Key Points:
- Yolanda White Oliver feels joy, commitment as first African American senior pastor at University UMC.
- Oliver has experience in real estate management and completed her Master of Divinity degree.
- Oliver is excited to serve in a cross-cultural setting and wants to ensure no member of University UMC has to do life alone.
Yolanda White Oliver says her life experience has given her the confidence and faith to step into a new and historic role in the United Methodist Church when she becomes the first African American senior pastor at University UMC on July 1. She will replace Pastor Jo Mead, who is retiring.
Oliver has served as associate pastor at St. Mark’s UMC, a primarily Black church, for the past six years. She worked in that position while continuing a career in real estate management and completing her Master of Divinity degree from United Theology Seminary in Ohio.
Her Roots
“I grew up in a big family. I’m the 9th of 10 children,” she says. “So, I learned early on to get along.”
She is a Wichita native and a product of USD 259, attending Buckner, Brooks and Heights. Her childhood home is less than a block from University UMC and she fondly remembers, as a child, swinging on the swing set in the churchyard. It’s a memory that makes her reflect on the divine orchestration that has led her back to a cherished community.
Experiencing Diversity
Life, however, has provided her with far more exposure to diversity and the world.
“I was only seven when my dad, who was in the Air Force, was assigned overseas,” she said. “At the time, I thought my parents had totally ruined my life. All I could see at the time was that I had to leave my home and friends. But as time passed, I came to understand that they gave me an opportunity few people get: a chance to see the world and experience different cultures and customs – and to understand how people are so much the same.”
That understanding of people has, in turn, helped her realize the blessings of her big, blended family. Together, she and her husband of 10 years, Phillip Oliver, have eight children and eight grandchildren of mixed races.
“I say that our marriage blended the White family and the Oliver family, to take letters from the beginning of each, to make us the Whol(e) family,” she says. “This intricate network of relationships has been a cornerstone of my life, shaping my understanding of love, resilience and the transformative power of family bonds.”
Embracing the Call
It wasn’t until her mother’s death in July 2015 that she decided to answer a call to the ministry.
“I think it was there for years and I kept ignoring it,” she said. “But it was in my mother’s death that I found life.”
In the fall 2016, she started seminary and took on a growing role at St. Mark UMC. A year later, she became associate pastor a year later, taking on the jobs of guiding the flow of worship, leading congregational care, overseeing the music ministry and helping manage media.
While attending seminary and working at Saint Mark, she also continued her career in real estate as the senior manager of the real estate division for Wesley Medical Center, LLC. Her husband also has a career as a real estate agent, a general contractor and an employee of Evergy.
The Promotion
The Great Plains Conference bishop, David Wilson, announced Oliver’s promotion to senior pastor at University UMC on March 21.
Great Plains Conference Clergy Leadership Coordinator, Kathy Williams, says that January through June is “appointment season.” for the UMC. It’s when pastors are evaluated for their gifts and sent to congregations that need the special talents they offer.”
She said that pastors can let leadership know if they have a “tether” that makes changing locations difficult.
“It can be a husband’s job, elderly parents who need support or other family considerations,”she said. “Our pastors are not forced to move. But they do enter the ministry knowing they may be asked to apply their gifts where they are most needed.”
Cross-cultural and cross-racial assignments are not uncommon in the UMC. Williams, who is African American, said that she and her husband were the only people of color in the church she once served in Horton. Bishop Wilson is the first Native American to lead the conference.
“I wouldn’t trade anything for what I’ve learned in cross-cultural worship centers,” she said.
She added that 60% of the 750 churches In Kansas and Nebraska that make up the Great Plains Conference are in rural areas with predominantly White populations.
A Decision Made in Faith
Oliver said she is excited about serving in a cross cultural setting.
“I made this decision on faith,” she said. “The stories that so many people have shared with me have given me peace in making that decision.I look forward to being a part of offering a glimpse of heaven as we witness heart to heart with each other and I thank God for the opportunity.”
She said she loves that University UMC becomes the “home away from home” church for so many diverse Wichita State University students, including foreign students.
“You enter University as a way to be with like-minded people and learn the skills to navigate life. I welcome the opportunity of being that place where all people can celebrate all we have in common and the fact that we all believe in the same God,” she said.
She said a primary goal will be to be sure that “no member of University has to do life alone.”
