History

The African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a United States Methodist Church, not affiliated with the United Methodist Church governmentally, that was formally organized in 1816. It developed from a congregation formed by a group of Philadelphia-area slaves and former slaves who withdrew in 1787 from St. Georges's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia because of discrimination . They built Bethel African Methodist Church in Philadelphia, now fondly known as Mother Bethel. In 1799, Richard Allen was ordained minister of the church by Bishop Francis Asbury of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1816, Ausbery consecrated Allen bishop of the newly organized African Methodist Episcopal Church. Confined to the Northern states before the Civil War, the church spread rapidly in the South after the war. The Church is Methodist in doctrine and church government, and it holds a general conference every four years. It has about 1,200,000 members.

Vision Statement

Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church will seek to meet the needs, both spiritually and physically, of families and individuals in the community, by becoming an evangelistic, total tithing, debt-free, mission oriented congregation.

Mission

The Mission of the Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to the needs of the total person by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in the word and deed through worship, teaching, evangelism, mission, fellowship and discipleship; in ways that nurture our commitment for faith as we grow in grace and walk in love for one another to the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.