Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma

The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the convention is made up of 43 Baptist associations and around 1,800 churches as of 2010.

Background

The stated mission of the BGCO is "to assist the local church to fulfill its Biblical mission and be a channel for cooperative ministry in Oklahoma, the nation and the world."^[1] The BCGO provides services to churches throughout Oklahoma in 32 different ministry efforts, including capitol stewardship, chaplaincy, childhood, student and collegiate ministries, disaster relief, senior and single adult ministries, the Robert Haskins School of Leadership, CrossTimbers Children's Camp and the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center.^[2] Oklahoma Baptist University is owned and operated by the BGCO. The BGCO also maintains mission partnerships with Baptist churches in Armenia, Bangladesh, New Orleans, Utah-Idaho, and Guerrero and Guanajuato Mexico.^[3] The current President is Dr. Hance Dilbeck of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Dr. Anthony L. Jordan has served as the Executive Director-Treasurer since his election in 1996.

History

The BGCO is the successor of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory, which held its last session at the First Baptist Church of Shawnee on November 9, 1906 (one year before Oklahoma statehood). On the same day, the Oklahoma Baptist State Convention held its final session at the First Methodist Church of Shawnee. At a prearranged time, the two conventions then met, formed a line, marched two-by-two to the Shawnee Opera House and formed the Baptist General Convention of the State of Oklahoma, representing 882 churches and 40,617 members at that time. The convention continued dual alignment with both the Northern and Southern Baptist Convention until 1914 when it voted "single alignment" with the Southern Baptist Convention.^[4]

Affiliated organizations

• Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma
• Baptist Village Communities
• Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children
• Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center

References

1. Bgco.org Archived November 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
2. Bgco.org Archived September 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
3. "Partnership and Volunteer Missions". bgco.org. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
4. Bgco.org Archived November 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

• Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma