Arrow Heights Baptist Church
Location: Broken Arrow, OK
For more than 70 years, Arrow Heights Baptist Church has been a part of the community in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. As a multi-generational church, Arrow Heights is comprised of people in all stages of life who are seeking to trust and follow Jesus together. Under the leadership of Ryan Smith, a Midwestern Seminary alumnus, the church pursues a simple, Word-centered ministry.
MBTS—Tell us about the history of Arrow Heights and how the Lord called you to serve there.
Ryan Smith—Arrow Heights has been a staple in our community for decades. God has blessed our church with many families who are now in their third and fourth generations. After serving for 18 years at a younger church in a college town, God led us to Arrow Heights—a loving, older community that welcomed us with open arms and reminds me very much of the church in which I grew up. Today, the church is also growing with young adults and young families who are putting down new roots in gospel-centered soil.
MBTS—How have you seen Arrow Heights support and care for families in your congregation?
Ryan—In a world marked by increasing relational fracture, family is of ever-growing importance. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we recognize that we are called not only to see one another as family, but to care for one another as such. One of the most significant ways Arrow Heights supports families is by intentionally fostering cross-generational connections. We have established new multigenerational small groups and invested in service and ministry opportunities that bring generations together. We also seek to celebrate the gospel stories of longtime members—empty nesters who have faithfully served the church for decades—as well as those who are newer to the church and just beginning seasons of marriage or parenting.
Additionally, our church has been active in helping families as they move to our city, taking the initiative to cultivate new gospel-centered relationships. We seek to glorify Christ through His church not by uniformity, but by unity. It has been a tremendous blessing to see senior adults and longtime members graciously extend themselves to welcome and accommodate new families, both within and beyond our regular church activities.
MBTS—As a pastor, what are some ways you guide and encourage families to grow in their faith together?
Ryan—One of the first encouragements we give to families regarding service in the church is to make their own home a front line for the gospel. While a church can offer programs, activities, and events that create engagement within the building, we recognize that if discipleship is not happening in the home, we have missed the mark. As pastors, we provide books and other resources to equip families, but we also encourage individuals to identify others who are ahead or behind them in the faith and pursue organic, intentional relationships with them. To support this conviction, we emphasize multigenerational ministry among both men and women as natural on-ramps for these relationships. We also strive for simplicity in our ministry approach by resisting an overloaded church calendar, creating margin for families to gather meaningfully together and with others.
MBTS—What advice or encouragement would you give to singles in your church about engaging families in the congregation?
Ryan—To single adults in the church, my first word of encouragement is this: You are a vital part of the church family. Married couples, children, and senior adults all deeply need the gifts, abilities, and relational capacities that single adults uniquely bring. I would encourage singles to take initiative in building relationships both within and beyond their immediate circles. Volunteering with children, encouraging young families, or sharing time and conversation with a senior adult are all meaningful ways to weave together a united church tapestry. Ephesians 4:15–16 has become an especially important passage for us: “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Single adults are uniquely equipped and called to use their gifts so that the entire body may grow in love for the glory of God in Christ. A healthy church family needs every member.
