Our History (Partial)
Mt. Olive was organized in 1874 (as stated on the Church’s cornerstone) at a place called Brush Harbor when the Payne family gave our forefathers land on the old Mathis Road to build a church.
The deacons of Mt. Olive were Harrison Mathis, Wade Robinson and others. Mt. Olive licensed Brothers J. H. Mathis, Samuel Jones and B. Williams. The Reverend J. H. Mathis was ordained. An article from the Greenwood Index Journal lists Mt. Olive as one of the oldest churches in the Cambridge Section.
Reverend Ned Starks was Mt. Olive’s first pastor, followed by his son, Reverend P. Starks. Deacons during this time included Willie Chiles, George Davis, Alex Andrews, Malcolm Pope, John Robinson, Tom Simpkins and Harrison Mathis.
Reverend Ira Williams came in 1886 and remained until 1891. Reverend D. M. Spearman was pastor for a short time and Reverend James F. Marshall pastored in 1894 and in 1895 Reverend J. H. Mathis served as pastor until 1901. In 1901 Dr. Weaver was pastor with H. L. Robinson as clerk and Deacons Fred Robinson, James Thomas, Bob Robinson and Berry Jones.
On the first Sunday in November 1976, Reverend H. T. Legons was installed as pastor. Some of the improvements made under Reverend Legon’s leadership include:
Completely renovating the church in 1980.
Ordaining Reverend Mark Robinson in 1982.
In 1985, Deacon Robert Hill came to us from Second St. John Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was ordained in 1969 by Rev G. D. McDuffie.
Construction of a new fellowship hall in 1989.
Installation of central heat and air conditioning.
Establishment of the Trustee Board.
Deacons Mac Anthony, Floyd Nicholson, Sloan Griffin, Sr., Jonathan Robinson, Terry Lark, Joe Johnson and Lafayette Robinson were ordained.
Ordaining Reverend Anderson Robinson in 1999.
Upholstering of pews, purchase of hymnals and Bibles, purchase of copy machine and many other efforts to improve Mt. Olive and her congregation.
In August 1999, the beautiful entrance sign with lighting and brick boxing for flowers was constructed by Deacon William Jones and his staff.
In October 2003, a rally was conducted to install stained glass windows in the church. This was a very successful rally and the windows were installed in November 2003.
Reverend Legons passed away on April 13, 2010 after serving as pastor for almost 34 years.
The first Sunday in September, 2011, Reverend Adrian Wideman preached his first sermon as the pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Under his leadership, a minister of music has been hired, new choirs have been formed, a Young Adult Sunday School class and a nursery have been added.
Active auxiliaries include: Deacon Ministry, Trustee Ministry, Sunday School, Usher Ministry, Senior Choir, Youth Choir, Young Adult Choir, Male Choir, Praise Dance Team, Deacon’s Wives, Women’s Auxiliary and Culinary and Wellness Ministries.
In the year 2013, corporate prayer, prayer walks and weekly taping of worship services was instituted. Services are now available on CD, church website and can be heard every Wednesday on Rejoice 1090AM, Greenwood's gospel radio station. Paving began on the church parking lot in the Spring 2012 after many years of planning and preparation and was completed in the spring of 2013.
