As a wild youth Powell had a pension for gambling. Around the age of 19 he found religion and converted to Christianity. He graduated from a theology program in 1892 from Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Powell married Mattie Fletcher and had two children together. In 1893 he became pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Soon the once small congregation of 25 increased to 600 members.
In 1923, Powell moved Abyssinian Baptist to a new sanctuary at 132 West 138 Street in Harlem, New York. With its new location, Powell brought many more new members to Abyssinian Baptist. In the 1930s, the church membership expanded to 14,000, making it the single largest church congregation in the United States.
