OLIVET FROM THE BEGINNING
The history you will read below was written by an Olivet church member many years ago. Take a few moments to read as we take you to Olivet Baptist Church from the beginning:

This is the history of a church that started in a city that can't be found on the map and ended up with an address that shows on no map

Olivet Baptist Church, about 1912
In 1911, a group of born-again believers gathered in the home of Stella Stewart, and after much prayer and much faith, laid plans to start a new church, to be called Olivet Baptist Church. A year later a piece of ground was purchased at 45th and Westport in Rosedale, Kansas. (If you a a Prime Timer or a history buff, you may know that the City of Rosedale was swallowed up by Kansas City, Kansas, and that 45th and Westport is now 45th and Adams.) The small building which was already on the property was added on to, and became the first church building of the Olivet membership. In 1913, Ray E. York was called as Pastor and Olivet became part of the Northern Baptist Convention. Pastor George Wise was the church leader in 1914-1915 until he was called into service for World War I. He was replaced by Pastor Pettis in 1915,who stayed for a couple of years. The next to lead the flock was E.H. Williamson, who pastored until 1924. Pastor George Shanklin served from 1924-1928. In February of 1929, Pastor L.C.Pennington took over the reins and stayed until 1937. The pastor in 1937-1938 was E. Musgrave. During this time there was a sharp decline in membership. On January 1st, 1939, Pastor Musgrave announced the he would resign if a new pastor could be found. September 28th, he ended his service at Olivet.

Shortly before this, Floyd Durham began attending the church. He had attended Kansas City Bible College (now Calvary Bible College), and had been assistant pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas. He and his wife Ruth had been married July 14, 1939, and just 99 days later on October 21st, the motion was made, seconded, and passed to call Brother Durham as pastor of Olivet. Things began to happen fast. On November 8th, the church was reorganized and withdrew from the Northern Convention and became an independent Baptist church. It later joined the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. The deacons and church members quite often had to provide transportation for the new pastor, who had no car of his own. The old building was remodeled and enlarged to hold the people that came to hear the new preacher who did not pull any punches and who invited you to check everything he said with your own Bible.

It soon became apparent that a new and bigger church building was needed, so the members decided to build one. When this group said they were going to build a church, they did not mean to hire a builder or sell church bonds to pay the carpenters, but they meant to build a church with their own hands. Irving Crouthers donated the rock and timber from his 160-acre farm near Bib Creek. The trees were cut and hauled to thelumber mill and custom cut for the beams of the roof. Many of the stones for the walls were dug out of the ground and carried to the church site. When the new stone building was completed in 1948, not only did they have a church to be proud of but they also had a building built with love and prayers. It seemed that the building talked to you, and with every soul saved and every prayer answered, the building absorbed and returned the feeling of God's peace. It was a nice place to sit and read your Bible or to come and leave your troubles.

By the end of the fifties, even by using the store building across the street as a Sunday School, it was apparent that Olivet was outgrowing its beloved building. Because there was no room to expand, a new location was sought, and the present site at 4901 Mission Road was selected. At that time the neighborhood was strongly Catholic, and a Baptist Church was not welcome. In fact, efforts were made to have a street put through the middle of the church property to halt the building. But the ground was broken for the church on March 6th, 1960, and the building was ready for the first service in June of 1961. Although the new building was built by a professional construction company, the inside of the church was completed by the members with the same spirit that build the old building. This spirit is evident today as the rooms in the school building are being completed and members meet on Saturdays to paint and mow the grass. There are not Sunday Christians. This church continues to grow by the efforts of members that are seven-day Christians.

Pastor Durham suffered a heart attack on the first Sunday that the new building was used, but recovered to continue to lead the church. Pastor Durham started his radio ministry on KCLO, called "The Amazing Grace Broadcast", and thousands heard his voice every day, making the Kansas City area aware of Olivet Baptist Church. A mission church was started in Olathe, Kansas, with the pastor and much of the membership coming from Olivet. It finally became a self-supporting Baptist church.

As busy as Pastor Durham was, he and Ruth had five children: Judith Ann, Lois Jean, Paul Edward, Janet Ruth, and Lynna Jane, all of which are continuing in the Lord's work. Pastor Durham always said if he got too old to preach, he wanted to be the janitor at Olivet, but if the Lord allowed him to continue, he hoped that he would be called home from behind the pulpit. His wish was granted. On August 4th, 1969, while praying with a group of area pastors, Brother Durham collapsed and entered into the presence of Jesus, whom he had served so faithfully.

Before his death, Pastor Durham had looked at property near Ottawa, Kansas, as a site for a church camp. His memorial fund was used to make the down payment on this property, which is now the Amazing Grace Baptist Camp.

It became a tough job for the church to try to find someone to fill the shoes of Floyd Durham. Al Baker served as Pastor for ten months while the search went on. In February of 1971, Dr Floyd Davis was called as Pastor. While he was much different than Pastor Durham, the members of Olivet realized that here, too, was a man of God who could fill their needs, and a leader who would guide Shawnee Mission Christian School, which was an outgrowth of the pre-school, Olivet Baptist Academy. The members had come to love Pastor Davis and his wife, Gayle, and were surprised when he told us that he had been under conviction to serve the Lord on the mission field. There was much sadness when Dr. Davis left on June 13, 1976 to join the staff of ABWE as Director of Missions. On July 4th, 1982, Pastor Davis was called home by the Lord. He had served as a pastor and missionary for 36 years.

T. Reynolds

----Ken Reginnitter