Graduate Profile: Paul Kurtz (MTS)

My name is Paul Kurtz. I live in Warren, Ohio, with my wife, Irene. We have been married for 36 years and have an adult son who lives in the Pittsburgh area with his wife and one-year-old daughter. I work full time as a civil engineer and have professional registrations in both Pennsylvania and Ohio.

I made a profession of faith at the age of five while attending vacation Bible school at the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) church our family attended. Our family moved to an American Baptist church for my junior high and high school years. After graduating high school, I went to Messiah College in Grantham, PA, to earn a B.S. in engineering. Messiah College (now Messiah University) did not have its own engineering program at the time but did have a special arrangement with Temple University in Philadelphia for a handful of majors. So, I spent two years in Grantham and two years in Philadelphia and received a degree from Messiah College. The two years spent at Temple University provided many opportunities for cross-cultural experiences that I still value.

After graduating from college, I moved to Warren, Ohio, for a job and started attending an Assembly of God (A/G) church, where I met my wife, Irene. I also began reading books by R.C. Sproul that piqued my interest in theology. After about ten years of reading and studying theology, I discovered that my personal theology was much different than the beliefs of the A/G. It took longer for my wife, but eventually we both saw the need to move on and landed at a CMA church. We were very involved there for about ten years before moving again, this time to a small Reformed Baptist church.

I never thought I would find a church whose theology was so close to my own, but First Baptist Church of Howland has been an answer to our prayers. I cannot imagine a church where we would fit in better. After we had been there for about a year, I started to share teaching duties for the adult Sunday school class with one of the elders. After another year, I was asked to become an elder myself.

Shortly after becoming an elder, I enrolled in Reformed Baptist Seminary (RBS). The study of theology has been a long-time ambition, but I could never justify spending the money for additional education. Now that I am a pastor in the church I attend, I thought it appropriate to spend money on additional education to better serve the people of First Baptist Church of Howland. I am grateful that God led me to an affordable and reputable on-line seminary. RBS has helped me to firm up my personal theology, enhanced my ability to articulate that theology, and given me valuable instruction in how to minister God’s grace to others.

Pual Kurtz