The birth of Crown Heights Church (CHC) coincides with the development of the entire area north of Downtown Oklahoma City during the “Roaring Twenties,” soon after the statehood of Oklahoma in 1907. As automobiles gained popularity and Route 66 was built through the area in 1926, many affluent citizens moved north of the Oklahoma City Downtown area. At the time, this new area was considered the far edge of Oklahoma City but still within city limits. The problem was that there were no churches nearby, so the new residents began to seek God’s guidance on what to do. 

   In the spring of 1920, a couple named Mr. and Mrs. Brown decided to start a Sunday school for the many unsupervised children they saw playing on Sunday mornings as the Browns left their home for their home church miles away. Responding to this need, CHC began by providing a Sunday school for the neighborhood’s youth. The classes multiplied and met inside and outside the Browns’ home at 1137 NW 42nd St.

   First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City (FBCOKC) was interested in the new gatherings. A couple of blocks north of the Browns’ home, FBCOKC bought a lot in the new neighborhood and constructed a mission building. On July 1, 1928, the 44th Street Baptist Church was constituted at the location (1135 NW 44th St). The church quickly began to organize itself around its needs by creating committees and church programs, while also initiating a jail ministry. The church averaged one hundred people at every Sunday morning gathering.

   From 1928 to 1948, the church experienced growth, primarily through the welcome of new people to faith in Jesus. The church grew so much that it required a move one block north, to three open lots, to accommodate a larger building for gathering. In 1929, the church moved into its new building at 1201 NW 45th St and changed its name to Centenary Baptist Church (no reason is given for the change other than the obvious: the church was no longer gathering on 44th Street). The new location’s building was completed in 1935.

   In 1941, the church changed its name again. The church was now known as Old North Baptist Church. Soon, World War II took center stage, and the church led rationing drives and sent military chaplains to serve the war effort. Following the war’s end in 1945, the church changed its name for the final time to Crown Heights Baptist Church.

   The church had grown even during the war years, so a new location was needed. Groundbreaking was done at the new site on October 31, 1948, two blocks north and one east of the old location. The new location was 4802 North Western Avenue on a main North-South corridor for travel to Downtown Oklahoma City. Gatherings were first held in the new building on March 5, 1950, and the north education building was built and dedicated on July 16, 1961. This location remained the church’s meeting place until July 26, 2026, when it was gifted to The Vine Community Church.

   Crown Heights Church has returned to its origin as a neighborhood mission outpost. You can find the ongoing mission work on the Parishes page.