St. Paul A.M.E. Mission Statement
St. Paul's current mission statement reflects the lessons learned in the church's
history. According to their website:
The Mission of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church is to humbly submit
ourselves to God's Word by exemplifying, developing and maintaining strong spiritual character
by loving everyone. We are committed to grow, glow, and go that we might be filled with all
the fullness of God, winning souls by properly utilizing our time, talents and resources,
endeavoring to develop Christian youth through obedience to God.
By adhering to that mission, St. Paul hopes to achieve certain core goals
reminiscent of the AMEC's founders:
- We will be the head and not the tail.
- We will be above and not beneath.
- We will be lenders and not borrowers.
Official logo of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
Worldwide A.M.E. Church
African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) is a Christian denomination organized in
pre-Civil War America by slaves and ex-slaves. Its doctrine is straight Methodist, and its
governing structure is known as Episcopal. Nowadays, its congregations welcome and serve
people of all races and walks of life. But the origin of the church by people of African
descent is retained as its heritage. Their motto is "God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer,
the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family."
History of the A.M.E. Church
A.M.E. founder Richard Allen
In 1787, ex-slave Richard Allen joined other free blacks to establish the Free
African Society in Philadelphia. These people were members of the white-run St. George's
Methodist Episcopal Church. Methodist leaders were trying to rid their churches of racial
injustices, especially slavery. But churchgoers were slow to comply. Amid various
discriminations, lower officials at St. George's were bothered by black members kneeling
to pray in church, and pulled them from their knees.
This was the final straw for Allen's devotion to his church. He collected a
few followers and started a church specifically for Negro Methodists, the African Methodist
Episcopal Church (AMEC). The long name of the organization is vital to understanding its
character: 'African' reminds the world that the church will never forsake the culture of
its roots; 'Methodist' tells other Christians what biblical doctrine is taught at the church;
'Episcopal' keeps the leadership in check with limited terms of office and a hierarchy of
accountability. All A.M.E. churches are interconnected.
In 1794, the first African Methodist Episcopal church was dedicated as Bethel
A.M.E., Pennsylvania, with Allen as pastor. The congregation eagerly sought out other black
members. Prior to the Civil War, the church branched out through Northeast and Midwest
America; hardly any groups managed to take hold in the southern slave states.
During the Civil War and Reconstruction, the AMEC sought out newly freed slaves
to join their church. Union troops helped AMEC missionaries travel and evangelize safely in
the Confederate south. Their trademark sermon titled "I Seek My Brethren" won the hearts of
thousands, making the AMEC's membership skyrocket to 400,000 by 1880. A few years later, the
church grew branches in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. In the 1990s, AMEC
membership passed the two million mark, with 7,000 congregations in more than thirty
countries.
While the A.M.E. doctrine is Methodist, the church's more prolific members have
propagated a distinctive emphasis on the issue of race in Christianity. Their teachings
address such topics as the presence of blacks in the formation of Christianity, racially
skewed biblical translations, and the African American obligation to remember their heritage
and reach out to those oppressed by racism, sexism, and economic disadvantage.
Further Reading
Larry Eugene Rivers' Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord, 2001.
Last modified 10-29-08. |