Alumni Spotlights

Lucas Wehner, ’11/’12

Municipal Administrator Bad Liebenzell, Germany

Kristin Hernandez, ’11

Author Victorville, California

Lucas Wehner, ’11/’12, has been using his leadership skills to make a difference in these precarious times. Lucas has been one of the few people who have cared for former employees of a shuttered Afghan agency in Germany. He helped rent three safe houses for the 350-plus former workers and their families while also helping evacuate those family members left behind in Kabul.

Lucas came to California Baptist University in 2007 after speaking with Dr. Robert K. Jabs and his wife, Rita, while they were in Germany. Learning how Christ-centered CBU is, Lucas wanted to be a part of it. He majored in business administration and political science and then stayed an additional year and completed his MBA, none of it possible without the generous support of the Knuppe family who helped sponsor his studies at CBU.

He returned to Germany in 2012 and began working for a small but growing Christian university, Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell. In 2019, Lucas became a Municipal Administrator of Bad Liebenzell, a community of 3,600 residents in Germany. He serves the citizens of this community by problem-solving and advancing the town’s goals with his council members.

In all of his commitments, he realizes that it is about serving people, having a humble heart and being a shining light of Christ. Lucas believes the answer to changing this world is love and the knowledge that the Kingdom of God has already started in the heart of every Christian. Lucas works to serve his students and his community by living and leading according to the verse, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

As he recently worked in the evacuation process of the Afghan people, Lucas saw firsthand the lesson of taking responsibility for others in every generation. “In these history-making moments, we must see the world through His word and make our impact in service to others,” said Lucas.

While living in Simmons Hall her freshman year, Kristin Hernandez, ’11, began to read the Bible regularly and surround herself with likeminded friends and mentors. They all cared about and supported each other and built a strong community around their shared values and beliefs. This community and her ISP trips, helped her grow more in her compassion for others, leadership skills, and faith.

Kristin was an English major with a journalism minor. She had always loved communications and writing, but her classes allowed her to grow as a writer and communicator. Though she never expected God to lead her to write a book, the journey to realizing this dream was not easy.

Kristin and her husband Chris, ’10, have a 3-year-old son at home as well as five babies who are now with Jesus. Their firstborn son, Ethan, died shortly after birth in 2015 due to a rare chromosome disorder called Trisomy 9. It was through Ethan’s life and death and Kristin’s struggle with God that she ultimately found His goodness in the middle of suffering through prayer and reading His Word. This experience led Kristin to launch an online ministry and write her book, Sunlight in December: a Mother’s Story of Finding the Goodness of God in the Storm of Grief.

The ministry, also called “Sunlight in December,” includes her writings, speaking engagements, discipleship and a podcast called Through the Lens. Though most importantly, it has her walking alongside grieving mothers who have experienced infertility, miscarriage or the loss of an infant.

Kristin hopes that others can find the comfort of Jesus amid their suffering. She wants those experiencing loss to know that God weeps with them and gives us space for biblical lament. She hopes to spread the message that our greatest hope is Christ, despite our circumstances.

Kristin hopes to one day write a second book, but in the meantime, she is enjoying these God-given opportunities, loving on her family, connecting with friends over coffee, running, riding roller coasters and taking in those sunny days.