of July with the spy-themed Operation Savior program, where kids become agents in the Savior Security Agency, decoding clues and tracking down the greatest story ever told. An annual Easter Egg Hunt draws families from the neighborhood in the spring. Each fall brings Trunk or Treat, an evening of decorated trunks, candy, inflatables, games, crafts, music, a cakewalk, and a chance to donate to GO Pantry at the door. December brings Breakfast with Santa, a free Saturday morning event with pictures, crafts, games, a movie, and a story with Mrs. Claus. Movie nights under the stars, fishing derbies, and fellowship meals round out the year.
Two signature fundraisers also use the church grounds. The annual car show, now in its eleventh year, donates one hundred percent of its proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and a community yard sale in May opens the parking lot to neighbors, with free coffee and donuts during setup and a drop-off area for unsold items to be donated to St. Vincent de Paul.
Feeding the Community: GO Pantry and Bread of Life
Two food ministries put the church's motto into practice every week. Sand Run has partnered for nearly half of its ten-year history with GO Pantry, a non-profit that packs weekend food bags for children across six Northern Kentucky counties. Sand Run has adopted North Pointe Elementary School, where roughly thirty percent of students are eligible for free lunch. Members purchase, pack, and deliver about ten percent of all the bags GO Pantry ships, packing over one hundred fifty bags a month. The church's own children help fill the bags that are delivered each Friday. Each bag holds two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, snacks, and healthy drinks, at a bulk-purchased cost of about eight dollars a bag.
The Bread of Life Roadside Pantry stands on the church property between State Highway 237 and the parking lot. The little pantry is open to everyone in the community and is accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Members restock it as donations allow, and the only request posted on the door is simple: please do not take more than you need, because you may be hurting someone who really needs it.
A monthly homemade fellowship lunch is held on the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall beneath the Sunday School wing, and everyone is welcome.
What Sand Run Believes
The church affirms the Holy Bible as the inspired Word of God and the basis for its beliefs. It subscribes to the doctrinal statement of The Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, and it gathers as a body of baptized believers personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation. The two ordinances of the church are Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The stated purpose of Sand Run is to bring honor and glory to God the Father through the empowerment of the indwelling Holy Spirit as the congregation reaches the lost with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Six major objectives frame that work: evangelism, missions, and outreach; worship, prayer, and praise; caring, nurturing, and love ministries; stewardship, finances, and giving; teaching, training, and equipping; and administration, organization, and communication.
Government is vested in the body of believers who compose the church. Sand Run is subject to the control of no other ecclesiastical body, but recognizes and cooperates with the Northern Kentucky Baptist Association, the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention.
A Working Cemetery and an Open Hand
The Sand Run Baptist Cemetery still occupies the ground the original trustees laid out beside the 1820 meeting house. The cemetery has been expanded over the generations and today covers about nine acres, with a current lot map, a military grave list, and a military grave map kept by the church office. A Historical Roadside Pomeroy Marker was placed at the cemetery through the Kenton County Sons of the American Revolution, and members of the Daughters of the American Revolution have partnered with the church to mark veteran graves with flags. Information on available plots and family locations is available through the church office on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Visitors wanting to learn more about the people buried in the cemetery can also find photographs and records at FindAGrave.com.
Planning Your Visit
The church building is easy to find on North Bend Road, with a lighted sign out front. There is plenty of parking, including accessible spots, and a ramp entrance for those who need it. Inside, two ramps lead into the sanctuary and Sunday School rooms, replacing earlier steps, and a chair lift connects the upper level to the fellowship hall in the basement.
Sand Run invites visitors to come as they are. Jeans, casual clothes, business casual, and sports jerseys on game days are all common. The greeters are ready at the door with a genuine welcome, free coffee, and a willingness to help with directions. After the service, members often linger to talk, and fellowship meals and family events are posted on the church calendar.
The church office is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and can be reached at 859-689-7110 or srbc.general@yahoo.com. Online giving is available, sermons are archived on the church YouTube channel, and a livestream of the worship service is shared through Facebook each Sunday at 10:45 a.m. To plan a first visit, anyone can fill out a short form on the church's Plan Your Visit page.