Oberlin, Ohio, is presented as an important early setting in Howard Thurman’s ministry. At Mount Zion Baptist Church, he developed his preaching style, and the congregation began to grow; the account places the town within a formative stage of his work as a pastor.

Thurman’s Pastorate

After graduating and marrying Kate Kelly, Thurman became pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Oberlin. His experience there joined the beginning of his family life to the practical work of ministry. The church’s growth accompanied his development as a preacher, giving the pastorate a significance beyond its place in his chronology.

A Point of Transition

Thurman’s Oberlin ministry preceded a major turn in his intellectual and spiritual formation. At a conference on religious education, he read a book by Quaker Rufus Jones and resolved to study with him. After Jones invited him to Haverford College for an independent study, Thurman resigned from his church. Oberlin thus marks both an early ministerial beginning and the point from which his path led toward sustained study of spirituality.