History
HISTORY OF OLIVET BAPTIST CHURCH
According to the old Bethel Associational minutes, Olivet was accepted into the Bethel Association in 1833. The date commonly accepted for the church is 1827. However, it is quite likely that the nucleus of the church was formed as early as 1820, and members met in private homes until a meeting house was erected.
The church has no record going beyond 1892, but when a county history was written in 1884 there were records. Some facts prevail though the early records have been destroyed by fire.
Among the early members were Burgess Poole, Mrs. Betty Poindexter, Col. William Atkinson and wife, John Clardy and wife, Jesse Giles, Samuel White, Birch White, Mrs. Sophia Reeves and others.
In the minutes of the Bethel Association of 1899 a historical sketch of Olivet was written by Mrs. Mary E. Bacon. Some of her sketch is based on tradition, but the first meeting house was located at Noah’s Spring on the Tennessee line. A log house of worship was built upon a lot belonging to Miss Betsy Davis.
In a few years Alexander Campbell reached that part of the country, and the church was divided and the followers of Campbell gained control of the building. On October 8, 1832, the few members who had remained faithful to Baptist beliefs met at the house of James Gholson and reorganized. After a brief period of time, the group built a small meeting house northwest of Garrettsburg on the King-Wills farm, now known as the John Fleming place. Two of the early pastors of this church were Richard Nixon and R.T. Anderson. The articles of faith adopted stated, “We the members wish to be designated as the Baptist Church of Christ at Olivet, Christian County, Kentucky”. This was signed by Jacob Chester, James Burke, John L. Willis, Susan E. Mallory, Ann Rives, Martha Wills and Eliza Gray. This would indicate that only seven members took part in the reorganization in 1832.
No connected history can be given for the first decade. In those days William Warfield, Robert Williams and John L. Williams were pioneer preachers and all served the church from time to time, probably with much irregularity due to the wilderness and no paved roads for winter travel.
In 1855, finding the church was inconveniently located it was decided to relocate the church building on another part of the Fleming farm. The new church building, the present one, was erected on the Palmyra Road, half-mile north of Garrettsburg. The old building was sold to John Fleming, Sr. In December 1856, the new building was dedicated by Rev. A.W. Meacham who was elected pastor and served the church for many years.
Olivet grew in membership of 54 in 1845 to 164 members in 1861. At this time, there were 108 black and 56 white members. The lowest know membership was 46 in 1879. There were 57 excluded in 1870. The peak number of Baptisms came in 1838 with 29 people being baptized into the fellowship of the church.
In 1846, the first gift to the Indian Missions was $15. The first $5 sent to the American and Foreign Bible Society was given by Jesse Giles in 1849. The first gift to Foreign Missions came from Olivet’s Black members and amounted to $7.50 in 1852. The first Women’s Missionary Society was mentioned in 1883 with an offering of $29.
From Mrs. Bacon’s sketch of Olivet Church, we learn that a provision of the King-Wills deed to the original lot was that no Campbellite was ever to preach at the church under the penalty of a forfeiture of the deed. It must be remembered; however, that this was but a few years after the trouble at Noah’s Spring and while the little church was struggling for its very existence.
In 1892, a question that threatened to disturb the harmony of the church arose. The railroad passing near by resulted in the building of Howell. Since the church building was old, it was proposed to either move the old building to Howell or to build a new one as the members thought best. The committee had been appointed after a contest in which one vote decided it. The committee soon brought in a report recommending a new house, but it was bitterly opposed, the report was rejected and the committee instructed to raise the money in advance. The money was never raised, and after future considerations the whole matter was dropped in the interest of peace and brotherly love. The decision was followed by a Revival in which there were thirty five additions to the church. Later the old building was enlarged.
A parsonage was erected on a lot in Howell in 1905. The lot was donated by Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Radford, and the deed made to the trustees and their successors was forever and ever. The cost of the house was about $1,300. The old house stood until 1971 when it was dismantled after the erection of a new home.
J.H. Moore, Pastor, on Sunday, July 4, 1909, expressed to the church his great desire for enlargement of the building. The church body heartily agreed and a building committee was appointed that day! The beautiful church building with its six new Sunday school rooms, a baptistry, and many other improvements was formally dedicated on the fourth Sunday in October 1909.
A two story annex to the west end of the church building was begun in September 1954 for the purpose of Sunday school rooms, fellowship hall, and rest rooms. Mr. Glenn Shelby donated his tobacco base to the church, and the members provided labor for the crop. The proceeds were paid on the indebtedness of the building which totaled about $4,000. The Sunday school classes were held in the annex for the first time in December 1954.
In November 1954, a branch Sunday school was initiated at Oak Grove, Kentucky. This Sunday school was planned for the children of the personnel at Fort Campbell. The church purchased a trailer and placed it in Riggin’s Trailer court for a meeting place for the Mission Sunday School. Olivet Church purchased a house trailer for the home of the Mission’s pastor in 1960. Olivet accepted full responsibility for the payment of the house trailer.
On July 29, 1956, Donald Long and William L. Hancock, two young men from Olivet Church were ordained to the gospel ministry. Brother Jack Sanford and Tom Lewis assisted in the ordination service.
During 1961, a building at Fort Campbell was purchased and rebuilt at the present location at Oak Grove. It was used first as an auditorium for worship services. Later, it was used as a part of the Educational Building. The indebtedness was paid jointly by Olivet Baptist, the Mission at Oak Grove, and the State Mission Board. The Mission at Oak Grove was organized into a church in December 1964.
Olivet voted in 1963 to build a new parsonage, but the first offering was not taken until November 1969. The home was completed in October 1970 on the lot deeded by Mr. & Mrs. W.W. Radford in 1905. The final payment was made on the house in March 1972 with a total cost of approximately $21,500.
No construction took place at Olivet for approximately 17 years. Then, in May of 1989 a new addition to the west end of the church building was stated. The addition contains approximately 3,000 square feet and houses a fellowship hall, kitchen, storage area, utility area, two rest rooms, and a hallway. The fellowship hall has a raised ceiling, which offers opportunities for some forms of recreation inside the building. It also has possibilities of Sunday school room space if the need arises. This addition was completed in December 1989. The final payment was made on the building in March 1993 at a cost of approximately $121,000.
Up until this time there were no known copies of By-laws or a Constitution for Olivet Baptist Church. The church felt a need for some structure, organization, and guidelines for handling its affairs. A committee was appointed to look into this matter. After prayerful research, study, and careful consideration the committee submitted a proposal to the church. The By-laws and Constitution were adopted by the church on September 27, 1992.
In May 1994 a new education building to the west end was originated. The facility houses 13 Sunday school rooms, a nursery, two rest rooms, two storage rooms, a library and an office. Included in this project was a very necessary parking lot enlargement. Olivet’s prayers were answered in that out-of-state mission teams contributed greatly to its construction. The teams were from Maryland, Alabama, and Georgia. While the education building was under construction, a portion of the labor was utilized and a family room was added to the parsonage. We entered this new education building in October of 1994. The total cost was approximately $175,000.
In May 1995 Olivet called its first Youth Minister, Matt Cressman. Since 1995 several youth leaders have come forward to work with our youth. Our current youth leader is Wes Moore. Wes was called to serve at Olivet on May 13, 2007.
In October 1995, the church began remodeling and expanding the sanctuary. It received a partial fact-lift, yet retained its basic design. New lighting and an oak finish highlight the change, while new pews were added for a total seating capacity of approximately 250.
As a result of this renovation, Olivet moved to the fellowship hall for worship. Two morning worship services were held each Sunday beginning March 24, 1995 and lasting through September 8, 1996. We entered the newly redone Sanctuary on September 15, 1996. The cost was approximately $136,000.
Space has been set aside for an office in the 1909 addition at the front of the building. Our first part time secretary, Martha Young, was hired in May 1997.
Brother Steve Hussung lead Olivet on its first stateside mission trip to Boston, Massachusetts in 1997. Olivet’s first international mission trip was to Brazil. Brother Brandt Lyon and other members traveled to Brazil to minister to the people there in 2005.
Olivet continues its mission emphasis with stateside mission trips to Lexington, Kentucky and international missions in Jamaica. Future plans for 2007 include mission work in Russia and Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 1998 James Dean, Pastor, saw the need for a more organized way of committees interacting and communicating with one another. Therefore, the church council was formed. In the church council meetings, issues and concerns are discussed and recommendations are brought before the church in an organized fashion at our business meetings.
As our children’s church continues to grow, a need was recognized for a more structured children’s’ program. In 2004, G-Force was started for children in first through fifth grade.
Olivet’s newest ministry was started in June 2007 with the purchase of a bus. Future plans include using the bus for mission trips and reaching out to the un-churched in our community.
Olivet was probably at her peak in the late 1920’s in relation to membership and size of her church field. During the 1930’s many lost their farms and homes because of the great depression, and were forced to move from the community. With the coming of Fort Campbell Military Reservation in the 1940’s, Olivet again gave up approximately one-third of her church field and many of her families had to find homes in other communities. When a Mission was sponsored at Oak Grove, Olivet gave of her members, money, and territory. Several of the members from Olivet became charter members in the newly formed Oak Grove Church.
History points out that Olivet has always met the challenge of its church field, home missions, and foreign missions. But let it be said that Olivet’s finest hour in her long history has been the work at Oak Grove.
Since Olivet was organized, a total of 42 pastors have served in the church. Three of these filled the pastorate for many years. Robert T. Anderson from 1839-1852, A.W. Meacham from 1856-1873, and James Stivers from 1965-1977.
The following is a list of Olivet’s pastors over its 180 years. Since the tenure of each (especially prior to 1900) is uncertain, some dates are omitted.
William Warfield 1827-1839
Robert Williams 1827-1839
John L. Wilson 1827-1839
R.T. Anderson 1839-1852
Nickolas Lacy 1853-1855
E. Woodard
William Walker
A. Taylor 1856——-
John White
A.W. Meacham 1856-1873
J.J. Green 1873——-
W.B. Walker 1874-1879
M.C. Harris 1880——-
W.H. Ryals 1881-1884
J.G. Kendall 1884-1891
A.C. Dorris 1891-1893
S. B. Withers
W.H. Vaughn 1894 – 1902
H.C. McGill 1903 – 1906
C.E. Hutchinson 1907 – 1908
J.H. Moore 1908 – 1909
J.S. Norris 1909 – 1910
F.M. Wilson 1910 – 1912
J.F. Griffith 1913 – 1915
W.M. McFarland 1916 – 1918
J.L. Lewis 1919 – 1926
E.L. Pendley 1926 – 1934
A.A. Thacker 1935 – 1942
James Gary 1942 – 1943
Paul O. Hale 1943 – 1949
T.A. Purcell 1950 – 1953
Louis Shepherd 1954 – 1955
Sam Thomas 1956 – 1959
Bobby Bell 1959 – 1964
James Stivers 1965 – 1977
H.R. Wise 1977 – 1979
Bill Pearce 1980 – 1983
John Haynes 1983 – 1988
Steve Hussung 1988 – 1997
James Dean 1998 – 2001
John Walsh 2001 – 2003
Brandt Lyon 2004 -Present
