When Senior Pastor Jamie McElrath joined Olivet Baptist Church nearly a decade ago, he says he was following God’s call.
He was raised in Indonesia by missionary parents and later went on to become a missionary himself, along with his wife and children, who spent about 20 years in North Africa before settling in Hawaiʻi in 2016. Prior to that, the McElraths called the Islands home for two years before heeding the call to missions.
“It just kind of felt like God scooped us up and brought us back — to our shocking amazement — here. So, I’ve been at the church for 10 years come September.”
The church’s former pastor, Timothy Morita, died unexpectedly shortly after announcing his retirement, McElrath explained, “So coming into the role of senior pastor, I became responsible for everything going on. … Scripture indicates we serve as teams, not individuals, so my priority was investing in other pastors and lifting others up to serve.”
At that time, he recalled being asked about his plan for the next 10 years. Admittedly, he had no idea; McElrath said he didn’t come in with preset notions and wanted to listen and get to know the people and the community.
“I was convinced of this, ‘A healthy body will grow’ (God makes us healthy spiritually, relationally, internally and certainly within community),” he said. “My experience is not so much leading, as much as having a front row seat to watch what God has been doing.”
Located at 1775 S. Beretania St., Olivet has served the neighboring communities of Makiki, McCully, Mānoa, Waikīkī, Downtown Honolulu and beyond.
“Geography is the mother of strategy,” McElrath said quoting scholars. “The church is planted here for a purpose right between two major arteries (Beretania and King streets). It’s centrally located in the city between five or six major college campuses.”
Today, the congregation is comprised of about 250 members on Sundays who attend various Bible studies and worship services in both English and Japanese. According to historical information compiled by church member Faith McFatridge, the Japanese congregation was founded by Edwin Dozier in the early 1940s, around the same time the English congregation at Olivet Baptist Church became affiliated with Southern Baptist Convention and launched its preschool.
The preschool is a ministry operated by church members, designed “to bless and encourage young families,” McElrath told ASD. It is staffed by nearly 50 teachers and administrators who look after no more than 75 kids at a time.
The church’s early beginnings
The independent church at the corner of Young and Artesian streets, then called The Mission Church, was founded in 1926 by Joseph P. Tyssowski, an attorney and ordained Baptist preacher from Texas.
Fifteen years later, the church voted to become a Southern Baptist Church under pastor Victor Koon, rebranding as Olivet Baptist Church.
“’Olivet’ comes from the Kings James version of the Bible, referring to the Mount of Olives, which is right outside of Jerusalem. It was a place very significant during Jesus’ time on Earth; it’s the place from which he returned to heaven, it’s also the place to which he will return,” McElrath said. “So, it’s a wonderful thing to kind of keep our hearts’ gaze focused on his purpose until he returns.”
According to McFatridge’s research, the surprise military attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 impacted families in McCully that lost their homes, shut down schools and churches, and “four people in the neighborhood died.”
“Some McCully parents saw Olivet as a safe haven for their children and sent them to Sunday school,” she writes. “Others joined the congregation during those war years including Joe Bailey and J.C. Wilson. They were instrumental in getting the servicemen to attend Olivet, since it was the only Baptist church in the city.”
In 1943, Olivet paid off the original Young Street property and established a building fund to eventually purchase the Honolulu Vocational School facing Beretania Street in 1994, and the building across the Alexander Street extension for a new auditorium acquired in 1949, which was completed the following year.
“One Sunday in April 1954 was a record attendance with 1,016 in Sunday school and 217 in Sunday Training Union,” McFatridge noted.
In 1962, the church purchased the Alexander Street extension from the City and County of Honolulu, to open up parking and unify its two church buildings. Olivet celebrated its 22nd anniversary with Billy Graham, an evangelist who visited the Islands to lead the Hawaiʻi Crusade.
Between the ’70s and ’80s were some shifts in leadership, and in 1986, Olivet purchased another property on Pāwa‘a Street. The church celebrated its 75th anniversary with a banquet at the Japanese Cultural Center and sent mission teams to Australia, Mexico and Japan.
Formerly The Mission Church, Olivet Baptist Church was founded in 1926 by Joseph Tyssowski. (Olivet Baptist Church) 
One Sunday in April 1954 was a record attendance with 1,016 in Sunday school and 217 in Sunday Training Union. (Olivet Baptist Church) 
Pictured in 1965, Rev. Dan Kong, left, pictured with evangelist Billy Graham at Olivet's 22nd anniversary. (Olivet Baptist Church) 
The church celebrated its 75th anniversary with a banquet at the Japanese Cultural Center and sent mission teams to Australia, Mexico and Japan. (Olivet Baptist Church) 
Volunteers from the church started Tidings of Joy in 2013, where they package and distribute fruit baskets to invite neighbors to join them in various activities during the Christmas and Easter holidays. (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Located at 1775 S. Beretania St., Olivet has served the neighboring communities of Makiki, McCully, Mānoa, Waikīkī, Downtown Honolulu and beyond. Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros (Aloha State Daily Staff)
Over the past 25 years, Olivet Baptist has hosted events for the community, including food and gift distributions, Easter celebrations, a Halloween Block Party, car washes and more.
“Olivet celebrated its 95th anniversary on July 4 with a virtual choir,” McFatridge wrote, adding that during the Covid-19 pandemic, it continued to find “creative ways for outreach and staying connected.”
The church offers pre-school and Sunday school, hula and music ministry, and transitional housing ministry, among other outreaches.
Celebrating 100 and looking ahead
McElrath says he’s excited for the future of the church.
How will Olivet sustain growth over the next century? “By continuing to seek spiritual health, being faithful and growing in our understanding of the Bible,” he notes.
On Saturday, July 4, the community is invited to join the church for a picnic featuring games and activities for keiki, door prizes, food and more. Then on Sunday, it will hold a joint worship service starting at 9 a.m. with guest speaker, John Brady, and Christian musician Bob Bennett. Later that evening, a banquet dinner will be held at the Japanese Cultural Center.
For more information, visit olivetbaptist.org.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
