We are a country church in the city limits, where you'll hear the simple tones of a piano accompaniment to the volunteer choir of 12 to 15 voices. You'll be inspired by old standard hymns of Presbyterian background and experience a different member each Sunday giving the Children's Sermon in front of the congregation, as the morning service is held at 10 a.m. with Sunday school following at 11.
Olivet Presbyterian Church is located in Staunton, Virginia in the heart of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Our church sets on eight acres on U.S. Route 250 near the intersection of two major Interstates, 81 and 64.
Organized in 1881, Olivet started nine years earlier as a Sunday school class of First Presbyterian in the living room of a Mrs. Buford. With 34 charter members, a brownstone church was erected in 1915. New Sunday school rooms and a Fellowship hall were added in 1959 and a new sanctuary was dedicated in 1968, the year the original building was razed. Click here for more of our history.
The congregation at Olivet has been described as polite and warm by visitors and very spiritual and genuinely proud of their deep historic roots by those who know them best. The membership is a comfortable blend of young professionals, retirees and children of all ages. It's a traditional, conservative and very faithful group of weekly worshipers.
The church property encompasses a cemetery, a ball field, a picnic shelter with a covered barbeque pit, a large parking lot, a children's playground and a beautiful lawn on all sides. The 250-seat sanctuary is connected to the educational building that houses the Fellowship hall equipped with a stage and curtain; a full kitchen; two floors of 11 classrooms; a small social hall and three sets of restrooms.
Just as it is important to know and understand the church in which we live, it is important to know and understand the community in which the church lives. Geographically, Olivet Presbyterian Church is located at the eastern end of Staunton, VA in the center of Augusta County with a population of 23,400. Augusta County is the second largest county in the state and also one of the largest agricultural counties.
Neighboring cities from the church are: Waynesboro (9 miles), Harrisonburg (25 miles), and Charlottesville (35 miles) and surrounding communities. The majority of our members live in Staunton, however, a good portion of attending members live on the rural outskirts. Even though there are 5 other Presbyterian churches in Staunton, the family-like atmosphere and easy location are two of the main factors for a strong loyal membership.
Specifically, Olivet sits in a very unique position along Richmond Avenue (Route 250). Car dealerships, banks, a landscaping business, Econo Lodge, Five Guys Burgers, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, Chili's, Sheetz, Martins, Lowes', and a Wal-Mart Supercenter all immediately surround our basically brick country church, which puts us directly in the hub of fast-moving commercialism.
We are very proud to hold fast to the white steeple which peaks radiantly amid all the neon. Six days of the week are directly related to and rely heavily on all these venues of rapid moving commerce and business, but on Sunday, Olivet offers the much needed respite for any and all to refresh in the Word, a potluck dinner and a familiar handshake.
Staunton, with its neighboring cities and communities, is small enough to qualify as being quaint, but yet just big enough to satisfy other needs and interests we look for in our lives for fulfillment. It is a destination city with a revitalized historic downtown with a focus on the arts and tourism. Staunton also boasts its beautiful architecture with designs by T. J. Collins to Thomas Jefferson.
If Heaven is a local call in Virginia, then the phone booth is in Staunton!