At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a truck packed with explosives placed by a Gulf War veteran detonated. It tore a gaping hole in the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building — and left a lasting scar on the state of Oklahoma.
The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured almost 700 others. Until the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil. Twenty-five years later, it remains an unimaginable, yet unforgettable horror.
Anthony Jordan was the pastor of Northwest Baptist Church at the time. He told Baptist Press, “You talk to any Oklahoma City person, and I promise you, they can tell you exactly where they were when the bomb went off.”
He added, “The heart of Oklahoma City was struck when the bomb went off. We saw the raw face of evil — but we also saw the hope that we have in Christ.”
That hope began to shine almost immediately after the blast.
The collective response of Oklahomans to the bombing was in many ways astonishing. When needs were identified and announced, they were quickly met. Volunteers rushed to the site to help or to bring equipment, water or food.
“The heart of Oklahoma came out,” Jordan says. “That, to me, was very important. And that was also a heart that revealed our faith and hope in God. Oklahomans responded by crying out to God, going to our churches to worship and to find hope in Him.”