In 1907, Rev. W. L. Burr, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church authorized the development of a mission church in what was then considered the south side of Columbus to serve a growing, blue collar African American community. Rev. Burr could not have known that his vision would expand into the history of this African American congregation in Columbus, Ohio. Operating continuously for 117 years, the congregation of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church (originally named Mt. Olive Baptist Church) has withstood the vagaries of two pandemics (1918 and 2020), World Wars 1 and 2, the Great Depression, Jim Crow, the Korean War, the Civil Rights era, September 11, 2001, the War in Afghanistan, the Gulf War, and backlash from the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Deacon William Franklin Payne and thirteen disciples began this south side mission during the spring of 1907. The thirteen founding members who supported Deacon Payne were: Rev. Charlie Carpenter, Inez Carpenter, Leota Collier, Clara Cooper, Wilbur Ellis, Mattie Franklin, Rev. David A. Jones, Anna Rucker, Alice B. Simon, William Simon, Lizzie Snow, Maggie Ward, and Deacon Willie Wheeler. The church originally met in rented space in the Jacob Stern Warehouse located on Donaldson Street. (Donaldson Street was demolished to make way for I-70). Although commonly referred to as Jacob Stern Baptist Church, it was officially Mt. Olive Baptist Church.