Friendship Baptist Church sits on East 86th Street North in Owasso, Oklahoma, a few minutes north of Tulsa. Pastor Linzy Slayden describes the congregation with a single sentence: it exists to magnify Jesus Christ through worship and the preaching of the Word, to move believers to maturity through ministry, and to make Jesus known across the street and around the world through missions. The members call themselves "a friend of the family, a family of friends," and the rhythm of the week, from Sunday School classes to Wednesday-night AWANA, is built around that idea of intergenerational belonging.

Sunday Morning at Friendship

Sunday School and Life Groups meet at 9:00 a.m. throughout the building. Children begin in age-graded classrooms, middle school students gather in the youth area, high schoolers meet in the Event Center, and adults spread out across a wide selection of classes described below. At 10:00 a.m. the congregation comes together for Morning Worship in the main auditorium. Services are described by the church as engaging and relevant for all generations while still maintaining an atmosphere of worship, with goals of worshiping God, preaching His Word, and helping others grow closer to Him. Services are streamed live and past services are archived, so visitors who want a preview before they arrive can watch ahead of time.

Just for Kids

The children's ministry at Friendship is built around the conviction that parents hold the primary calling to disciple their children, and the church exists to come alongside them. Sunday School runs at 9:00 a.m. for children from age two through fifth grade, using a well-rounded approach to teaching the Bible. Kids' Worship follows at 10:00 a.m. for the same age range, giving children another way to engage the truths of God's Word and apply them to daily life. A staffed nursery is available at every service.

On Wednesdays the midweek program shifts with the calendar. AWANA runs from September through May, meeting 6:45 to 8:00 p.m. for two-year-olds through fifth graders. During the summer months the same hour shifts to Kids' Musical, where kindergarten through fifth graders rehearse from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. A separate track serves children with special needs, coordinated by Special Needs Director Cristin Peña, who handles registration and works with families so every child has a place.

Student Ministry: Middle School and High School

The student ministry shares a single mission: leading students to find and follow Jesus one step at a time. On Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m., Middle School Student Pastor Cody Terrell meets his 6th through 8th graders in the youth buildings, and High School Student Pastor Michael Nall gathers 9th through 12th graders in the Event Center. Both groups then join the main worship service at 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday nights bring MDWK, a combined middle and high school service at 6:45 p.m. in the Event Center. Students start together in worship led by the student band, then split for games and an age-appropriate message from God's Word. A fall retreat for 6th through 8th graders and a fall break trip to Branson for 9th through 12th graders round out the year. The ministry also keeps its own social channels under the Friendship Students name.

Four12 and Adult Life Groups

Young couples and young adults meet as Four12 at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday upstairs on the north side of the lobby in a space called The Loft. The group describes itself as a community that exists to connect people and grow closer to Christ, and keeps a GroupMe open for events through the year.

The adult ministry lineup is unusually broad for a single church, with more than a dozen classes meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays. Pastor Linzy and Carla Slayden personally lead Connecting Point, a seven-week new-members class that meets in Room 118 in the Missions Hall. Friendship Singles meets in Room 205, Young Families in Room 207, Homebuilders in Room 202, Companion in Room 117, and Discovery in Room 120. Sisters of Faith is a ladies-only class in Room 204. Prime Timers, the senior-adult class in Room 108 in the center lobby, also holds a regular monthly breakfast and fellowship lunch, occasional day trips, and an annual Senior Adult Jamboree that draws churches from several states. The position of Senior Adult Pastor is currently listed as open on the church staff page.

Wednesday Nights Around the Word

Wednesday evenings are the second pillar of the weekly rhythm. At 6:45 p.m. AWANA fills the children's wing and the student band sets up in the Event Center for MDWK. At 7:00 p.m. adults gather for Bible study classes that run through the school year. The Kids' Musical rehearsal takes the 7:00 p.m. slot during the summer. New-comers can find a place in any of these groups without registering in advance.

Music and Worship

Worship Pastor Mike Gleason leads the music ministry, with a vision of starting every new week with fresh hope and renewal. The team gathers for corporate worship that blends dynamic energy, deep reflection, and celebration, anchored in verses like Psalm 100: "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands." Anyone interested in joining the team is invited to reach out to Gleason directly.

Missions: Across the Street and Around the World

Missions sit at the heart of Friendship's identity. The church supports 110 missionaries, church plants, and projects each month across the United States and around the world. Financial support flows through Faith Promise Giving, renewed each year at the annual World Wide Missions Conference held in March. Short-term mission trips are a regular feature of the program.

Several missionary families are specifically highlighted on the church's missions page. Gerardo and Cesia Gaona, raised in Monterrey, Mexico, planted two churches in San Luis Potosí before partnering with Friendship; they are now in deputation preparing to move to Spain to plant churches there. Richard and Brenda Edwards served the church's Senior Adult Ministry after arriving in Owasso in December 2018, and are preparing for reinstatement as BBFI missionaries in relief ministry. Scott and Livey Goodwin serve as church planters with a related mission in Oklahoma. Prayer letters from the Gaona and Edwards families are posted regularly on the church's blog.

Adoption and Foster Care: James 1:27 Sunday

Adoption is called out as one of the key parts of the church's purpose. Every year the congregation dedicates an entire Sunday service to adoption and foster care, known as James 1:27 Sunday, named for the verse that calls believers to visit orphans and widows in their trouble. Several families in the church have been permanently shaped by adoption and foster care, and the church maintains an Adoption Fund to help other families close the financial gap of bringing a child home. Applications are available through the church office, and Family Life Pastor Jeff Smith and his wife Kina walk families through the process.

Becoming a Member

Friendship receives members in three ways: by profession of faith and baptism by immersion, by letter from a church of like faith and practice, or by statement of a prior profession of faith and baptism. New members are asked to complete the six-week Connecting Point class, taught by Pastor Linzy and Carla Slayden, which walks through the covenant, purpose, philosophy, and ministries of the church. Members are expected to take an active part in the worship, service, and support of the church's mission.

What Friendship Believes

The church's statement of faith holds to a historic Baptist position: the Bible is supernaturally inspired by God; there is one living and true God; the Holy Spirit is a divine person equal with the Father and the Son; Satan and his angels fell from a holy estate; the Genesis account of creation is taken literally; humanity fell from innocence by voluntary transgression; Jesus Christ was miraculously born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary; salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus; the new birth is a new creation in Christ; Christ rose bodily on the third day; and the Great Commission was given to the churches. Tithing and grace giving are presented as fundamentals of the faith. A fuller doctrinal statement is available by contacting the office.

Plan a Visit

Friendship Baptist Church is located at 14100 East 86th Street North in Owasso, with morning worship beginning at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday and a full slate of classes and activities for every age. The office can be reached at (918) 272-2003 or Info@FriendshipOwasso.com, and the church building is also available for community use through a building-use request form. Visitors who want to know what to expect before they arrive can watch a recent service online, browse the visit page, or simply show up and be met at the door by a family that has been calling itself "a friend of the family" for a long time.