THE A.M.E. NAME:

The word African means that the church was organized by people of African descent and heritage. It does not mean that the church was founded in Africa, or that it was for persons of African descent only. The church’s roots are of the family of Methodist churches. Methodism provides an orderly system of rules and regulations and places emphasis on a plain and simple gospel. Episcopal refers to the form of government under which the church operates. The chief executive and administrative officers of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination are the Bishops of the church.

 

THE MISSION:

The Mission of the A.M.E. Church is to minister to the social, spiritual, and physical development of all people.

 

THE VISION:

At every level of the Connection and in every local church, the A.M.E. Church shall engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the A.M.E. Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and to serve the needy. It is also the duty of the Church to continue to encourage all members to become involved in all aspects of church training.

 

THE PURPOSES:

The ultimate purposes are:

1. make available God’s biblical principles,

2. spread Christ’s liberating gospel, and

3. provide continuing programs which will enhance the entire social development of all people.

 

THE OBJECTIVE:

In order to meet the needs of every level of the Connection and in every local church, the AME Church shall implement strategies to train all members in (1) Christian discipleship, (2) Christian leadership, (3) current teaching methods and materials, (4) the history and significance of the AME Church, (5) God’s biblical principles, and (6) social development to which all should be applied to daily living.

 

OUR BELIEFS:

Also known as the A.M.E. Church for short, the denomination is Methodist in terms of its basic doctrine and order of worship. It was born, through adversity, of the Methodist church and to this day does not differ in any major way from what all Methodists believe. The split from the main branch of the Methodist Church was not a result of doctrinal differences but rather the result of a time period that was marked by man’s intolerance of his fellow man, based on the color of his skin. It was a time of slavery, oppression and the dehumanization of people of African descent and many of these un-Christian practices were brought into the church, forcing Richard Allen and a group of fellow worshippers of color to form a splinter denomination of the Methodist Church. To find the basic foundations of the beliefs of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, you need to look no further than The Apostles’ Creed and The Twenty Five Articles of Religion.