At Shiloh Baptist, From Military to Ministry

At Shiloh Baptist, From Military to Ministry

By Emma Boyce

On the unassuming 300 block of East Marshall Street, the Shiloh Baptist Church opens its doors every Sunday. These days, Sundays are quieter. In his 34 years there, Pastor Herman Nelson has seen the church through highs and lows, but for him and his congregation, Shiloh has always been a blessing.

“God moved me to be present, to open the church to whomever comes,” said Pastor Nelson, his voice carrying over the phone. It’s easy to imagine him preaching from the pulpit, spreading the word of God.

“Whether it’s local folk, or visitors who have not been to the town, our own members or nonmembers, or those who have strayed, it is a blessing to be in the church praying, not only for myself and my family but for the Shiloh family, the community, and for the Body of Christ in general.”

His path to the ministry wasn’t always obvious. Before Shiloh, he served 21 years in the military, an illustrious career that included a stint at NASA in Houston and later the Pentagon. Initially, he aspired to be a fighter pilot and an Air Force general, but before realizing those dreams, he discovered his true calling—preaching. In fact, at the Pentagon, with orders in hand, the calling came to him, this time loud enough to hear.

“I had many experiences in the military that led up to and helped shape my thinking and preparation for the ministry,” he said. “But I was not necessarily conscious that it would be leading there. God has a way of preparing you in ways and situations you know you didn’t do yourself.”

The time between the Pentagon and his arrival at Howard University remains a blur, but soon enough Pastor Nelson found himself at the school registrar’s office enrolling in the Master of Divinity program. Before he even finished Deacon Turner, a member of Shiloh’s congregation and one of the first African-Americans elected to the Middleburg Town Council, requested Pastor Nelson serve as Shiloh’s interim pastor.

“I yielded to the ministry,” he said. “It was not something I chose. It just happened. I don’t have any intent to color or smooth over or self-aggrandize what God has done. I give him the glory because I’m humbled at what he’s done in my life, in my growing up, in my educational pursuits, in my military service, in my private sector, in my ministerial pursuits with the support of my wife, family, and Shiloh family.”

More than three decades later, he’s now part of Shiloh’s rich history, one that has its informal roots in the Civil War. Along the way, Shiloh has fostered numerous notable members of the community, including Loudoun NAACP president William McKinley Jackson, who fought to integrate public spaces in Middleburg, and prominent educator in the era of Jim Crow, Rosa Lee Carter. Affectionately called “Mother of the Church,” she now has a school in Leesburg named after her.

The Shiloh building, erected in 1913, was built by master stonemasons and church members Nathan Nathanial Hall and his son, William Nathanial Hall, who would become one of the most respected African-American builders in Loudoun County.

“There are many marvelous families that have rooted in this church through the years,” said Pastor Nelson. “We’re few in number today, much fewer than we were then, but in spite of that, God has shown his grace and his mercy to us with large and small numbers.”

Twenty years ago, Pastor Nelson had a vision.

“I was looking to try to encourage and inspire the church,” he said. “You can sense when there is apathy and there is struggle. I said, ‘we are to continue to have faith in Jesus Christ, we are to continue to plan and make ready for revival and restoration in spite of these things that are going on.’ That’s true today, less we forget Peter Tibbs’ legacy of over 50 years at the Middleburg Community Center. He encouraged the use of the center for Shiloh to celebrate our 150th anniversary in 2017.”

Pastor Herman Nelson at Shiloh Baptist’s 150th anniversary cerebration.