About Us
Our Story
Sunny Lane United Methodist Church has deep roots in Oklahoma history. Our story begins in 1889, just days after the Land Run, when Methodist pioneers gathered under a brush arbor to worship. By June, they had built a simple one-room frame church on a grassy knoll near what is now SE 29th and Sunny Lane. Through fires in 1913, a windstorm in 1924, and a tornado in 1945, those early Methodists refused to give up, rebuilding again and again on that same sacred ground.
In 1950, Del City was being founded by George Epperly, and families were settling what had formerly been wheat fields. Methodists in the area met with District Superintendent Robert J. Smith to discuss starting a new congregation. On May 21, 1950, thirty people gathered at Del City Elementary School. After talking, praying, and singing "Holy, Holy, Holy," they agreed on the need for a Methodist church and decided to name it Sunny Lane Methodist Church in honor of Oklahoma's original Methodist pioneers. Thirty-six members were welcomed on that first Sunday.
Services for the first year and a half were held in the Del City Elementary School cafeteria. By the end of the first year, 172 members were on Sunny Lane's roll. The fellowship hall was built and became the first worship space on the current property. Then came the sanctuary in the early 1960s, followed by the education wing in the 1990s.
For over seven decades, Sunny Lane has been a spiritual home for military families from Tinker Air Force Base, teachers who shaped generations of Del City students, blue-collar workers, single parents, and people from every walk of life. We've baptized babies who grew up to baptize their own children here. We've sent youth on mission trips to Mexico to build houses for families living in cardboard boxes. We've watched kids come through our doors barely able to read and leave as confident students through our Whiz Kids tutoring program.
When the devastating May 3rd, 1999 tornado tore through Del City and surrounding communities, Sunny Lane became a community hub for disaster response. We opened our doors to neighbors who had lost everything, coordinated relief efforts, and provided shelter, food, and hope in the aftermath of unimaginable loss. In those dark days, the church lived out its calling to be a pathway of hope.
We've celebrated countless weddings, grieved profound losses together, and showed up for each other in the everyday moments that matter most. Through it all - through fires and tornadoes, growth and decline, joy and sorrow - one thing has remained constant: Sunny Lane has been a place where people belong, where God's grace is tangible, and where the community of Del City is loved and served.
Today, we're still that same community - learning together what it means to follow Jesus, serve our neighbors, and welcome everyone with God's grace.