A Legacy of Honoring God and Helping People

In 1950, with a desire to start a Bible-preaching independent Baptist church in the growing area of southwest Oklahoma City, a small assembly began meeting in a home. They called as pastor J. Oscar Wells, a missionary back in the States after release from a POW camp in China. Dr. Wells and his six-year-old daughter (who later became Shannon Lucid, Ph.D. a decorated U.S. astronaut) began knocking doors to invite people to attend services. After renting a storefront in 1951, the Southwest Baptist Church was organized. A small building was erected in 1953 at SW 54th and Blackwelder. In 1955, O.E. Matthews was called as pastor, a Sunday school annex was soon added, and in 2 years the membership grew to 350. The church called Bert Harrison as pastor in 1961, and under his leadership Faith Promise Missions Giving was instituted. After acquiring surrounding property, a new auditorium was completed in 1964. As the Lord continued to add to the church, it became obvious that space would soon be needed for growth to continue. Work began in 1971 on the 17,000 square foot basement below the present day auditorium, with most of the labor provided by the members of the church. With attendance now over 800, the auditorium was dedicated in 1974.

When Bro. Harrison retired in 1990, the church called Sam Davison as pastor, and the Lord blessed the church with a seamless transition in leadership. In the summer of 1998, Oklahoma City became home to Heartland Baptist Bible College (formerly Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College of San Dimas, California). The campus was renovated in large part through efforts of Southwest, and the presence of the student membership contributes uniquely to our ministry. We completed a three-phase building program in 2005 for new office, Sunday school, and state-of-the- art nursery facilities, adding over 100,000 square feet to meet current needs and future growth, and a major auditorium renovation was completed in 2017.

In 2010, Jason Gaddis was called as pastor and Sam Davison was honored as Pastor Emeritus. Pastor Gaddis also currently serves as President of Heartland Baptist Bible College. Over the years, sound Bible-preaching, soul-winning emphasis, worldwide and home missions support, and Christ-honoring music have been the foundations of Southwest Baptist Church. We have many past blessings for which to be thankful, and owe a debt of gratitude to many faithful people of the past whom the Lord used to make Southwest Baptist Church what it is today. However, we believe our best days are still ahead and are excited about the future as we endeavor by His grace to honor God and help people.