Mount Olive Lutheran Church was organized as a congregation on March 9th, 1953. The previous
name of the congregation had been St. John's Lutheran Mission, named for the street on which
it was located. Our new building was dedicated August 2nd, 1953.
Construction of a 10,000 square foot addition began in spring of 1989, and on January 14th, 1990, the building was dedicated to the glory of God. At that time, the Congregation began a church growth strategy called "The Master's Plan."
“Proclaiming the Gospel and equipping God’s people.”
Proclaiming the Gospel by:
† Reaching out with God’s love
† Caring for all people with Christ’s love as He loves us
† Living a visible faith in our homes, neighborhoods, communities and the world at large.
Equipping people by:
† Teaching God’s Word
† Encouraging people to use their spiritual gifts in service to
God and others.
† Building a strong worship and faith community
Biblical & Confessional Grounding
† All of our efforts are firmly grounded in God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions.
Witnessing & Outreach
† We believe that local outreach and world missions is the primary purpose of the church as outlined in the “great commission”
† We seek to incorporate people into the family of God.
Our Vision
Mount Olive Lutheran Church is a faith community in which all of God’s people:
† Worship and serve the Lord in harmony
† Minister to others
† Pray and learn together
† Bring others into a saving relationship with Christ
Our Core Values
Openness to New Ideas
† We believe it is important to be relevant, learn from others and gather new ideas about what is successful in other church cultures.
Leadership Development
† We believe it is important to seek, develop and mentor both professional and lay leadership.
Fellowship
† We seek to foster and strengthen fellowship and develop a sense of community and family through caring and supportive relationships
† We believe it is important to bring groups together with shared interests and to foster acceptance of diversity between groups within our congregation.
Vibrant & Fulfilling (Passionate) Worship
† We believe that passionate worship is biblically sound, heart felt and expressed in a way that is meaningful for the individual.
† We are open to both contemporary and traditional worship styles.
Open Communication and Dialogue
† We will seek to establish and foster open communication within our congregation and create a safe and trusting environment where people are willing and able to express their ideas in a respectful manner.
† Our leadership will share information with the congregation, involve them in the decision making process, act on input received and provide needed follow up.
Needs Based Ministries
† We will seek to discover the needs of the groups we serve.
† Our services, programs and activities will be based on these identified needs.
Functional Facility
† We believe in faithful stewardship and maintenance of our facility for the purpose of enabling ministry. Our facility is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
A Short History of Mount Olive Lutheran Church
Regina, Saskatchewan
1952
- First service conducted by Rev. Henry Treit
- First church worker was Vicar L.A. Koehler
- Ladies Aid and Walther League organized
1953
- First confirmation class completed
- Mount Olive officially organized as a congregation
1954
- Congregation's first pastor, Rev. Herman Bickel, installed
- Parsonage purchased
- First Vacation Bible School is held
1955
- Pews purchased from a Moose Jaw congregation
1957
- Preaching / Teaching / Reaching Mission Fest
- Rev. Plagens from Minot, N.D., guest speaker
1959
- Plans made for new building near 5th Ave. N. and Hamilton Street
1961
- New parsonage purchased
- Ground breaking for new church
- First service held in new building December 3rd, 1961
1963
- Tenth anniversary celebrated
1966
- Elizabeth Walker commissioned as Lay Parish Assistant
- Junior choir formed with the help of Mrs. Elizabeth Walker
1967
- Pastor Bickel leaves for London, Ontario
- Rev. Ron Raedeke from Redeemer, Regina serves vacancy
1968
- Pastor Philip Becker accepts Mount Olive's call
- Church interior completed
1973
- Pastor Becker retires and moves to Yorkton, Sk
- Rev. Brian Dill from Lipton accepts Mount Olive's call
- Congregation becomes self-supporting
1974
- Decision made to call a second Pastor
1975
- Pastor Dan Sattlemeier becomes first Associate Pastor of Mount Olive
- Moveable partitions build in basement for Sunday School
1977
- Pastor Sattlemeier leaves for Glen Elm Lutheran Church
1978
- Twenty-fifth anniversary celebrated
1979
- Mortgage burning
- Satellite Sunday School operated out of Coldwell School in
Uplands Regina
-Lutheran Book of Worship hymnals purchased
- Youth Group formed
1980
- Pastor Dill accepts a call to Tucson, Arizona
- Pastor Irwin Pudrycki accepts the call to Mount Olive
1981
- Pastor Dennis Aubey becomes Associate Pastor
- "Bible Brunch" Bible class begins
1982
- Building Fund established
- Organ Fund established
- Communion card registration system replaces notebooks
1983
- Constitution revised
- Senior's Group established
1984
- Pastor Aubey leaves for Minnesota
- Choir gowns purchased
- First pictorial directory produced
- RSV pew Bibles purchased
1985
- Pastor Eric Betsch becomes Associate Pastor
- Worship and Social Ministry committees formed
- Building Committee formed
- Plans begun for Mount Olive's expansion
1986
- Church expansion plans approved
- Stephen Ministry begins
1987
- Sunday School in Uplands discontinued
1988
- Pastor Betsch leaves for institutional chaplaincy
- New mission statement (To Save the Lost and Serve the Saved) approved
- Lutheran Church - Canada becomes an autonomous church body
- Mount Olive joins Lutheran Church - Canada
1989
- Ground broken for expansion
- Vicar Michael Dorn serves Mount Olive
- Mount Olive hosts CBC's "Meeting Place"
1990
- 10,000 square foot expansion completed and dedicated
- Mount Olive begins a church growth strategy called "The Master's Plan"
1991
- Sunday Morning Fellowship Coffee begins
- Introduction of contemporary worship
- Stained glass arches installed in chancel area
- Young Mom's Bible Study begins
1992
- Rainbow Play School begins operation
- Dr. Oswald Hoffman of The Lutheran Hour visits Mount Olive
1993
- Pastor Keith Reisdorf becomes Associate Pastor
- Security system installed
1994
- New mission statement approved -- "Called to Disciple --
Prepared for Ministry -- Equipped to Serve"
- Grief Support Group begins
1995
- Pastoral exchange initiated -- Pastor Pudrycki goes to
Australia and Australian Pastor Mike Semmler comes to Mount Olive
- Contemporary worship singing group established
- Summer Worker program initiated
1996
- Pastor Reisdorf leaves for Kelowna, B.C.
- Parking lot paved
1997
- Pastor Bruce Corson becomes Associate Pastor
1999
- Joint Assistance Sponsorship program established for Kosovo refugees
- Worship services are projected on a large chancel screen
- Digital piano purchased
2000
- Mount Olive hosts Central District convention
2002
- Pastor Pudrycki retires
- Pastor Don Koch is vacancy pastor
2003
- Mount Olive celebrates its Fiftieth anniversary
- Pastor Terry Defoe of Wetaskiwin, Alberta installed
2004
- Mount Olives website begins
- Director of Parish Services intern Doug Wilson inducted
2005
- A storage garage is built
- Pastor Ken Klaus of The Lutheran Hour visits Mount Olive
- Braille ministry relocates to Mount Olive
- Strategic plan initiated
2006
- Mortage on church expansion retired
- Commissioning of Vicar Ted Giese
2007
- Rev. Ted Giese installed as Associate Pastor
2008
- New carpeting installed throughout the building
- Plans made for Mount Olive Rainbow Preschool with
Sharlene Van Maanen as director
2009
- 26 new members received on New Members Sunday, May 2009
- New furnaces and air conditioning units installed for worship area
- Growing enrolment in Mount Olive's Rainbow Preschool
- Bernadette Kew takes over coordinator's duties for Preschool
- Much brighter and sharper projector replaced 9 year-old unit in worship area
- Successful Vacation Bible School includes singing group from Crew Ministries