A Call to Restore Raley Chapel
This east facing view highlights the brick paver plaza which seamlessly extends into the main promenade, forming the University’s primary thoroughfare for students, faculty and visitors.
For decades, Raley Chapel has served as the spiritual heartbeat of campus, nurturing faith,
calling and community. OBU alumni and supporters are being called to rally support to
restore this sacred space. The renderings on this page reveal plans for the renewed exterior
and grounds, set to welcome new experiences of worship, surrender and spiritual growth.
A Moment of Reflection
Jami Smith, ’94, wasn’t expecting tears that night. She was simply walking across Bison Hill to an event when she stopped cold.
Hanging on the construction fence outside Raley Chapel was a photo of her leading worship years ago, students lifting their hands in praise behind her.
The building she once learned to hear God in was now battered by the April 2023 tornado. The image on the fence reminded her of what had been, and what still needed to be restored.
“So much of what I learned musically and spiritually happened inside Raley,” Smith said. “I received grace, mercy and wisdom there. What a wonderful beginning for me.”
A Spiritual Home for Generations
For more than 60 years Raley Chapel has been the spiritual heartbeat of OBU. Generations stepped into its towering spire not just to attend chapel but to find direction, purpose and calling. In its pews students wrestled with faith. On its stage countless pastors, missionaries and worship leaders surrendered to the voice of God.
OBU President Dr. Heath A. Thomas, ’98, was one of them. He remembers the exact moment.
“I walked in one day as an English major with my plans set,” he said. “Henry Blackaby preached, and my life was wrecked. God got hold of my heart and shifted my calling from teaching literature to teaching Scripture. My life changed in Raley Chapel.”
Stories like his are not rare. They are the norm.Thomas said thousands have been called to ministry and missions inside the building. Many were saved there. Others found the courage to follow Jesus for the first time.
The tornado that tore apart Raley’s roof and soaked its interior did more than damage a structure. It wounded a place that had shaped decades of spiritual formation.
“Raley Chapel has been the worksite for life change for more than 60 years,” Thomas said. “God still desires that Raley remain a place where students encounter Him.”
This north facing view of Raley Chapel highlights the newly landscaped lawn in the foreground – an open space designed to accommodate large events and outdoor concerts
Memories That Last a Lifetime
Dr. Todd Fisher, ’92, executive director-treasurer for Oklahoma Baptists, still feels the weight of memories each time he talks about the building. He remembers chapel services from his student days, the sound of marbles rolling down the old linoleum floor, and Easter Sunday sermons he later preached to packed crowds when he pastored in Shawnee. One year he even baptized new believers in Raley’s portable baptistry.
“If I have this many memories, imagine the untold thousands who do too,” Fisher said. “It is such an integral part of OBU and of Oklahoma Baptist life.”
A Call to Restore
When First Baptist Church of Ardmore pastor, Dr. Alton Fannin, spoke with Thomas in 2025, he understood the urgency. The building wasn’t just damaged. It had been totaled.
“OBU’s desire is not only to restore Raley to usability but to prepare it for future generations,” Fannin said. “Insurance can’t accomplish that alone. Oklahoma Baptists must.”
FBC Ardmore responded with conviction, giving nearly $230,000. “Raley Chapel is the spiritual heartbeat of OBU,” he said. “It must be restored for the next 50 years.”
Smith agrees. Thomas and Fisher do too. So do thousands who once sat beneath its spire and listened for God.
Raley Chapel shaped their beginnings. Now they hope to shape its future, ensuring its spiritual guidance and life-changing influence for generations yet to come.