History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

"God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Man Our Brother"

The African Methodist Episcopal Church was started in 1787, in Philadelphia PA, when a group of people of African descent was pulled from their knees while praying in St. George Methodist Episcopal Church.  The group, led by 27 year-old Richard Allen, an ex-slave, politely walked out, thus starting a movement that resulted in the creation of America's first formally organized black church.  In 1816, Richard Allen called together sixteen representatives from Bethel African Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and African Churches in Baltimore. Maryland; Wilmington, Delaware; Attleboro, Pennsylvania, and Salem, New Jersey, to meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A church organization or "connection" was organized as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Richard Allen was the Founder and first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Allen chose Methodism as our doctrine because he felt no other denomination could suit the capacity of his people as well.  Methodism provided the plain and simple gospel and an orderly system of rules and regulations.

Our Name African: The term "African" refers to people of African descent. Richard Allen also used the term "people of color." He advocated human dignity and religious liberty for people of African descent in America. Methodist: Richard Allen accepted the doctrines and polity of the Methodist Church as appropriate for his people. The term "Methodist" was used as a word of derision and scorn for John Wesley and his followers, because of their systematic method and habits of religious duty. Episcopal: The term "Episcopal" refers to "involving church government by bishops" and the highest office in the A.M.E. Church is the Bishop. The term "Bishop" means "over-seer". The Bishop is the one who "oversees" or "overlooks" the work of the Church. Our Mission and Purpose The Mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to the spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, and environmental needs of all people by spreading Christ's liberating gospel through word and deed. At every level of the Connection and in every local church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the A.M.E. Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and serve the needy through a continuing program of: (1) preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, (2) feeding the hungry, (3) clothing the naked, (4) housing the homeless, (5) cheering the fallen, (6) providing jobs for the jobless, (7) administering to the needs of those in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, asylums and mental institutions, senior citizens' homes; caring for the sick, the shut-in, the mentally and socially disturbed, and (8) encouraging thrift and economic advancement.  The Anvil and The Cross The meaning of the Cross is obvious to anyone with faith in God and a knowledge of the Holy Bible and the Christian Church: the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the power of Salvation through Him, and the immeasurable grace of God that covers the sins of the world and empowers His people to be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. The Anvil, on the other hand, has a symbolic and a historical meaning which must be noted by all who call themselves African Methodist. OUR beginnings emerged from the depths of racism and bigotry and when our founding fathers chose to stay with Methodism they purchased a blacksmith's shop and converted it into their house of worship; they called it BETHEL, meaning "House of God." In the blacksmith's shop was an anvil used to pound and shape metal ores into a usable and functioning object. And, as any blacksmith will tell you, hammers may wear down, and many a man may loose his life to the exhaustion from the hard work of being a blacksmith, but the Anvil never fails. A man only need to purchase one in his or her entire lifetime, and it continues to last through MANY lifetimes. So it is with God; He cannot be beaten down and He is Eternal. The Anvil represents our beginning and the lasting Strength of our Lord and Savior that never ceases. The Cross and the Anvil: Our Salvation and our Strength. Our beginnings in a blacksmith shop and our eternal ending in God's heavenly realm. For more information on the AME Church, go to www.ame-church.com