Our History

In 1932 the First Baptist Church of Edmond felt like a special ministry was needed for the students at Central State College. The BCM began as a group of students meeting at the parsonage home of Dr. E. M. Ramey. They soon moved to meeting in a classroom on campus. In 1946 a two story white house was purchased on the corner of what was then College and Main. In 1956 the lot next to the house was purchased. In 1958 a center was constructed for campus ministry. Ada Ingram, Gene McBride, and John Burns were campus ministers who gave direction to the student-run organization. When the property was purchased it was surrounded by other houses. As the University obtained land the BCM Center was left an island of private property surrounded by the university. In 1984 a larger kitchen and a worship area were added onto the existing center.

In 1979, Dr. Charles Lillard came to the BCM to assume the role of Director. He retired after 33 years on August 1, 2012. He had previously served at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa. He and his wife Suzanne, who served as the Associate Director, retired after a total of 41 years of collegiate ministry.

In June 2012, Chad Coleman came to UCO to serve as the Director from the Tulsa Community College BCM after having served as the director there for 6 years. Chad took over as the State BCM Associate in the summer of 2018 and Paul Lewis took over as Director later that fall. Paul took over as the OSU BCM Director in the summer of 2021. In January 2022, Kyle Thomas came to UCO to serve as the Director from the Tulsa Community College BCM after having served there for 3 years. Kyle has been serving in some form of full-time ministry since August of 2012.

The history of the UCO BCM is rich and the future is bright!