Church of the Highlands’ Opelika Campus Pastor Kevin Haefner was an All-American golfer at Auburn University and once aspired to be a professional golfer.

Now he’s preparing the newest campus of the Church of the Highlands for Easter week services.

“Palm Sunday’s an incredible Sunday for us,” Heafner said. “You never know when someone’s heart is going to be opened to God, whether it’s Palm Sunday, or a random Sunday in June. Every Sunday matters. Every Sunday is a Super Bowl Sunday.”

Haefner grew up in upstate Pittsford, New York, the son of a former Auburn University baseball player, Joe Haefner, who was a centerfielder at Auburn from 1968-72. He arrived in Auburn in 1997 on a golf scholarship. He graduated in 2002 with a finance degree.

He began a career as a real estate appraiser while also doing a stint in the PGA.

“I played professional golf for a little while,” Haefner said. “I had open-heart surgery in 2007. That started the downfall of my golf career.”

In 2009, he was practicing golf at Greystone Country Club when someone suggested he visit the Church of the Highlands branch campus in Auburn.

“I was struggling with my golf game and life,” Haefner said. “I grew up in a religious environment. I could tell you a lot about God, but I didn’t know God. I could tell you a lot about the Bible, but I’d never read the Bible.”

He decided to take the advice to visit the Church of the Highlands campus in Auburn in June 2009.

Haefner said it changed his life.

“That day when I walked in, I saw something different,” he said. “I saw joy on people’s faces. I saw an environment that was welcoming and warm. I heard worship music like I’d never heard worship before. I heard a message centered around the gospel, centered on God’s word, that I’d never heard before. At the end of the service, I remember where I was sitting and what I felt.”

The message about finding a personal relationship with Jesus resonated with him. “I said, ‘I want that.’ I surrendered my life that day to him. I cried my eyes out that day. I waited to leave because I was crying so much.”

He couldn’t wait for the next worship service.

“God just met me there that day and I had a transformed heart,” he said. “I’ve never been the same since that day. I felt I had a moment in his presence.”

He felt that God was calling him personally to a life of Christian service.

“God has gifted me and called me,” he said. “I became a volunteer. The first team I was on was Highlands Kids. It was amazing and different. I served on the team for five years. They had the joy of the Lord, and I wanted it.”

While attending church, he met his wife, Kayla. They now have four children.

“In 2015, we had an opportunity to go to Opelika as the kids’ leaders,” Haefner said. “We were beyond thrilled. In 2016, we went to Highlands College. It’s all about ministry training, spiritual formation, character development and academics. I felt like we were getting trained and equipped to maybe do full-time ministry.”

While at Highlands College, he had his second open-heart surgery in 2017. “My surgery went incredibly well,” he said.

After finishing at Highlands College, Haefner was asked to become a Dream Team leader and associate pastor for the Church of the Highlands.

In 2019, he became the Opelika campus pastor.

“I really enjoy what I do every day,” he said. “Each person’s story is unique and it’s got the fingerprint of God all over it.”

Since the Rev. Mark Pettus took over as lead pastor for The Church of the Highlands, and founding Pastor Chris Hodges announced he would focus more on his role as chancellor at Highlands College, things haven’t changed that much, Haefner said.

“Honestly, nothing,” he said. “Nothing much has changed. They’re like best friends.”

Hodges still preaches occasionally, but devotes most of his time to Highlands College.

“He’s been talking about this for five years,” Haefner said. “If there was one thing he’d be doing, it would be raising up young leaders at Highlands College.”

Hodges returned to preach April 6, and will also preach today for Palm Sunday and for the Easter weekend services, April 18-20. “He’s going to preach a lot still,” Haefner said.

All sermons, whether by Pettus, Hodges or another staff member, are livestreamed from the Grants Mill campus to all the other branches.

Each branch has its own praise team with live music, but hears the same sermon.

“The 26 campuses get to have one message, one heartbeat,” said Haefner.

That means campus pastors don’t have to spend time on sermon preparation, which frees up more time for personally meeting and praying with church members, Haefner said.

“It allows me to spend time with my people,” Haefner said. “I meet with people every day.”

Hodges notoriously loves to play golf.

Haefner gave up golf in 2010 and didn’t return to a course until 2020, when he began to play with his children.

Hodges, naturally, has suggested they hit the course together. That has not happened yet.

“We have not played together,” Heafner. “We’ve talked about it a lot. When I quit golf in 2010, I quit. It was everything to me. It became a job. It was no longer fun.”

But teaching his kids to play has reignited some of the fun. So, he may one day be on the golf course with Pastor Chris, as Hodges is still known at the church.

“From what I hear, he can beat most of the guys,” Haefner said. “I don’t think he can beat me.”

The Church of the Highlands, a Birmingham-based congregation with dozens of branch locations in Alabama and Georgia, will open its new 800-seat Opelika worship center today.

Grand opening services at the new 800-seat building on the Opelika campus are Sunday, April 13, at 8 a.m., 9:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

For more information on the opening of the Opelika Campus: https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/campuses/opelika.