Bethany First Church of the Nazarene - Bethany, OK
Posted by: 
The Snowdog
N 35° 30.750 W 097° 37.895
14S E 624090 N 3930740
Bethany First Church of the Nazarene is located west of Southern Nazarene University on Route 66 in Bethany, Oklahoma
Waymark Code: WM115DC
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/18/2019
Views: 4
With an average Sunday attendance exceeding 2000, Bethany First Church of the Nazarene was one of the first Nazarene "megachurches." The spacious sanctuary seats about three thousand, and I have seen it full to capacity on many occasions.
BFC was founded in 1925, with the construction of a one-thousand-seat church on the edge of what was then Bethany Peniel College. As the college and the church grew, the building was expanded and renovated over the years, particularly during a $300,000 project in 1959. By this time the sanctuary also served as the college chapel and the church building itself for much-needed classroom space. Having outgrown this building, BFC constructed the current church across the street in 1969 and the old church was transferred to the College and became Herrick Auditorium. The current church has also expanded many times, adding an Atrium and later a Family Life Center and other buildings to the south of the sanctuary.
There are typically three service times on Sunday. The earliest is a traditional service with orchestra and the standard hymns; the second and third are more contemporary with a modern band and worship music.
And a personal note - I was raised in this church and well remember meeting in what is now Herrick Auditorium as a boy, and took part in many a fund raising activity for the new building. My sister was married in the Atrium (which itself seats several hundred), and my parents still attend BFC. Their Sunday School class alone has an average attendance of over two hundred!
Sources:
Bethany First Church home page
Wikipedia List of Megachurches
History of Herrick Auditorium