OUR BEGINNING

In 1787 Rev. Richard Allen and Rev. Absalom Jones withdrew from the St. George Methodist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, because of "unkind treatment" and restrictions placed upon worshippers of African descent. They founded The Free African Society, which was the beginning of the African Methodist Episcopal 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.

For more information visit the Official Web Site of the A.M.E. Church: www.ame-church.com

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 VISION

The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) is a Christ-centered, Bible-based, Justice-seeking, and Holy Spirit led global faith-community, committed to bringing all persons into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

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.

OUR MOTTO

The motto of African Methodism is:

GOD OUR FATHER, CHRIST OUR REDEEMER, THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR COMFORTER, HUMANKIND OUR FAMILY

For more information visit the Official Web Site of the A.M.E. Church: www.ame-church.com