The Origins of a Community Cornerstone
Mt. Olive Christian School was started in 1980 through the vision of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Steve Pettey, and Len and Linda Gantt. The school began in the basement Sunday school rooms at Mt. Olive Baptist Church still located at the Marsalis Crossroads. MOCS established itself as a Christian school that used (and continues to use) the ABeka curriculum out of Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida.
Mt. Olive continued to grow after Pastor Pettey was called away from Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Pastor Pettey’s vision was taken up quickly by Mr. and Mrs. Len Gantt, who were both founding members of the school. Soon a gymnasium was built at the middle school campus, along with a football field for flag football. Mt. Olive also joined LISA so that it could participate in sports against other schools. Mt. Olive’s first sports teams were girl’s and boy’s basketball, followed soon by flag football.
As the word continued to spread throughout the neighboring parishes about the “little” school in Athens, Louisiana, the student body continued to grow. The school remained located at the HWY 518 location from 1982 - 1996, but the student body became too large for that facility to hold everyone. So with God’s help, some serious elbow grease, and the financial backing of her board, the school began to lease the old Athens High School from the town of Athens. More than $500,000.00 was spent repairing the old high school, and God was faithful through it all and provided the students and income to get the job done. After using two campuses for several years, the decision was made in 2003 to move the entire student body to the main campus that is now the main campus on HWY 9.
Mt. Olive Christian School has been located solely at the HWY 9 address since 2003. We believe that God has, and will continue to bless Mt. Olive Christian School because of her desire to affect the lives of children. At Mt. Olive Christian School, education is the goal, but it is a goal within our belief that God has a ministry planned for all of His children no matter their occupation. Mt. Olive has graduates in all walks of life in a variety of positions. Mt. Olive students are making a difference in the world as lawyers, doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals, police officers, military personnel, politicians, and the Armed Forces. We know that we are educating young men and women praying that they trust Christ as their Savior, and become effective ministers for the Lord Jesus Christ.