Historical Overview
The African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1816 by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, from several Black Methodist congregations in the mid-Atlantic area that wanted independence from white Methodists. The AME Church grew out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and others had established in Philadelphia in 1787.
Although Allen and Jones were both accepted as preachers in the Methodist Church, they were limited to Black congregations, while Black parishioners were made to sit in a separate gallery built in the church. As a result, Allen left St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, where he had served as a deacon, and was consecrated the first bishop in the new denomination in 1816 by a conference of five churches from Philadelphia to Baltimore. The denomination then expanded west and south, particularly after the Civil War. By 1906, the AME Church had a membership of about 500,000, making it the largest major African-American Methodist denomination. The AME Church currently has a global membership nearing 2.5 million, and it remains one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world.
What AME stands for:
African: The AME Church was created and organized by people of African descent (most descended from enslaved Africans) as a response to being officially discriminated against by white congregants in the Methodist church. The church was not founded in Africa, nor is it exclusively for people of African descent. It is open and welcoming to people of all ethnic groups, origins, nationalities, and colors.
Methodist: The church’s roots are in the Methodist church, doctrine and order of worship. The basic foundations of the beliefs of the church can be summarized in the Apostles’ Creed and The Twenty Five Articles of Religion, held in common with other Methodist Episcopal congregations.
Episcopal: The AME Church operates under an episcopal form of church government. The denomination leaders are bishops of the church.
The AME Church Motto: “God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family.”
A Connectional Organization
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has membership in twenty Episcopal Districts in thirty-nine countries on five continents. The work of the Church is administered by twenty-one active bishops, and nine General Officers who manage the departments of the Church.
The First Episcopal District is based in Philadelphia, and consists of nearly 400 local church congregations who faithfully provide ministry to people of all ages, social backgrounds and cultures. The First District is divided between seven regional Conferences including the Philadelphia Conference
The Philadelphia Conference, in turn, is comprised of four districts. Our church belongs to the Harrisburg District, along with 24 other AME churches.