Our Story

It was Sunday, April 28, 1889, just six days after the famous “Land Run” that opened up Oklahoma for settlement, when a group of Methodists gathered around a white flag and sang What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Rev. James Murray, a Methodist minister, was asked to speak.  He opened up his Bible to Psalm 20:5 and read, “In the name of our God, we will set up our banners,” and a new church was born.

Shortly afterwards, a few folks nailed some boards together for a shelter and by June, they had their first pastor, Rev. I.L. Burrows.  Within a month, the congregation numbered 50. When winter approached, the “lean-to” church received actual walls and they called themselves the Tabernacle Church, which met at the same location of the original worship service at 3^rd and Broadway.

By 1904, a red brick building had been constructed and a new name was chosen – St. Luke’s Methodist Episcopal Church, South. With membership now over 500, they had outgrown the building and decided to move the church “uptown” to NW 8^th and Robinson in 1908.

By 1948, the membership of the church had reached almost 5,000 and another new building was needed. The congregation voted to move out of the congested downtown area and relocate to a site purchased between NW 14^th and 15^th street, between Robinson and Harvey. In March 1949, ground was broken for a great Educational Building.

On June 18, 1950, the first services were held in what would later become offices and classroom space. The congregation envisioned the day when a magnificent sanctuary would be added to the new building.

In January 1954, the new Education Building was dedicated, completely debt free. Immediately, the congregation voted to raise another million dollars to build the sanctuary of their dreams and to give $25,000 to help Asbury Methodist Church build their building in south Oklahoma City. Ground was broken for St. Luke’s Sanctuary on May 1, 1955 and was opened for worship on March 3, 1956.

The 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s were difficult decades for Oklahoma City, which included a mass exodus of people moving from the city to the suburbs. The struggles of our community affected our members and our ministry. The decision to stay in downtown Oklahoma City in the 1980s was solidified when the church broke ground for the Christian Life Center in 1990.

St. Luke’s launched a new television ministry in 1993 to reach the larger community with our worship services. April 12, 1998 would begin a new vision for contemporary worship service and LifeLight started, which expanded the weekly service opportunities to three. The renovation of the Christian Life Center in 2011 created additional seating for LifeLight and provided a beautiful place for church and outside groups to meet.

In 2013, St. Luke’s began expanding beyond the downtown location to share God’s love and bring hope in other locations around Oklahoma City.  Asbury Methodist Church became St. Luke’s Asbury – the first satellite campuses. March 30, 2014, a new congregation began meeting at Sequoyah Middle School, launching the St. Luke’s Edmond Campus. The grand opening of the Edmond Campus building took place on October 16, 2015, at 900 N. Sooner Road.

We are a family of faith with a rich heritage and a bright future. Thank you, St. Luke’s, for carrying out the mission of those original settlers who staked a white flag in Oklahoma City. Thank you for preparing a place of worship for generations to come as we continue to share God’s love and bring hope to the world.