The African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the mid-Atlantic area.  Allen was consecrated its first bishop in 1816.

The Mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to the spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, and environmental needs of all people by spreading Christ's liberating gospel through word and deed. At every level of the Connection and in every local church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the AME Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and serve the needy through a continuing program of...

Preaching the gospel, Feeding the hungry, Clothing the naked, Housing the homeless, Cheering the fallen, Providing jobs for the jobless,Administering to the needs of those in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, asylums and mental institutions, senior citizens' homes; Caring for the sick, the shut-in, the mentally and socially disturbed, and Encouraging thrift and economic advancement and bringing people back into church