A Baptist minister near Oklahoma’s Twin Lakes says God told him to build a tiny White House—and he spent two years turning that revelation into lumber, masonry and a prayer garden. The result, called the Children’s White House, is a chapel and prayer garden with presidential portraits, porticos and a motto that leaves little doubt about the mission: “Lest we forget God.” It is part religious outreach, part miniature civics spectacle, and a very Oklahoma answer to the question of how to pray for the country.
Ed Moore, a 73-year-old Southern Baptist pastor and carpenter, built the structure over two years on his property near Twin Lakes. He told The Oklahoman he began with a $3,000 investment, received help from Pecan Valley Baptist Church members and his grandchildren, and ultimately spent roughly $87,000 of his own money. The building mimics the White House’s neoclassical style with North and South porticos, a dome, presidential portraits and rooms inspired by the Red and Green rooms—but no Oval Office.
A Miniature White House Built As A Prayer Chapel
The ministry’s own project description says the Children’s White House includes Red, Blue and Green rooms modeled on historic White House parlors. Its stated purpose is not to recreate presidential power, but to teach children, families and churches to pray for the nation’s healing. The property is framed as an iconic beacon of hope, with a chapel, prayer garden and American flag doing most of the visual heavy lifting.
The chapel and prayer garden officially opened on June 14, drawing about 120 people, including families with children, according to The Oklahoman. Visits are appointment-only, and Moore says a group of about 25 is the comfortable limit for the chapel, although the property has hosted groups as large as 50. The project’s motto, “Lest we forget God,” appears to be less a decorative flourish than the entire operating manual.
Where Faith Meets Presidential Symbolism
The Moores’ ministry website says the building is not political and does not endorse candidates or parties, while also presenting the replica as a way to preserve what it calls America’s spiritual heritage. That puts the project in a familiar Oklahoma overlap of church life, patriotism and public affairs, without turning the structure into a government facility. The emphasis remains explicitly Christian, with the ministry’s statement of faith centered on the Bible, Jesus and salvation.
That mix of symbolism is what makes the project more than a backyard construction story. Moore is using the visual language of the presidency to deliver a faith message to children, families and church groups, while asking visitors to see the building as a place for prayer rather than a political headquarters. In a state where patriotism and public religion often share the same stage, the tiny White House is an unusually literal set piece.
Whether visitors arrive for the architecture, the message or sheer curiosity, they will find a building designed to make the nation’s spiritual future feel like something that can be walked into. The real White House remains in Washington; this Oklahoma version is smaller, more personal and considerably more focused on prayer.
