Located in the small Southern town of McConnells, South Carolina, Olivet Presbyterian Church has been a beloved part of this rural community for more than 170 years. God has richly blessed the congregation through the decades. Today the church has 171 communing members on its roll. Each Sunday Olivet is filled with worshipers of all ages, giving glory to God for His goodness and love.
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Our Pastor
Pastor John M. "Chip" McArthur
Chip McArthur has been Olivet’s pastor since 1992. He and his wife Donna are both natives of Jackson, Mississippi and in fact, grew up in the same church there. They married in 1979. Chip is a graduate of Belhaven College and Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson. Prior to coming to Olivet, he served churches in Clayton, AL and Magee, MS. Donna is a retired educator . The McArthurs have two grown children: Webb, who along with his wife Whitney and son Thatcher, lives in Washington, DC, and Katie, who along with her husband Tim Blumenstein and their children Owen, Harper, and Jude, lives in Charlotte, NC.
Church Leadership
The Session
Christopher W. Arnold Roy G. Clinton, Emeritus David R. Currence, Emeritus
Jeffery E. Fairfax, Emeritus Daniel H. Harshaw James M. Hawley, Emeritus Robert B. Mendenhall John M. McArthur, Jr. Moderato Michael A. Nance Jason M. Petty Richard B. Summerville, Jr. W. Lee Summerville, Jr., Clerk
The Diaconate
Brian J. Carlisle, Widows and Shut-ins Brent M. Christenberry, Buildings and Grounds James R. Clinton S. Douglas Cobb, Jr., Emeritus Lee K. Guempel, Safety Malcolm Harshaw, Treasurer John F. Hawley, Chairman Don L. Johnson David W. Kelley
Michael A. Laws, Secretary Larry M. Plyler, Emeritus
The Women in the Church
Sandra Currence, President/Circle 1 Kathy Fairfax, Nursery/Children's Church Susan Petty, Secretary
Susan Harshaw, Historian Marsha Plyler, Pastor's Aide/Treasurer Donna McArthur, Missions
Frankie Guempel, Chair-Circle 2
Ministry Committees, 2021
Discipleship Ministries Committee
Class of 2021 Daniel Harshaw, Chairman (2022) Brian Carlisle
Class of 2022 Bryce Laws Megan Covington
Class of 2023 Chris Arnold (2024) Brenda Nance
Advisory Member John Franklin
Missions Committee
Class of 2021 *Rick Summerville, Chairman (2022) Ellen Walyus
Class of 2022 Dennis Krueger Donna McArthur
Class of 2023 Bobby Mendenhall (2024) Susan Petty
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Witness Committee
Class of 2021 *Jason Petty, Chairman (2022) Ann Hawley
Class of 2022 David Currence Brent Christenberry
Class of 2023 Michael Nance (2024) Laura Frame
Church History
Olivet member Mrs. Mary Wells wrote a wonderful history of our church in 1986. Click here to read her work.
Important dates from Olivet's history:
Olivet Presbyterian Church was founded by Rev. Robert Young Russell on September 17, 1842 as a part of the old Independent Presbyterian Church.
The first church was a small wooden building situated about three miles west of McConnells on what is now Highway 322. Mr. Thomas Burris, a member of the church, made the pews which are still in use today.
The old church building was abandoned and worship began in the present building on September 19, 1886. Accounts read that “the new brick church is in the town of McConnellsville not far from the railroad. It is of Gothic style and is beautified with shrubbery, green lawns, and cement walks.”
