A SYNOPSIS OF OUR HISTORY

A LONG STORY SHORT

What is now known as the Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church has a rich and blessed spiritual heritage. We have a history filled with outstanding growth and many accomplishments and overwhelming evidence of God’s favor toward us.

 The Mount Olive Baptist Church was founded in 1910 in the Roosevelt Addition of Oklahoma City, by the late Reverend H.H. Humes. By 1920 Mount Olive was located on East Reno in the 1700 block, in what was known then as Rattle Snake Bottom. The Pastor, at that time, the late Reverend Wade Jackson, and around thirty members had managed to erect a small building to house the church, but when the building was destroyed in a flood, the members met and worshiped God in a brush arbor in the summer and at Dunbar Elementary School in the winter.  

 In her early days, the church had numerous struggles and was able to witness what God can do and will do through willing and committed believers. Even as the church struggled through setbacks, God continued to bless her efforts for the His kingdom. The church went through several pastors until God her a man who He had destined and ordained to move the church forward in the person of the late Reverend E.R. Neal.

Reverend Neal was called into the gospel ministry and licensed by Mount Olive in 1932. Within a few months, Neal was ordained by Mount Olive to serve as Pastor of the Galilee Baptist Church in Meeker, Oklahoma. However, after only six months in Meeker, Reverend Neal was called back to Mount Olive to serve as Pastor. Pastor Neal was a man who was unafraid to step out on God’s word and continually moved the church forward. In 1951, he moved the church from its location at 1508 NE 4^th, to a building at 1205 North Wisconsin, and again in 1969 to 2717 North Kelly.

In 1968, the Reverend E. E. Booker became the Co-pastor and formidable team consisting of the wisdom of age and the fire of youth moved the church to even greater heights. On April 11, 1982, Pastor Neal officially retired as pastor after having served for more than forty-eight years.

It was a smooth transition for Pastor Booker to assume all of the responsibilities he had previously shared and become the church's full-time pastor. After having served as pastor for only 16 months, Reverend Booker passed away and Reverend Neal came out of retirement to lead the church once again.

On the 4^th Sunday in October of 1983, Pastor Neal invited A. Glenn Woodberry, who was the Pastor of the Mount Bethel Church in Langston, Oklahoma to be the guest preacher for the church anniversary and homecoming celebration. In December, he was invited back, and on the 5^th Sunday in January 1984, he was called as Pastor. He was officially installed as Pastor on April 15, 1984, by the late Reverend Dewitt Roland, Pastor of Saint Luke Baptist Church, Spencer, Oklahoma. In 1989, under the leadership of Woodberry, the church experienced another milestone with the move to our present location at 1020 Northeast 42nd Street.

In 2011, as pastor Woodberry was experiencing declining health, he called for one of his associate ministers to assist him in preaching and teaching. That man was Reverend Ray Douglas. Pastor Douglas came on and followed the mandate given to him by God and the instructions given to him by Pastor Woodberry and began preaching and teaching and encouraging the membership to continue in the path of greatness that God had ordained for them and blessed them with.  On September 10, 2011, we were devastated by the news that Pastor Woodberry had been called from labor to reward. The church could have gone into a chaotic tailspin, but we trusted God through our ordeal. During this time Pastor Douglas continued to preach and teach and encourage the church to keep trusting God.

In March of 2012, the church called Pastor Douglas to be the Senior Pastor of the Church and was officially installed by Dr. Major Jemison of the Saint John Baptist Church of Oklahoma City on May 6, 2012. Pastor Douglas encourages the church to keep trusting God and strive to become who and what God has called us to be.

 With the visionary leadership of Pastor Douglas, Greater Mount Olive continues to build on the legacy of the past and are trusting God above and beyond and are expecting Him to continue to do exceeding, abundantly above all we could ask even to think.