By Michelle Baker
© Prince William Times
Source: PrinceWilliamTimes.com
Missed the MOBC Groundbreaking? Relive every moment of this historic event here!
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The Mount Olive Baptist Church may be building a new building but the congregation still employs the well-worn plan that has brought them through the past 100 years.
This time-tested plan is not a man-made plan. They say it is God’s plan.
With hands in the air and songs in their hearts, the Mount Olive Baptist members proudly turned the ceremonial spade of dirt on their new church building last Saturday.
Before a huge crowd of well-wishers, Rev. Clyde W. Ellis Jr. and other community leaders embraced the past, but opened their hearts to what’s in store for Mount Olive Baptist.
Rich in history, this modern day church is building on yesterday for a better tomorrow.
Roots of these families are firmly planted in this area of Prince William County.
Near the dawn of the 20th century, a small group of dedicated Christians in the community of Agnewville began a mission to do the work of kingdom building.
The founders of Mount Olive Baptist Church included Minnie Chinn, Robert and Rebecca Chinn, William Chinn, Carrie (Chinn) Grayson, and George W. Ray, Sr.
Descendants of those pioneers sit in the pews, folding chairs, auditorium seats today. Depending on what day of the week, they are at church.
Prominent early church members were Mary Jane Chinn and her eight sons.
The Chinn Regional Park and Library serves as perpetual memorial to her and the legacy of her family.
Deacon Frederick L. Anderson, known as Freddie to everyone, is one of the many “Living Legacies” in the congregation. His grandmother was one of the original founders. He began attending as a child and has served ever since.
Families like Anderson’s were and still are pillars of Mount Olive.
“At one point, Freddie was chairman of the trustees, and chairman of the deacons at the same time, as well as superintend of Sunday school,” said the pastor.
Organized under the leadership of Florence Chinn and Reverend Bras Clark, that first Sunday school class was held in the small, lamp-lit home of John and Annie Scott.
Today, Mount Olive is a church with hundreds of members and has outgrown its building.
“We try and use the building for as many things as we can,” said Ellis, who still holds choir practices, meetings and has his office in the church.
“Mary Jane Chinn’s sons collectively owned 500 acres, even where we are going to build was part of that track,” said Ellis.
While some may have grown up in the area, others found a new extended family when they found Mount Olive.
“Family is defined as a group of people that may be made up of parents, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, and or grandparents through and by a particular blood line, lineage or heritage,” said Ramona Y. Heath.
“In other instances, family can be acquired through and by other means such as adoption or mere association,” she said. “Mount Olive Baptist Church is that such definition of family for me.”
Because much of the written history of Mount Olive was destroyed when the home of George and Minnie Chinn caught fire in 1939, the current pastor acts as the oral historian with the help of Freddie.
On July 3, 1902, William Chinn donated land for the structure of the Agnewville Mission Sunday School. Years later, with the assistance of the Neabsco Baptist Church congregation, the members of the Agnewville Mission Sunday School officially established the Mount Olive Baptist Church.
The cornerstone in the current building was laid by George W. Ray, William Chinn and George Thomas of Neabsco on Telegraph Road on Oct. 15, 1915.
The congregation is considering making it part of the new building in some way.
It is upon the shoulders of these spiritual ancestors that the congregation of Mount Olive continues to stand and thrive today.
“It is truly a blessing to have been led to a church where the Word of God is shared in its purest form,” said Howard D. Hall, chairman of Mount Olive Baptist Church deacons.
“We love the feeling of family and inclusion.”
“Mount Olive strives to keep that small church feeling so that no one is just another number on the roll,” added Hall.
Through the years, some pastors guided the raising of the building; others guided the building of the congregation.
The current pastor is doing both.
“I love MOBC because it is faith filled, Bible based, and my pastor is extremely devoted to God and to serving people/ community,” said Sandra Hill. “He is the epitome of love in action.”
The increased membership under his leadership facilitated the Sunday morning worship services be moved to Freedom High School several years ago.
In 1942, the church membership decided to dig a well on the church’s property.
In 1948, the people decided to install electric lights in the basement.
In 2002, they attempted to purchase land from Ethel Chinn behind the current building.
“We wanted to stay here,” said the pastor.
“We did try,” said Ellis, but she wouldn’t sell.
In 2004, the church started holding services at Freedom High School.
Then, they found the three parcels of property on Minneville Road was Chinn land.
“God moved on it,” said Ellis.
“It is still in the family,” added Anderson.
In 2010, a site plan was approved for a new building.
Focused in their commitment to follow God’s plan, the congregation wants to move into the $15 million dollar building debt free in 2017.
“Their presence as well as rich history in Prince William County and beyond has had a lasting impact on lives and will continue for generations to come,” said Hall. “For this reason I wholeheartedly share in celebrating the groundbreaking of their new epithets as well as upcoming 100th year anniversary celebration.”
Mount Olive Baptist Church continues to walk by faith and adhere to the vision that God has given them.
Their motto is strong.
“To build the church, which is the body of Jesus Christ, one soul at a time.”
Copyright © 2015 The Gainesville Times, a Virginia News Group newspaper.