Adams Chapel AME Church

Located along the Garrison Boulevard corridor in northwest Baltimore, Adams Chapel AME Church is truly the "family of God where love abounds!" Our goal is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Let us know how we can help you in your Christian journey.

OUR HISTORY

Adams Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was borne out of the desire of the Baltimore Annual Conference, presided over by Bishop John Hurst Adams, to expand the A.M.E. Church in the Conference boundaries. Adams Chapel was established as a mission church on Palm Sunday, April 4, 1982 and it was the first new A.M.E. church in Baltimore in 32 years.

Adams Chapel A.M.E. Church was also the vision of the young Rev. Michael O. Thomas, a Deacon at Bethel A.M.E. in Baltimore, to establish a mission in the Liberty Heights community. Along with Rev. Michael Thomas and his wife, Rev. Debyii Thomas, came one hundred charter members. The members were former parishioners of Bethel A.M.E. in Baltimore, then under the Pastorship of Rev. Dr. John R. Bryant, who can be credited for spearheading this major effort of the Church.

Because Rev. Thomas would not be ordained an Itinerant Elder until the next Annual Conference, the first communions were consecrated and served to the new congregation by Rev. Mary Henry Whitehead of Bethel A.M.E. Church, Rev. Edward C. Wilson, Presiding Elder of the Eastern District, and Bishop Harrison James Bryant.Adams Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was borne out of the desire of the Baltimore Annual Conference, presided over by Bishop John Hurst Adams, to expand the A.M.E. Church in the Conference boundaries. Adams Chapel was established as a mission church on Palm Sunday, April 4, 1982 and it was the first new A.M.E. church in Baltimore in 32 years.

Adams Chapel A.M.E. Church was also the vision of the young Rev. Michael O. Thomas, a Deacon at Bethel A.M.E. in Baltimore, to establish a mission in the Liberty Heights community. Along with Rev. Michael Thomas and his wife, Rev. Debyii Thomas, came one hundred charter members. The members were former parishioners of Bethel A.M.E. in Baltimore, then under the Pastorship of Rev. Dr. John R. Bryant, who can be credited for spearheading this major effort of the Church.

Because Rev. Thomas would not be ordained an Itinerant Elder until the next Annual Conference, the first communions were consecrated and served to the new congregation by Rev. Mary Henry Whitehead of Bethel A.M.E. Church, Rev. Edward C. Wilson, Presiding Elder of the Eastern District, and Bishop Harrison James Bryant.

In the tradition of the itinerancy of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Adams Chapel has been blessed with the leadership of several dynamic pastors. In addition to Rev. Thomas, former pastors include Rev. Robert M. Pritchett, Jr., Rev. J.R. Williams (deceased) and Rev. Raymond E. Banks, Sr. In April of 1995, Adams Chapel A.M.E. Church reached another milestone when Bishop Frederick C. James appointed our first female pastor, Rev. Marie Phillips Braxton.

In April 1998, Bishop Vinton Anderson appointed our sixth pastor, Rev. Johnie Branch. During his pastorate, we were blessed with undergoing a 2nd renovation of the sanctuary and retiring our mortgage in December 2005. In April 2007 Adams Chapel celebrated 25 years of kingdom building and embarked upon the next quarter of a century of Christian witness and service. On Palm Sunday 2011, Adams Chapel celebrated its 29th anniversary and welcomed our seventh pastor, Rev. David Young and his wife, Sis. Berneda Young. And on Sunday, April 27th, we welcomed our 8th Pastor, Rev. Rosalyn Crosby and family.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!

THE HISTORICAL PREAMBLE

The African Methodist Episcopal Church, whose founders affirmed their humanity in the face of slavery and racism, stands in defense of disadvantaged and oppressed peoples in the 2 1st century. From the origins in the Free African Society through the involvement of the AME clergy and lay in the Civil War of the 1860's and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's, the AMEC has preached salvation from sin and deliverance from bondage. The mission expanded to others within the African Diasporas in the Americas, Africa, Caribbean, and Europe. Whether in schools, seminaries, hospitals or social service centers, the AME Church has lived the gospel outside its sanctuaries. This mandate still informs its ministry, vision and mission in the Church's third century of existence.

THE HISTORY OF THE AME CHURCH

The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) is a Christ-centered, Bible-based, Justice-seeking, and Holy Spirit led global faith-community, committed to bringing all persons into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church was started in 1787, in Philadelphia PA, when a group of people of African descent was pulled from their knees while praying in St. George Methodist Episcopal Church. The group, led by 27 year-old Richard Allen, an ex-slave, politely walked out, thus starting a movement that resulted in the creation of America's first formally organized black church.

In 1816, Richard Allen called together sixteen representatives from Bethel African Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and African Churches in Baltimore. Maryland; Wilmington, Delaware; Attleboro, Pennsylvania, and Salem, New Jersey, to meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A church organization or "connection" was organized as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Richard Allen was the Founder and first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Allen chose Methodism as our doctrine because he felt no other denomination could suit the capacity of his people as well. Methodism provided the plain and simple gospel and an orderly system of rules and regulations.

OUR NAME

African: The term "African" refers to people of African descent. Richard Allen also used the term "people of color." He advocated human dignity and religious liberty for people of African descent in America.

Methodist: Richard Allen accepted the doctrines and polity of the Methodist Church as appropriate for his people. The term "Methodist" was used as a word of derision and scorn for John Wesley and his followers, because of their systematic method and habits of religious duty.

Episcopal: The term "Episcopal" refers to "involving church government by bishops" and the highest office in the A.M.E. Church is the Bishop. The term "Bishop" means "over-seer". The Bishop is the one who "oversees" or "overlooks" the work of the Church.