‘Doc’ Blevins Drawn to the Ministry by the FCA
By MARIA JONES
Assistant Editor
SAINTLY BROADCASTER: The Rev. Gary “Doc??? Blevins has been involved in sports radio broadcasts for many years. The above photo was taken during a Union High School football game several years ago when then-University of Tulsa players and Union graduates Austin Chadwick, left, and Josh Blankenship visited the game and their former FCA mentor.
Forrest Cameron for GTR Newspapers
Have you ever asked the question “Why was I born?” One man who has probably never asked that question is Rev. Gary “Doc” Blevins. Blevins, who was a political science major at the former American Christian College in Tulsa, has worked in broadcasting, politics, and direct mail fundraising, and he now pastors New Creation Church at 1200 S. Olive in Broken Arrow.
According to Blevins, God called him to the ministry at the age of 13, but he didn’t answer the call until he was 40.
“Even though I wasn’t preparing for the ministry, God was preparing me all the time I was working at other things,” says Blevins. “I hosted Tulsa’s first radio call-in sport show in the 70s. Talk shows were not so popular back then. Then I was offered the job of press secretary for the state Republican Party.”
While working for the state Republican Party, Blevins met Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan, and Vice Presidents Agnew and Rockefeller. “I didn’t meet either President Bush, although I sat behind President George W. Bush at a ball game when his father was president,” Blevins said.
In his spare time he began to sponsor groups of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which are called “huddles.”
“I had six huddles that met weekly,” says Blevins. “The first was at Lewis and Clark Junior High School, then Skelly Junior High School, Tulsa Hale High School, Union High School, and Owasso Junior and Senior High Schools.”
According to Blevins, that is what God used to draw him into the ministry.
Even the name “Doc” has an interesting story. Blevins was asked to assist a parent who was coaching a junior high football team.
“Back then,” says Blevins, “only the senior high schools had football programs, so for the junior high students to play, parents had to volunteer. I mainly wrapped ankles and helped with injuries, so the boys started calling me “Doc.” I was a little embarrassed at the beginning, but I realized that God did it. The boys didn’t know what to call me and it was a name that was comfortable for them. Over the years it stuck and now very few people call me Gary.”
Besides doing FCA, Blevins meets with Phi Gamma Delta at OSU at 10 p.m. on Wednesday nights for a bible study. He started doing the bible study seven years ago because one of the guys asked him to. When invited, he also speaks to other college groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Baptist Student Union, and Chi Alpha, the Assembly of God college organization.
“I have a FCA huddle at 4 p.m., then church, and after church I drive to OSU for the bible study,” says Blevins. “Sometimes I just sleep over if I’m too tired to drive back.”
Blevins has also been involved in the ministry of 25 FCA summer camps over the last 26 years.
“Sometimes I do more than one a year,” says Blevins. “The main roll I have had over the years is leading a ‘buzz’ group. My topic is ‘How to become a Christian.’ That’s where many of the kids come because they are not sure about their salvation. We give them assurance and also have sessions about how to share their faith.”
The summer camps, according to Blevins, consist of small group huddles with a college student heading each huddle. They start with morning chapel, then spend the day in athletic endeavors, and ending up with a well-known speaker and buzz groups in the evening.
How did Blevins become a pastor while doing so many other things? Blevins volunteered to be youth pastor when former Washington Senators catcher Mike Brumley started the church that Blevins now pastors. When Brumley left six years later, Blevins was first asked to be interim pastor. Eventually the church called him to be their pastor and ordained him.
“I go by the scripture in Philippians 1:6 that says ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,’” says Blevins. “ God made it happen.
“The goal of our church is to be an old-fashioned neighborhood church, and the vision is three-fold: to reach the lost, to help disenfranchised Christians get reinvolved, and to train Christians to fulfill their destiny for God.”
The church didn’t start out informal, according to Blevins, but it took a turn toward the informal, contemporary church atmosphere.
“ Our most famous member is University of Tulsa quarterback James Killan, who works with the elementary boys on Wednesday nights.
Blevins says the church has about 20 acres. Future plans include constructing a walking path and increasing the ministerial outreach.
For more information, Blevins can be reached at 254-0285 or Visit their web site at www.newcreationchurch.info.
Updated 12-30-2004
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