Our Story

The Beginning

Our Founder, Jennifer Patterson Bjornberg, began volunteering with youth in North Tulsa in 1997 at the John 3:16 Family And Youth Center. Her passion for the kids she was serving grew and within a couple of years, she began and was directing an urban youth ministry through First Baptist Church.

During this time, she was also the Head Coach at a prominent Tulsa gymnastics center.

When she wasn’t coaching gymnastics by day, she would find herself in North Tulsa, ministering to students and their families.  

Through her experiences, God showed her the need for meaningful, early intervention programs for children. Many of the students she worked with already had ties to gangs, lacked coping skills and were already dealing with consequences of poor decisions.

She witnessed how the students she worked with did not have access to the kinds of things she took for granted while growing up.

God began to give her the vision to combine her two passions: her love for gymnastics & her calling to bring Christian-based sports programming to urban kids.     

She began working on a business plan in 2005, and in 2007, Aim High Academy became a reality. Aim High held its first class at the John 3:16 Family And Youth Center on donated space.

The next eight years consisted of outgrowing several spaces, establishing a competitive gymnastics team, and expanding programming to include dance and academic tutoring.

The Miracle

On March 25, 2015, Aim High Academy was home to 274 children. On this particular night, 50 children were practicing in the facility when tornado sirens sounded.

All of the children, along with coaches and parents, took cover in the basement.

The building above them was hit by the tornado and completely collapsed.

Every single person who took cover that night emerged safely from the basement without a single scratch.

God protected Aim High Academy.

The message the Lord gave to Jennifer that night was “this is going to be a front row seat to a miracle in the making” for anyone who knew about Aim High Academy. God showed up in amazing ways in the days that followed. The outpouring of local and national support blessed and advanced our mission beyond our wildest dreams.

The Blessing

Thanks to a generous community with a special gift Tom Naugle, Aim High Academy now serves over 650 Tulsa children each week in our owned and newly remodeled 27,000 square foot facility. This state of the art facility also includes a wind event center which can withstand over 200mph winds. We are grateful to have received more than we could ask for or imagine.

Hundreds of Aim High students receive scholarship assistance allowing them to participate in our programs. This is made possible due to generous donors, businesses and foundations. 

We offer gymnastics, ninja, and rhythmic classes for both boys and girls.

We also have classes designed for children with special needs.

All classes are taught in a Christian atmosphere by wonderful role models.

Our story is still unfolding.

If you would like to join us in our mission, please donate, volunteer, or attend Gold Medal Night to get involved. You can be part of the Aim High story!