It opened as a two-year college with 97 students in Bartlesville on the 152 acres (62 ha) former estate of Henry Vernon Foster, a prominent oil businessman.

Groundbreaking occurred on 200 acres (81 ha) the far north edge of Oklahoma City in 1957 and the university was relocated in 1958.

It was renamed Oklahoma Christian College in 1959 and began offering bachelor's degrees, with its first senior class graduating in 1962.

In 2014, OC began their Ethos spiritual development program[4] which encourages students to attend any of 26 small chapels.

[5][6] In August 2001, OC provided campus-wide wireless Internet service and a personal laptop computer to every full-time student.

[7] In 2008, Oklahoma Christian University began providing Apple's MacBook to all full-time students and faculty, alongside the choice of an iPhone or an iPod Touch.

OC employs 94 full-time faculty members, more than 70 percent of whom hold a terminal degree in their respective fields.

The university is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) since the 2019–20 academic year.

They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Central Region of the Division I level from 2012–13 to 2018–19.

The campus spans 240 acres (97 ha) and is bordered by East Memorial Road to the south, Smiling Hills Boulevard to the north, S. Boulevard/N.

The campus has over 30 major buildings, primarily designed in an International and Mid-Century modern architectural style, with red brick and light-colored stone ornamentations.

Adjacent to Scott Chapel is the Mabee Learning Center (1966), which houses the Tom & Ada Beam Library.

[14] This trail, composed of side-by-side asphalt and crushed granite running paths, spans a distance of 3.1 miles and is equipped with lighting, landscaping, and security phones.

The trail system also runs around Memorial Road Church of Christ, a neighbor to OC on the southwest side.

[16] OC has an exemption from Title IX regulations prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

OC announced its intention to use the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine to motion the Court to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.

After 5 years of ongoing litigation in that case, Florida College invoked the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.