When Norman Community Church was founded in 2004, it was the result of years of dreams and visions from families and friends in Norman, Oklahoma. Those interactions with God began years before the church’s inception and continue to be a valued guide today. Over the years, the history of Norman Community Church has and will continue to be shaped by the values and principles of our community.

It must be said, at the core of our story is Jesus and learning to become sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. He is the founder of our church and the ultimate vision carrier for where we have been and where we will go.

We began our journey as a network of small groups in Norman, Oklahoma. At the time, the members of these small groups attended Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. Ken Primrose, a University of Oklahoma law student, was asked to oversee the small groups in Norman. After holding this position for some time, Bridgeway senior pastor Lance Humphreys approached Ken with the idea of using these small groups to plant a church in Norman. Initially the idea of starting a church in Norman was brushed away by Ken. But as time passed, Ken and the family and friends around him began to have visions and dreams from God about planting a church in Norman.

Ken initially took the Lord’s words to mean that he was to care for those he was pastoring in small groups. The small groups certainly didn’t see themselves as a church at this time.The turning point came when Ken heard the Lord whisper, “Build my House” a passage from Haggai 1. Through several confirmations including prophetic words and the support of his pastor, Ken began to realize the fullness of what God was speaking to him.

Ken and his wife, Beth, began to communicate this vision to those in their small groups. The group started to respond by meeting to pray in the shed in the Primrose’s backyard. Anyone who wanted to come and pray for the “Body of Christ” in Norman was invited to join. The “prayer shed” became a dynamic piece to our journey as it was a place where the Lord revealed his heart for a city.

In August of 2004, Norman Community Church was officially founded.We began by having a traditional church service where all of the small groups gathered together, which we called a “Celebration” service. As we unpacked the Lord’s word to “build His house”, we read Jesus’ words in Mark 11:17, where He says, “My house will be a house of prayer for all nations.” This seemed to us the clearest expression of what Jesus thought the church should look like. As such, we have adjusted our structure to reflect the values we hear Jesus express in this passage. We now gather around “Missional Communities” and “Discipleship Groups” rather than small groups. Over the years, we have adjusted the structure of these gatherings, and adjusted their frequency to more accurately reflect the values of our community. It is important to note that our commitment to a structure will never be as strong as our commitment to the values we see and hear in the life and words of Jesus.

We currently have a structure of a monthly Celebration service and weekly Discipleship Groups and Missional Communities. Our Missional Communities have a variety of focuses. They vary from neighborhoods, people groups, or areas of need in our city. It is our goal to make disciples as we go and see our world intersecting with the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish.