About Us
Olivet Christian Church is grounded in its mission: to make the grace of God real for people.
Olivet is a congregation small enough to know your name and large enough to offer a broad program of ministries; traditional enough to help ground lives in Christ’s wisdom and example and progressive enough to hold a vision of racial reconciliation, social justice, generous sharing and environmental stewardship.
Our History
Our History
Olivet Christian Church arose a few years after the Civil War in the community of Harg, as farm families on the eastern side of Columbia began to meet in in homes and summer brush arbors for worship. The church was formally chartered in January 1874, as a congregation in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
In the years since its founding, Olivet has built a new building (the Old Church still stands on the corner of our lot) to provide room for more activities and people. Olivet has also expanded its ministries as we’ve evolved to meet new and different needs in our community. However, our mission has stayed the same—to make the grace of God real for people—and we continue to seek ways to share God’s deep and abiding love for all creation.
OUR DENOMINATION
Olivet Christian Church is a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) [link to: https://disciples.org/our-identity/our-mission-vision-and-confession/] and shares its ministry and its mission with the “Disciples,” as we like to call ourselves, both locally and around the world.
As the story goes, about 200 years ago a Scottish Presbyterian named Alexander Campbell and another leader in the Second Great Awakening, Barton Stone, both frustrated with denominational church fights and creeds, joined forces to create a restoration movement that would evolve into what is now the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Today the Disciples remain “a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world,” and, regardless of whatever disagreements we may have, we always come back to the table of our Lord, celebrating communion each and every week.
Church membership is open to anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. We adhere to no specific creeds, but instead, invite you to think critically, respect other opinions, and be willing to regard others as God’s beloved children.
Immersion is the traditional form of baptism for Disciples; however, we are pleased to receive new members through transfer from other churches, no matter the form of baptism.