Assured that the Lord called him to minister in the Northwest sector of Oklahoma City, Pastor Larry D. Ellis, Sr. left his home church to obey.

 

Unsure of where or how the new church would assemble, he was approached by a co-worker who told him about an empty church building. The co-worker said the empty building was located on Hefner Road, but she was unsure of the exact location. Pastor Ellis rode along Hefner Road until he found the building. After obtaining the phone number from the posted sign, he called and set up an appointment to view the building.

 

On the day Pastor Ellis was scheduled to view the property, he ran into an unforeseen obstacle when a funeral he attended in Lawton, Oklahoma ran longer than expected.  The carpool he rode with offered to take him directly to the appointment.  As he looked over the building, he decided on the spot that he would lease it. The pastor who showed the building advised Pastor Ellis that a $200 deposit would be needed. Not knowing this in advance, he did not have the $200 available. One of the other passengers, Reverend L. W. Bacy, paid the deposit. The building was located on Hefner Road and County Line Road, the Pastor’s targeted outreach area.

This led to the establishment of Macedonia Baptist Church on June 6, 1993. Approximately 50 visitors attended the first service. The charter members included: Iva Ellis, Latasha Ellis, Jenee Ellis, Craig EIlis, Larry Ellis Jr., Shelia Scott, and Aletha Fields. This body of members called Reverend Larry D. Ellis, Sr. as Pastor.

Peggy Jones, a very close friend of Pastor Ellis, told her pastor about the establishment of Macedonia Baptist Church. He in turn talked to someone at the Baptist Building who directed Macedonia to Jack Bettis of Capitol Baptist Association and Church Extensions. They put the church in touch with the pastor of First Baptist Church of Bethany who agreed to sponsor Macedonia. Initially, donations to the church were $1000 a month.  As Macedonia became more established, donations decreased to $200, and ended completely when Macedonia became self-supportive.   

 

The first month the church grew to 18 members, however, after two years, the buildings owners wanted to move back on the property to expand. Space was then acquired at Ralph Downs Elementary School located at 7501 West Hefner Road.

The first service held at Ralph Downs was November 6, 1995. The church continued to pray for direction in securing a church home, and eventually the Lord directed Macedonia to 7811 NW 94th Street. The last service at Ralph Downs was February 28, 1999. The first meeting at 7811 NW 94 was Wednesday night, March 3, 1999.

God continues to bless our congregation, in September 2005, we moved to our own Church building. The first service was held at 2100 N. Rockwell Avenue  Bethany, Oklahoma 73008 Sunday September 4, 2005

 

Since that first destined service in 1993, the church continues to grow in size and in Spirit, and we realize that while we are still living and breathing there is still work to do for God’s Kingdom.