Rev. Paul Hobson Sadler, Sr.

 

Paul Hobson Sadler was born in Philadelphia and received his elementary and secondary education in the public schools of that city.  He attended Howard University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.   He continued his education at the Howard University School of Divinity and earned the Master of Divinity Degree. Rev. Sadler has served United Church of Christ congregations in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Louisiana and Chicago, Illinois, where he served three years as Associate Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ with more than 10,000 members.  From 1988 to 1991, Rev. Sadler was the host and executive producer of an award-winning Christian talk show, Reaching Out,@ on cable television in New Orleans.

 

Rev. Sadler served for nine years, as Minister of Evangelism for African American and Native American Indian Church Development, and ultimately as Assistant General Secretary of the Division of Evangelism and Local Church Development at the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries of the United Church of Christ. He currently serves as Pastor of Mt. Zion Congregational Church United Church of Christ, one of the oldest African American Congregations in Cleveland, OH. He also serves as President and Chairman of Creative Arts Ministries, a nonprofit ministry consulting firm, where he oversees their programmatic efforts to use the creative arts to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From 2000 to 2004 he served as Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies, in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cleveland State University.

 

Considered a leading expert in the field of African American church growth, Rev. Sadler is widely sought after to provide seminars, workshops and lectures in seminaries, local congregations and also at denominational gatherings. Rev. Sadler is an eloquent preacher who is gifted with a resonant bass voice that he uses to sing and preach to the glory of God. He has performed in the theater, on the concert stage, and has appeared in several films.

 

Rev. Sadler is a prolific writer who has published numerous articles and contributed to several books, including How to Help Hurting People (Urban Ministries, 1990), How I Got Over (Urban Ministries, 1992), From One Brother to Another (Judson Press, 1996), The Book of Daily Prayer 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002 (Pilgrim Press), The African American Devotional Bible (Zondervan, 1998), Men of Color Study Bible (Nia, 1998.)  He is the author of the book, Walk in the Light: Insight and Reflections on Living the Christian Life (Creative Arts Ministries, 1998). In 2000, he recorded his first CD entitled Paul Hobson Sadler Sings (CAM Records) which was re-released in 2004.

 

Rev. Sadler serves on numerous civic, corporate and denominational boards including, University Circle Inc., Shore Bank Enterprise Cleveland, Eliza Bryant Village, Adoption Network Cleveland, University Circle Design Review District, Justice And Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ, United Black Christians, The Ambassadors Council of the Club at Key Center, and the African American Advisory Committee to the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Art. In addition, Rev. Sadler serves as President of the Howard University Alumni Club of Cleveland.

 

Rev. Sadler is married to Kim Martin Sadler, who is the CEO of Sadler Communications and Consulting  Group, LLC, dba, The Publishing Boutique. They have two adult children, Robin Renee Sadler, a broadcast journalist and entrepreneur, and Paul Hobson Sadler, Jr., an entrepreneur.  Rev. Sadler’s numerous hobbies include painting acrylic abstracts, physical fitness, collecting African American art and restoring classic automobiles.