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 time, other "African" churches were started and in 1816, these churches came together to form the A.M.E. Church...with Richard Allen as its first Bishop. These facts say to us that the AME Church was the result of racial discrimination rather than theological or doctrinal concerns.

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.

The Africans who started the AME Church were poor, and most could not read. Yet, under the leadership of Richard Allen, they purchased an old blacksmith shop and moved it to the corner of Sixth and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia...where they organized Bethel AME Church. (Bethel means "House of God".) Today, Mother Bethel stands as one of Philadelphia's historic shrines. The first pulpit of the AME Church was an anvil...hence the anvil pictured in our Church's logo above.

The AME Church was the answer to a cry for social recognition as human beings and a means through which African people could develop a sense of dignity and self-respect. The church promoted a strong educational philosophy, which emphasized self-help. That spirit of the original Free African Society is still evident today, not only in the educational programs of the local church, but also in those of the eleven colleges operated by the AME Church.

The AME Church has never strayed away from the course charted by Richard Allen. Allen, along with William Paul Quinn, Daniel A. Payne, and Henry M. Turner are known as The Four Horsemen...for their determined work in building the AME Church. Today, we have over a million members throughout the United States, Canada, South America, West Africa, South Africa, and the West Indies.

OUR NAME

African - Our church was organized by people of African descent and heritage.

Methodist - Our church is a member of the family of Methodist Churches. We believe in the plain and simple gospel and an orderly system of rules and regulations.

Episcopal - Episcopal refers to the form of government under which our church operates. In the Episcopal form of government, the Bishop is the chief executive and administrative officer.

Church - We are a community of people who believe in God and who accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Master of our lives.

OUR MOTTO

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