Established in 2011 as a church plant, One Church – located in Elk City, Oklahoma – rapidly outgrew the rented space they’d started in. By the next year, literally within months, they were confronted with the need for a new location. Their prayers were answered quickly, as well. They had an opportunity to buy a local bank building and two acres of land in Elk City. They contacted BCLC and it was immediately obvious that this was going to be a true relationship… not a lender who’d just say, “Here’s the money. Keep up payments and we’ll see you later.”
Instead, BCLC came up, viewed the property, saw its potential and prayed with church leaders about the path to take. “That made a deep impression on us,” says pastor Brannan Duncan. “We pursued the purchase, prepared the facility, and Easter 2013 was our very first day in the new building.”
The facility turned out to be a blessing in many ways, not all of them obvious at the outset. Its large spaces allowed flexible use for both general meetings and Bible lessons. The huge vault, a major part of the original bank, inspired the name of the youth program, – “Vault Student Ministries” – and the vault itself became an occasional storm shelter for church members and neighbors when tornadoes threaten. What’s more the original loan was paid off within two years!
However, the church continued to grow – especially the Kid’s Ministry – and the church needed to grow to meet the new need. That, combined with a longtime goal of a stand-alone sanctuary, brought the church back to BCLC. The purpose: a loan for an 8,000 square foot Kid’s Ministry building and funds to expand the sanctuary.
“Let’s just say that we’re One Church…and we have one church lender. We’re very happy about that.”
And the new facilities? They’re due to open just in time for the start of the school year.
