This Week in Christian History: Pentecostal Revival, Black Church Founding, NRB

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, April 08, 2018

African Methodist Episcopal Church Founded - April 9, 1816

Richard Allen (1760-1831), founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. | (Photo: Public Domain)

This week marks the anniversary of the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, created at a church meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Formed in response to the mistreatment of African-Americans in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the AME Church's first bishop was Richard Allen.

"Confined to the Northern states before the American Civil War, the church spread rapidly in the South after the war. It supports an active home-missions program and has sent missionaries to Africa and the West Indies," noted the African American Registry.

AME remains in existence in the present day, with approximately 2.5 million members spread among thirty-nine nations and five continents.