It was named for the hill in Lancashire, England, that the first Quaker preacher described as the site of his calling to ministry.

In 1824, they would move back to New York City for a season of "special revival" where brothers Octavius, Isaac, and George would become converted and later convinced of God's calling to ministry.

In 1905 he enrolled at the University of Kansas with plans to study medicine but instead he found a calling to ministry - partly as a result of his role as student minister in the nearby town of Perry.

An early proponent of this thinking was the theologian John Stott who, through his seminal work with the Lausanne movement, sought to affirm belief in the central calling to ministry and mission of all Christians, regardless of their field of work.