African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a Christian denomination rooted in the Methodist tradition, established in the late 18th century by African Americans seeking a separate place of worship due to racial discrimination. Founded in 1816, the church is governed by bishops, reflecting its Episcopal structure, and has a strong mission focused on the social, spiritual, and physical development of all people. The AME Church adheres to the Wesleyan principles emphasizing love for God and neighbor, while its beliefs are based on the Apostle's Creed and a set of articles grounded in Methodist doctrine.
Historically, the AME Church has been involved in social justice issues, including opposition to slavery and advocacy for civil rights, notably playing a significant role in the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case. With a global membership exceeding 2.5 million and approximately 7,000 congregations, the majority of its members reside in the United States. The church has made strides towards inclusivity by ordaining women and allowing LGBTQ individuals to serve, although it maintains traditional stances on certain issues like same-sex marriage. Through partnerships with educational institutions and community organizations, the AME Church continues to emphasize social outreach and education, reflecting its foundational mission to serve the needy.
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a Christian church in the Methodist tradition. It was founded after a group of African American members of a Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia experienced discrimination and sought their own place of worship. Its name reflects its origins as a church founded by people of African descent who follow the rules and regulations of the Methodist Church and its gospel focus. The Episcopal portion of the name refers to the church's organizational structure. The word episcopal comes from a Greek word that means bishop, and the AME church is governed by bishops.
The AME Church adheres to the Wesleyan tradition as preached by brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley in the early 1700s. Following the tradition's emphasis on love of God and neighbor and living a holy and morally responsible life, the AME Church set its mission as "ministering to the social, spiritual, and physical development of all people." Member churches are called to live out the social mission of the Free African Society (FAS) from which the church was originally founded, by striving to "seek out and save the lost, and to serve the needy." The church has a history of partnering with historically Black universities to promote higher education for African Americans, and in 2018 entered into a similar partnership with African American–owned banks to encourage members to open bank accounts.
The church stated in 2024 that it had more than 2.5 million members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and throughout Africa and the Caribbean. These followers worshiped in 7,000 congregations worldwide, which were led by about 3,800 pastors. The majority of members—more than 2.1 million—were in the United States.
Brief History
In 1787, a group of African American members of St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia established a mutual aid society known as the Free African Society (FAS) to provide assistance to fellow African Americans. The FAS functioned as an outreach ministry of St. George's, and its members remained part of the church.
In the years just after the American Revolutionary War, slavery and the rights of African Americans remained issues of contention in the United States. While enslavement was more prevalent in the South, Black people everywhere were often subject to segregation, even in houses of worship. In some churches, including St. George's, Black people were required to sit in separate sections. According to a report written by Richard Allen, a Black preacher at St. George's and a freed slave, African American congregants were told first to sit around the perimeter of the church and then to sit in the gallery. Allen's report said that on a Sunday in 1793, Black members of the congregation were pulled from their knees in the middle of services and told they were in the wrong places. Led by Allen and Absalom Jones, a fellow Black preacher and cofounder of the FAS, the Black congregants of St. George's walked out of the church.
With the help of Benjamin Rush, a Quaker abolitionist, and Robert Ralston, a Pennsylvania businessman who supported Black rights, Allen, Jones, and the other former members of St. George's opened Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1794. Allen served as its first preacher.
Knowing that discrimination against African Americans was a growing problem elsewhere, Allen called for a meeting in Philadelphia to consider a new church denomination. On April 9, 1816, representatives from five congregations gathered in Philadelphia and officially formed the AME Church. Allen served as its first bishop, making him the first Black bishop in the United States.
Beliefs
Unlike many churches that split from a parent church, the AME Church separated not over issues of doctrine but over racial prejudice. The church adheres to Methodist beliefs and worship traditions. Its system of beliefs is based on the Apostle's Creed and twenty-five articles of faith. These articles express belief in the Holy Trinity and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hold that the Bible includes all that is necessary for salvation.
According to the articles of faith, baptism and communion are the two sacraments recognized by the AME Church. The AME Church does not recognize the existence of purgatory and does not allow the adoration of saints or relics. Its ministers are allowed to marry.
From its earliest days, the church was active in civil and social causes. Under Allen's leadership, the AME Church opposed transporting Black people from America to Liberia and spoke openly against enslavement. Some AME buildings served as schools, while others were part of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves reach freedom. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, many AME members enlisted in the Union Army, while many of its clergy served as chaplains.
The AME Church started primarily in the North and Mid-Atlantic, but after the end of the Civil War, efforts began to evangelize the South. This swelled its membership from 20,000 to more than 400,000 and led to the establishment of schools and seminaries. Its congregations and leaders continued to be active in civil rights issues throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Civil rights leader Rosa Parks was a member of the AME Church, and during the 1950s, the AME Church played a key role in the lawsuit that led to the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 that declared school segregation based on race unconstitutional.
The church began ordaining women in the mid-twentieth century and ordained its first woman bishop, Vashti Murphy McKenzie, in 2000.
In 2024, the AME Church voted to continue to disallow same-sex marriage. However, unlike many other Christian organizations, it did not bar LGBTQ individuals from serving as members, pastors, or church officers. That same year, the Church voted to continue its "sexual ethics discernment committee" through 2028. This committee sought to study Scriptures related to sexual orientation and gender identity to see how they should be applied to the AME Church's doctrine.
Organization
Bishops govern the AME church. These bishops are elected at the AME general conference, which is held every four years. Between general conference meetings, the church governance is overseen by the Council of Bishops.
Bishops serve until the general conference closest to their seventy-fifth birthday, at which time they must retire. The bishops appoint presiding elders, who serve as supervisors for the pastors that lead the churches. Presiding elders meet regularly with those they supervise at district, quarterly, and annual conferences.
With final approval from bishops, the presiding elders appoint pastors to yearly terms. Pastors have full charge of the church to which they are assigned and participate in all church functions and organizations.
Bibliography
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