TNF plays an integral role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as evidenced by the dramatic therapeutic responses in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients induced by chimeric anti-TNF mAbs. However, treatment of CD patients with etanercept, a decoy receptor that binds soluble TNF, fails to improve disease. To explore this discrepancy, we interrogated the role of TNF signaling on Wnt/β-catenin-mediated intestinal stem and progenitor cell (ISC/PC) expansion in CD patients, human cells, and preclinical mouse models. We hypothesized that TNF exerts beneficial effects on intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) responses to injury. In CD patients, ISC/PC Wnt/β-catenin signaling correlates with inflammation status. TNF-deficient (Tnf−/−) mice exhibited increased apoptosis, less IEC proliferation, and less Wnt signaling when stimulated with anti-CD3 mAb. Bone marrow chimera (BMC) mice revealed that mucosal repair depended on TNF production by BM-derived cells and TNFR expression by radioresistant IEC. WT-> Tnfr1/2−/− BMC mice given chronic DSS colitis exhibited delayed ulcer healing, more mucosal inflammation, and impaired Wnt/β-catenin signaling, consistent with the hypothesis that epithelial TNFR signaling participates in mucosal healing. The direct effect of TNF on stem cells was demonstrated by studies of TNF-induced Wnt/β-catenin target gene expression in murine enteroids and colonoid cultures and TNF-induced β-catenin activation in non-transformed human NCM460 cells (TOPFlash) and mice (TOP-GAL). Together these data support the hypothesis that TNF plays a beneficial role in enhancing Wnt/β-catenin signaling during ulcer healing in IBD. These novel findings will inform clinicians and therapeutic chemists alike as they strive to develop novel therapies for IBD patients.