Our History

It's October 1967. The Vietnam War is raging overseas, Thurgood Marshall has just been sworn in as the first black U.S. Supreme Court Justice and in the small town of Conroe, Texas five families are about to embark upon a great adventure that will effect thousands of people for years to come.

Sent out from First Baptist Church of Conroe to start a sister church that would be "a lighthouse for Christ," these families (Suggs, Greer, Atherton, Pringle and Allbright) found a home for their new mission at the Tamina Community Hall on Robinson Road (now the Robinson Road Community Center or "Shack by the Track") and on October 22, 1967 the journey began. Oak Ridge Baptist Chapel, as it was then called, had 52 people in attendance, 30 of which joined, the first Sunday under the direction of interim pastor Dr. Jerry Robinson.

The following months showed great growth among the start-up church and on March 10, 1968 the congregation broke ground with plans for a 6,900 sq. ft. building with space for 250 people off the then-sparsely populated I-45. Services began in the new facility in February 1969 and on October 19 of that same year the building was dedicated and the body of believers were constituted as "Oak Ridge Baptist Church" with 253 charter members, including those who joined that day.

Within three years the church had doubled in membership and found themselves in need of additional space for their growing ministries. In August 1971, $110,000 was put toward the construction of the Educational Building (also referred to as "Building B") and it was ready to be occupied by mid-1972.

A few years later another ground breaking took place and this time it was for a $400,000 multi-purpose building, housing a sanctuary/gym, nursery, education area and kitchen/dining area. The building was completed and dedicated January 4, 1976 and services were held there until the early 80s.

The late 70s were huge growth years and in 1977 the church was tagged as one of the top three fastest growing Baptist churches in Texas by Home Missions Magazine with a growth from 666 members in 1972 to 1,627 members in 1976. At the time, a bus ministry was also in place, bringing in nearly 100 children each week for Sunday School and services. "Our people have sacrificed to grow," said Pastor Harvey Kneisel. "Our church has tried to fit into God's redemptive plan, not only in the redeeming of souls, but also in the blessing and changing of lives and lifestyles."

Fast forward nearly 20 years. The church, still a staple of community life in Oak Ridge and surrounding areas with strong ministries across the board, meets the most unlikely of foes: mold. On August 10, 2000 small amounts of toxic mold were discovered on the back sides of walls of many offices in the Sanctuary building. The following Sunday Pastor Gordon Sudduth announced that the congregation would be moving to a temporary home at York Jr. High.

Over the next few years and after many additional tests, mold was found in three of the four buildings on the church property. By this time the congregation had moved services from York to Oak Ridge High School and Houser Elementary and eventually settled at Vogel Intermediate. In May 2003 the church members voted to demolish their building on I-45, sell the property and relocate.

After five years of struggles, the congregation got its wish November 13, 2005 with a ground breaking on nearly 13 acres of land for a new building slated for completion in early 2007. The location is blocks away from the community center in which the church began in 1967.

On February 12, 2006 ORBC welcomed its current Sr. Pastor, Galen K. Cooper; the fifth full-time pastor in the church's nearly 40-year history (Tommy Austin: '68-'72, Gerald Roe: '72-'73, Harvey Kneisel: '74-'82, and Gordon Sudduth: '83-'2005).

A church now in a brand new chapter of its existence, Oak Ridge Baptist has a renewed outlook and energy. They are a group of people on a mission to be "a fellowship of believers called to develop into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ with a heart to share God's love with the unchurched people of our community and the world."