General Questions

What are the service times?
On Sunday morning we have two Sunday School (small group Bible studies) hours and two worship hours. The first Sunday School starts at 8:00 and our first worship service is at 9:30. The second Sunday School hour starts at 9:30 and our second worship service is at 11:00.

-Sunday evening service starts at 6:00 pm.

-Wednesday night has a variety of activities with our fellowship meal starting at 5:00 in the ROC (Recreation Outreach Center). At 6:00 there is a prayer service in the Worship Center for adults and children's activities start at that hour as well. The youth (6th through 12th grade) begin their discipleship classes and worship time at 6:00 as well. High School Rewired meets in Passmore Hall and Middle School Fusion meets in Rousseau Hall. There are a number of adult discipleship classes that begin at 6:00. A listing of these classes can be found at our Guest Welcome Center or online at Personal Growth.

Is there a fellowship meal on Wednesdays? How much is the cost?
The Wednesday fellowship meal is from 4:45 to 6:00 in the Recreation Outreach Center (ROC). The cost is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for children, or the most any family will have to pay is $15.00. The menu can be found online or in Sunday's Worship Guide.

I am new to the area – where is Olive located?
Olive is located at the corner of Olive Road and Davis Highway just North of Interstate-10 at exit 13.

Is Sunday School only for children?
We have classes for all age groups and we call them Connection Groups. Most classes are divided by birth year. Some specialize in interest: Discovery Women's and Men's classes, The Joy Class, Route 66 (which is a class that walks through all 66 books of the Bible), the Newlywed Class, Life Station (college, single parents, etc). We have two Sunday morning Bible study times, the first at 8:00 am and the second at 9:30 am.

Are there other classes beside those on Sunday mornings?
There are classes during the week in the daytime as well as on Wednesday nights. You can view the course schedule online at Personal Growth.

Olive is so large. How will I ever get to know anyone?
Where Olive becomes a small church is in the small groups and Sunday School Connection Groups. This is why it is essential for those who begin attending and those who become members to be involved on the small group level.

How long has Olive been a church?
Olive was started in 1894 when a group of 12 people came from Canoe Baptist Church in Canoe, Alabama, and started the church. The church was originally across Olive Road in a wooden structure but moved to the north side of the street in 1949. Over the years God has blessed Olive and allowed us to build many buildings and acquire approximately 55 acres of land at one of the busiest intersections in Pensacola.

Is Olive affiliated with any denomination?
Yes. Olive is part of the Southern Baptist denomination.

What is a Southern Baptist Church?
In 1845 a group of Baptist churches met in Augusta, Georgia, and agreed to begin cooperating together to do missions work around the world. From there the denomination began and grew. Today there are over 16 million Southern Baptists and some 42,000 churches. The denomination exists so that churches can cooperate together to do missions work on a local, state, national and international level. The main way that Southern Baptists work cooperatively is by giving money to the Cooperative Program (CP). The Cooperative Program funds the following:

- The six Southern Baptist seminaries for theological training of church leaders
- The North American Mission Board (NAMB) for mission work in the United States and Canada
- The International Mission Board (IMB) for mission work around the world
- The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) which is the public policy arm of the SBC and is dedicated to addressing social, moral, and ethical concerns with particular attention on their impact on American families and their faith.
- The Annuity Board which allows workers in Southern Baptist entities and churches to invest in a retirement program
- The Southern Baptist Foundation which was established to provide a wide range of investment and estate planning services for Southern Baptist Convention agencies, institutions and individuals. Its objective is to support the Convention in its goal of spreading the gospel.

Olive also cooperates with churches on a local level to do work in Escambia County through the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association and we cooperate with other Florida churches through the Florida Baptist Convention to do work in our state.

What is the Southern Baptist Convention?
Many people mistakenly call the denomination the Southern Baptist Convention, but this is actually the name of the annual meeting which is held each June. It is in this meeting that Southern Baptist churches send messengers to conduct the business of the denomination.

Is Olive an independent church or does the denomination tell them what to do?
No one, other than the Lord Jesus, tells a Southern Baptist church what to do. All Southern Baptist churches are independent but choose to work together or cooperate to train and send out workers to spread the Gospel around the world.

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For Our Guests

Where do I go the first time I visit Olive?
There are welcome stations in both the main foyer area of the Worship Center and in the Simmons Building (children's building). There will be people there who will be happy to help you find where you need to go.

Where should I park?
There is parking for first time guests in the small shaded parking lot on the north end of the complex between the Simmons Building and University Parkway. There will be a greeter there to help you find your way around the church.

Is there handicap parking?
Handicap parking is provided in two areas. There is handicap parking on the Davis Highway side in front of the ROC and on the Northwest side of the complex next to both the Simmons Building and the Worship Center.

Is there a main entrance?
There are actually 14 entrances through which to enter the complex, so the main entrance is really the one that is the most convenient for you to enter through. Most people enter through the ROC entrance, the Atrium entrance, or either of our two covered drop-off areas. For security reasons during weekday operations we keep only three entrances open which are monitored by video cameras. The entrances are the two covered drop off areas and the ROC entrance.

Where do I take my children or teenager on Sunday?
Children (birth through 5th grade) will be in the Simmons Building and there are two welcome centers in that building. Youth (6th through 12th grades) will most often be in the Passmore Hall area but it is best if you stop by one of the welcome centers so someone can make sure they get to the right class.

Will someone contact me if I come to church there?
If you are a guest at our church and fill out a guest registration card, then we feel obligated to contact you and let you know that we appreciated your visit and we would like to see if you have any questions that we could help you with. Most of our contact times will be on Monday evenings.

What does it mean to be a “member” of Olive?
By becoming a member of a church this says that you have identified with that church and will support that church through your service and giving. In Scripture we see where believers were identified with various churches – this meant they worked in and supported that church. If you are a believer then you are already part of the Church which is the overall body of Christ made up of all believers. However, it is essential for your personal growth as a believer that you join a local church. It is also essential to the growth of the church as a whole that you give of yourself and your resources to a local body of believers.

How do I become a member of Olive?
Once you have discerned that God is leading you to join our fellowship, you will be given an opportunity to join our church at the end of each Sunday service. After the pastor preaches he will ask you to respond by coming forward to express what God is leading you to do. You can come either to the pastor on the main floor or to one of the two pastoral staff members who are stationed at either side of the balcony. After you tell the pastor or one of the other ministers what God is leading you to do then they will introduce you to a person that we call an Encourager who will walk with you to a quiet room where they will talk to you about your decision.

There are basically four ways you can join Olive as a member:

1.  By becoming a Christian.  Many people join our church this way when they come to understand their need for Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. Through this process they have come to understand that they are sinful and Jesus loves them, wants to forgive them, and wants to change them into a new person. Once they have believed on Christ for salvation then they must be baptized to become a member. (See: What is baptism and why or how does it apply to me?)

2.  By baptism.  This could apply to several groups of people. You may have been a believer for quite some time, but you have never been baptized. Or you may be coming from a church that either sprinkled you as a child or taught that baptism was essential for salvation. In any of these cases we ask that you be baptized either for the first time or again in some cases in order to become a member. 

3.  By letter.  Whenever you join a Southern Baptist church, we keep a record of your membership. This record is called your “letter.”  So when you move your membership from one Southern Baptist church to another then you move or transfer your letter. When you come to join Olive you will need to tell us what Southern Baptist church you are coming from and then we will contact that church and let them know that you have joined our fellowship. After this they will then transfer your membership to us.

4.  By statement.  You may not be coming from another Southern Baptist church but, if you have been saved and baptized and you are coming from another evangelical church that believes similar to Olive in doctrine and practices baptism in the same manner, then you will be accepted as a member upon your statement of salvation and baptism. You will not be required to be baptized again.

What is baptism and why or how does it apply to me?
Baptism is a command that the Lord Jesus gave to His followers. In fact this was the first thing He did at the beginning of His ministry on Earth. We require this because we believe the Bible is very clear about baptism being for all believers. We see in Scripture where baptism is only for believers and not for children or infants who have yet to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Finally, we see baptism as being symbolic and not something that is essential for one's salvation. We do believe that if a believer has not been baptized then he or she will not experience God's full measure of blessings because they have yet to follow the very first command that Jesus gave us to follow.

Why does Olive baptize by immersion or by placing someone completely under the water?
There are several reasons why we do this:
    -Every baptism in Scripture including Jesus' was by immersion.
    -It best symbolizes Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
    -The Greek word for baptize means “to immerse or dip under water.”

We are in the military and will only be here for a short time – should
we still join?
Yes. We have found that individuals or families who are here for only a few months and still join are much more involved than those who don't join. This also helps them to more easily find and get involved in a church at their next duty station or job assignment.

If I am not a member can I still attend?
Yes. You can participate in many aspects of the body life of the church, but you will not be allowed to be in leadership or to participate in the church business sessions. Incidentally, we have found that those who are not members are less likely to be fully involved in the church and do not grow as fast spiritually as those who become members.

How do I listen to the pastor's messages and what's available?
You will find several of Pastor's sermons online freely available for you to download and listen.

From which translation of Scripture does Dr. Traylor preach?
Dr. Traylor uses the New American Standard Bible (NASB). However, he uses many other translations to study and prepare his messages.

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Beliefs and Doctrines

Does Olive have a statement of faith?
Of course the Bible would be our ultimate belief statement, but Olive does affirm the 2000 edition of the Baptist Faith and Message. This is not a creed but is a generalized document which would be representative of what most Southern Baptists believe.

What does Olive believe about Scripture?
Olive holds a high view of Scripture. We believe, preach and teach unapologetically that the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant and infallible Word. We believe that it is without error and is complete.

What does Olive teach about giving?
We believe that the Bible teaches that all things come from God and He expects us to be good stewards of those resources. We also see a Scriptural pattern for the support of the local church by returning 10% of everything that God has given to us. We believe that the New Testament pattern is that all believers are given a mandate to support the local church with their tithe (10% of their income). Many believers support other para-church ministries and mission work but that work should always be supported by an offering above and beyond what is given to the local church.

How do I participate in giving to Olive?
If you are a member of Olive then you will receive in the mail each month giving envelopes for each week of the month. You can bring your offering and give during Sunday School or during any of our worship services. In addition if you are not able to make a service and turn in your tithe and offering then please feel free to come by the church office during the week and drop it off there. If you are not a member but feel that God is leading you to give, then offering envelopes have been placed in the pews for you to use. You may also give online.

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Organization

How is Olive organized?
Olive is Pastor led, deacon served, committee organized, and church approved.

The Pastor
The Pastor leads the church. He sets the vision for the church and leads the staff in having a focused plan for direction of the ministry of the church. Certain financial and personnel decisions must be made in consultation with various committees, the deacons and with the approval of the church body.

The Deacons
The deacons serve the church body in many ways. Their various roles include serving as a sounding board to the pastor, approving certain financial and personnel decisions, serving on both permanent and special committees, ministering to the widows of the church, serving on Wednesday nights in the kitchen, being on call for emergencies, and providing extra security during worship services.

The Committees
There are two types of committees. Standing or permanent committees and special committees. Standing committees come along side the pastor and staff to help with the ministry of the church. There is advisory and approval functions of certain issues or processes within their scope.

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