Long before the Mayflower crossed the Atlantic, a small congregation in England gathered in secret, led by a pastor named John Robinson. They were dissenters, unwilling to conform to the Church of England, and their faith put them at odds with the crown. Under Robinson’s guidance, they left their homeland in search of a place where they could worship freely, a journey that would eventually carry them to the New World.
Robinson never boarded the ship himself, but his influence traveled with the pilgrims. He preached a farewell sermon that drew from the book of Ezra, calling his flock to humility and courage as they stepped into the unknown. His words, rooted in scripture, framed their understanding of who they were and what they were about to do. For William Bradford and the others, it was clear: they were pilgrims, bound for a life defined by faith and freedom.
Author Robert J. Morgan, in 100 Bible Verses That Made America, explains how Robinson and the Bible shaped the early vision of the colonies. His leadership carried across an ocean and into the foundation of a nation, proving that ideas born in a small English village could echo through American history.
