Fisher Baptist Church celebrates paying off bank note nine years early

Fisher Baptist Church is officially debt free just six years after building a brand new facility. The church paid off their fifteen-year bank note nine years early and celebrated with a commemorative “shredding of the note” at their recent Sunday service.

The church was founded in 1953 in the Fisher Creek bottom at 2031 South 161 West Avenue. “I knew we needed a change,” said Pastor Danny Lynchard. “We needed to come out of 1953 and into 2010.”

Initially the church tried to refurbish their original facility, but was denied permits by Tulsa County due to their building being located in a flood way. Fortunately, a lady who attended the church offered to donate land for a new building.

The land was prime real estate, located on 41st Street, right across from a growing housing development, in an area that is expected to be right in the middle of the town’s future growth. But there was already an old house located on it, and the property needed extensive ground work.

“We had $10,000 in savings, which was only enough to tear down the house and build a retention pond,” said Lynchard. The church held fundraisers, hosted yard sales, and even received a donation from Angus Church a mile down the road.

With limited finances, every bank the church talked to denied their applications. Finally, they found a lender who was willing to work with them after seeing the level of dedication the parishioners put into their fundraisers. The lender even remarked at the time that he had a feeling the church would end up paying off their note early.

Fisher took out a $250,000 loan for their new facility, which is now appraised at a fair market value of over $995,000. “In all this time we never stopped giving to missions,” said Lynchard. In addition to paying off their loan nine years early, they were also able to make a donation back to Angus Church for the full amount they were given, and they have given $107,698 to missions since 2014.

Fisher Baptist is now located at 4008 South 137th West Avenue and can be reached at 918-245-7875. The church holds Sunday Bible Study at 10:00 a.m. followed by services at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. They also have a Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m. They provide Nursery and Children services, and have a “Celebrate Recovery” program for those battling any kind of addiction.