A Christian Methodist denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church started as the Free African Society (FAS). The FAS was established by Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and others in Philadelphia, PA in 1787. Focused on creating the AME was the African-American Methodists, after being discriminated against in St. George’s MEC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as they journied out to find religious freedom.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church is the first church in the Western world that came from sociological differences rather than theologica. Also, it was the first African-American denomination that was incorporated / organized in the USA. One may think that the AME grew from dissent however, the reality is that John Wesley (the Methodist church founder), was actually known as an abolitionist.
The church first grew geographically throughout the northeast and Midwest prior to the Civil War. Despite slavery, the church also made inroads into Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana and South Carolina. By the early 1850s, AME had stretched its ministry to the west coast with churches in Stockton, Sacramento, San Francisco and other California cities.
The website of the AME says :
During the reconstruction after the civil war, came an era of denominational development. Freshly free’d slaves were recruited into the AME with permission from the Union army officials. The collapsing confederacy’s states were the target of the denomination. “I Seek My Brethren,” a sermon that was often repeated by Theophilus G. Steward who was a preacher in South Carolina. This became a call to evangelize blacks in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and other parts of the southern US. Membership of the AME in 1880 grew to 400,000 members due to its rapid expansion below the Mason-Dixon line. Bishop Henry M. Turner worked to spread African Methodism from the Atlantic coast to Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1891. In 1896, AME had spread into South Africa and laid the foundation for adherents on two continents.
The AME is doctrinally Methodist, and the doctrine can be summarized within the Apostle’s Creed and the Twenty-five Articles of Religion (found on the AME site) and the by-laws of the AME church. Additionally, the AME makes a point to include peoples of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds in their evangelism, as they state that the name of the church “does not mean that the church was founded in Africa, or that it was for persons of African descent only.”
AME churches are not “self governed” since there is a larger organization that includes a council of bishops, board of incorporators, a general conference, judicial council and a general board. The chief officers are the bishops themselves that are elected for life by the general conference that meets once every four years, requiring a majority vote. Church law requires the bishops to retire after their seventy fifth birthday. This structure originates from the episcopal church, contributing to the name African Methodist Episcopal.
The motto of the church is “A source of Unity” and it’s history is unique in itself.
According to the official website of the AME, in 1856, Bishop Daniel A. Payne proposed to the general conference that the seal of the episcopal church should include a denominational creedal statement: “God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Man Our Brother”. Until 1908, this was the official declaration of A.M.E. faith identity. Then pentecostalism gained momentum in 1906 in Los Angeles’ Azusa Street Mission, previously, the first church site of the A.M.E. Church, they were convinced to change the motto. At the general conference meeting in Norfolk, Virginia, 1908 the motto was officially changed to “God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Ghost Our Comforter, Man Our Brother”.
The mottow was kept until 1916 when they reverted back to the original motto. In 2008, the general conference created a new motto : “God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family.”
Educational programs for African Americans are sposnored by the AME through various colleges and theological seminaries.
Providing the most complete directory of African Methodist Episcopal churches. Go to Churchangel to view the most up-to-date church list Churches available online.