Church History

During the first week of July, 1897, a small group of African American Tarrant County residents, led by the Rev. Squires, organized Mount Olive Baptist Church on the old Sol Davis Tract on Indiana Street, near its present location.  The officers were:

• Bro. Charlie Parker
• Bro. Clint Smith
• Bro. R. S. Watson
• Bro. Jim Black
• Bro. Arthur Hunt

Later, the church moved to a white brick sanctuary at 415 North West Street under the leadership of its second Pastor, Rev. Samuel Luster.  In 1958, Rev. O. V. Hall assumed the leadership roll of Mount Olive Baptist Church.  Under Rev. Hall's leadership the church at 415 North West Street was rebuilt.  

On October 9, 1966, our present Pastor, Rev. Norman L. Robinson, was called to Mount Olive Baptist Church.  In 1976 the Church was formally incorporated, with more than 400 members.  Under Rev. Robinson's leadership groundbreaking for a new church at 402 North West Street took place on October 31, 1976.  By June 1978, the members were worshipping in that new facility. 

A steady increase in membership led to the building of the current facilities at 301 West Sanford Street.  Construction began at 301 West Sanford on November 1, 1987.  The first service in the new sanctuary at 301 West Sanford Street was held March 19, 1989, with the Ribbon Cutting and Entrance Celebration on April 9, 1989.          

Since that humble beginning, the Church has been blessed to have several God driven ministers serve the lord.  The following is a list of ministers that have served as pastors of Mount Olive Baptist Church:

Rev. Squires	1897 - 1912	Rev. W. O. Thomas	1928 - 1935
Rev. Samuel Luster	1912 - 1917	Rev. R. L. Jones	1935 - 1937
Rev. C. L. Huff	1917 - 1921	Rev. D. B. Brown	1937 - 1956
Rev. Garment	1921 - 1923	Rev. N. A. Bacon	1956 - 1958
Rev. Sample	1923 - 1925	Rev. O. V. Hall	1958 - 1966
Rev. Ford	1925 - 1928	Rev. N. L. Robinson	1966 - 2016
Rev. J. P. Thompson Jr.	2016 - Present

Under the leadership of Senior Pastor N. L. Robinson, Mount Olive has grown not only in numbers, but also in the services it provides its members and the community.  On February 21, 1980 Mount Olive opened its Day Care Center.  On August 15, 1995, the church opened Metro Christian Academy a school dedicated to training young people in Bible truths along with reading, writing, grammar, spelling, heritage studies, mathematics, foreign language, science, music, computers and social studies skills.  The Mount Olive Federal Credit Union opened January 11, 1999.  The Groundbreaking Ceremony for Arlington New Beginnings, a housing community for the elderly, was held on January 31, 1999 and the offices opened November 1999. The first tenant moved into the housing project in January, 2000. 

In addition to its long history of providing worship and educational programs for its members, Mount Olive Baptist Church has maintained an innovative and active outreach program in the community. Celebrating a century of service in 1997, the church continues to uphold the values and traditions of its founders.