Olivet Baptist Church History
According to the records and verbal reports from older members of the community, a rather large group of Baptists lived in what is now the Long Island and Sherrills Ford communities. Most of these were members of Mt.Ruhama Baptist Church, twelve miles away, which in 1833 was a long distance to travel to attend church. The group was more of a mission or as it was called in those days, “An arm of the church”. They worshiped in the homes of the members and also under brush arbors.
The community of Long Island is named for a long island which ran from the bridge on Buffalo Shoals Road to Sherrills Ford. In 1916, there was a flood which washed away the West Monbo Cotton Mill and the mercantile store. The long island was broken into several small islands which still exist today.
On August 17, 1833, the above mentioned group was organized into a church, which was named Olivet Baptist Church. It was properly and orderly constituted. It is not known how many members composed both white and black members. The blacks were slaves at this time, but even after the civil war they were allowed membership and were baptized along with the white.
Shortly after the organization of the church, a building was constructed near Sherrills Ford. This wooden structure was used until 1884 when a new building was erected near what was then Brown School House, later known as Monogram School. The location was changed in order to get the church nearer the center of the membership. The 1884 church building was destroyed by fire on October 29, 1944. On this same site a new church and educational building with thirty rooms was erected at a cost of $51,000. Funds collected by the church made it possible to pay for the new church building without any indebtedness when completed. Much of this money was raised while Rev. J.A. Hudson served as pastor.
Senior BYPU (Baptist Young Peoples’ Union) began a building fund on January 1, 1939, to build extra Sunday School rooms to the church. This small group pledged $35. On January 8, 1939, $42 was brought in and the movement gained momentum. On January 29, 1939, the whole church joined the movement.
The Building Committee which served while the auditorium was being built in 1946 was: Fred H. Lytton, Chairman and Treasurer, W.W. Ervin, A.D. Robinson, Bynum Eades, L.A. White, Betty Saunders, Magdalene Lytton, Wilma Alexander and Hazel Eades. The Building Committee which served while the Educational Section was completed was: Fred H. Lytton, Chairman and Treasurer, R. Oren Eades, Ross B. Elliott, Baines Williams and Coite White.
From 1833 to 1851 there is very little record. The first pastor was Edward Hugh Quinn, the second was Paul Phifer. There is no record of their work, but from this time forward records were kept, though at times very meager.
Record of Pastors
Rev. Edward Hugh Quinn 1833
Rev. Paul Phifer
Rev. Wade Hill 1847 – 1851
Rev. A.J. Cansler 1852 – 1853
Rev. R.P. Logan 1854 – 1857
Rev. Isaac Oxford 1858
Rev. L.M. Berry 1859 – 1867
Rev. Elijah Allison 1868
Rev. J.K. Howell 1870 – 1874
Rev. J.B. Marsh 1878 – 1892
Rev. C.C. Pool 1893 – 1895
Rev. J.A. Hoyle 1895 – 1902
Rev. J.W. Watson 1903 – 1905
Rev. Theo B. Davis 1905 – 1906
Rev. O.L. Springfield 1906 – 1907
Rev. R.D. Carroll 1908 – 1910
Rev. J.F. Mitchener 1910 – 1911
Rev. W. P. Campbell 1912
Rev. J.R. Pace 1913
Rev. J.S. Connell 1914 – 1919
Rev. L.A. Connell 1920 – 1922
Rev. J.P. Bennett 1922 – 1924
Rev. C.M. Robinson 1924 – 1930
Rev.S.A. Stroupe 1931 – 1937
Rev. K.D. Stukenbrok 1937 -1938
Rev. J.A. Hudson 1939 – 1942
Rev. R.G. Mace 1943 – 1950
Rev. Eli Smith 1951 – 1957
Rev. Clarence Bobbitt 1957 – 1968
Rev. Bill Hoffman 1968 – 1977
Rev. Thomas Haylett 1977 – 1979
Rev. Forrest Ridings 1979 – 1983
Dr. David Mills 1984 – 2003
Dr. John Marks 2005 – 2009
Rev. Matt Rummage 2010 – Present