Church history
Started under the authority of Bible Baptist Church of Enid by Pastor Alvin L. Turner and his wife, along with 13 charter members, Bible Baptist Church began meeting on July 12, 1959, in a modest house on north Duck Street. With God’s blessings, Bible Baptist Church has grown from 13 to an average Sunday morning attendance of more than 400 and a multi-building complex on several acres to the north and east of the intersection of Jardot Street, a major four-lane thoroughfare, and Virginia Avenue.
An independent Baptist church, BBC has as its motto: “Still Church,” which emphasizes the church’s belief in Still Hymns, Still Men, Still Preaching, Still Reverent, Still Family, and Still Exciting. Banners bearing these themes line either side of the driveway entering the church property.
Soon after the church started, growth made necessary a permanent location. The congregation rented a blacksmith shop on south Lowry Street. After much hard work and whitewashing at the building, the church began having services there. Growth continued, and on July 13, 1965, the church purchased two acres on Young Street, part of its present location, and in August began construction on a new building. That structure is the tower area and the Sumner Chapel portion of the present building.
As attendance continued to increase, the church added on a Sunday School wing and additional space on the east and northeast sides. In the late 1970s, Bible Baptist Church began the most aggressive building project so far in its history—the current sanctuary. It was completed and dedicated under the leadership of Pastor Sam Davison in May 1980. Although a freestanding Sunday School building was completed on the property in early 2005, the next major building expansion was a $1.6 million construction project begun in July 2012 and completed in 2013 with a dedication ceremony on August 18.
In April 2003, the church started a VisionFund with a goal of buying 111 acres east of town as a site for a new building. Payments on the property began in 2005, but God did not lead to build there. Pastor Wayne Hardy said three key things changed: 1—the cost of construction rose significantly; 2—the main city street in front of the current location (Jardot Road) has been rebuilt into a four-lane thoroughfare; and 3—the city decided to annex to the east, which would put the proposed 111-acre site back into the city limits and back under the same signage and building codes. The church retains the land with expectation of God’s leading in how to use it in the future.
In late 2008 and early 2009, planning began on upgrading the present facility. The resulting $1.6 million project included a major facelift outside and the addition of new offices inside for the staff, making the old offices available for use as Sunday School classes or for future expansion of the sanctuary. The outside facelift included a new entrance with a covered drop-off, modern brick work, a lighted cross built into the exterior wall, a large steeple, and a new driveway with parking spaces. “We want the outside of the church to make a statement that we are a church,” Pastor Hardy said. “We want to look stable and timeless.” In addition to the contracted work, members have volunteered labor to do additional landscaping and parking lot construction.
Unlike many churches today, Bible Baptist continues to have Sunday evening and Wednesday night services, and attendance at these services remains above 90 percent of the Sunday morning attendance minus the attendance brought in by buses. The bus ministry includes routes in Stillwater and Perkins.
Pastor Wayne Hardy, who was called as pastor in 1999, previously served as music director and is the seventh pastor in the history of BBC. Others serving as pastor were Bro. Alvin Turner, Bro. K. B. Murray, Bro. Larry Stevenson, Bro. Sam Strickland, Bro. Sam Davison, and Bro. Dave McCracken.
1999 VBS
Open House13
Old BBC Bus
Bro. Davison1
Davison 11th Anniversary
Old BBC Sunday School
1999 Bible School
