Our Ministries

Board of Stewards Ministry

The members of the Board of Stewards are the chief officers of the local church. They promote the overall program of the church and encourage the membership to support it. The Stewards receive all funds collected for the church and provide for the salary and comforts of the pastor. They address the needs of those suffering emergencies by providing food, clothing, and other assistance. The Stewards also assist in providing the elements for the “Lord’s Supper,” and seek to increase the membership through outreach, church activities, and evangelistic programs.

Stewards are appointed, annually, by the pastor and thereby become the pastor’s cabinet. To spread the responsibility of the Stewards, Board and Auxiliary leaders of each ministry are established. They are Church Growth & Development, Christian Education, Outreach Ministry, Class Leaders, Member & Evangelism, Stewardship & Finance, Music, Care & Visitation, and Program & Planning.

Christian Education Ministry

The Department of Christian Education is responsible for developing a comprehensive and unified program of Christian Education which leads to a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, the Christian Religion, the Doctrine/Discipline, and the Christian Church, and implementing these values in our daily lives. Within this department resides the charge to develop and implement programs designed to establish a church learning environment that stimulates and enhances knowledge of, interpretation of, and the living and doing of the Word of God; therefore, promoting Christian growth, development, and service.

Sons of Allen Ministry

This is a ministry of men (senior adults, adults, and young adults) bonding and working together to build up God’s Kingdom. The purpose of the Sons of Allen is to help our fellow brethren recognize his responsibilities to God, his family, his
church, and community. Leading with a servant-leader’s heart filled with love and endured with compassion, a Son of Allen is always concerned with the needs and feelings of his fellow brothers, living by the rule of one for all and all for one.

The Sons of Allen’s characters are marked by integrity and loyalty, no matter how other men conduct themselves. We live a life where our word is our bond. We stand-up together on the Word of God because Jesus Christ is the way, the truth,
and the light.

Class Leaders Ministry

Class Leaders are important officers of the local church. Acting as an assistant to the pastor, class leaders visit their class members, provide information for them; fellowship with them concerning their faith; and inquire about their health and welfare. Reports of the Class Leaders’ findings are provided regularly for the pastor through regular meetings of the Class Leaders. In a time of need, sickness or bereavement in a class member’s life, their Class Leader is among the first to
offer assistance and condolences.

Young People & Children Division (YPD) Ministry

The Young People and Children’s Division (YPD) Ministry is a youth organization, established in October 1915, under the auspices to the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS) of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. You will find African Methodists Episcopal Churches in the United States, Caribbean, South America, England, India, and Africa. YPD units may be found in most local churches throughout the Connection. The YPD membership in the 11th Episcopal
District is estimated at over 750,000 young men and women between the ages of 2-26.

Purpose

To provide meaningful youth training programs in all areas of church life which will provide for full participation in the total mission of the church.
 To provide specific training in evangelism, Christian social relations, and education programs designed to increase knowledge of the AME Church history and the Scriptures.
To provide opportunities for leadership experience.

Goals

To organize and develop a Young People’s and Children’s Division wherever there is a Senior Society.
To interest Christian Youth in discovering opportunities for witnessing in today’s world and put their Christian convictions into action in all their daily relationships.
To develop leadership committed to Jesus Christ and the Church.
To enable youth to know the historical background of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Connectional Women’s Missionary Society.
To do our best in helping make God’s Kingdom come on earth, as it is in Heaven.

Structure

 The Young People’s and Children’s Division of the Women’s Missionary Society of the AME Church shall be composed of the Connectional, Episcopal District, Conference Branch, the Area, and the Local Church.

Divisions

 The Mother Sunbeams, age level preschool to primary (2 to 6 years).
The Allen Stars, age level primary to six grade (7 to 12 years).
The Young People’s Auxiliary (YPA), age level 13 to 17 years.
 The Adult Division, age level, 18 to 26 years. Young adults are encouraged to transfer to the Senior organizations of the Church (i.e., Missionary Society, Lay, Young Adult Network, Sons of Allen, etc.).

The YPD is a division of the WMS. The WMS works very closely with the YPD on projects throughout the year. These projects consist of works of mission coupled with outreach projects of the YPD that stretch from our local church to the entire Trending Tremendous Tampa District (TTTD), and the West Coast
Conference (WCC).

YPD/Missionary Benediction
In the name of the triune God
May the spirit of Christian mission
Enter every heart
This we ask in Jesus’ name
Amen.

Board of Trustees Ministry

The Trustees are responsible for the temporal side or physical plant of the Church. All properties and facilities are to be registered with the Trustees. Trustees are responsible for taking care of all the property of the church. They are nominatedby the pastor and elected, annually, by the Church Conference.

Stewardess Board Ministry

Stewardesses assist the Pastor and the Steward Board in the discharge of their duties for Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, Love Feast, Weddings, Funerals, Worship Service, and any special services. Additionally, they have the responsibility of assisting the clergy in delivering communion to those who are sick and shut in. Caring for God’s House, keeping it beautiful and clean, is not only a duty, but also a privilege. Communion linens are laundered, pressed and dressed around the alter and within the pulpit by Stewardesses. Alterware such as candles and communion vessels are also cleaned, polished, and stored away. This work is an opportunity for many expressions of loving service. The work of the Board is a sacred trust and calls for women who are consecrated to the task, and who are willing to place their love for Christ above any personal feelings. Essentially, it calls for women who are willing to work in the background, without recognition or praise from the congregation or the Pastor.

Rubye` Sanchez Women’s Missionary Society Ministry

The members of the Rubye` Sanchez Women’s Missionary Society are dedicated women with a true desire to help people to grow in the knowledge and experience of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, through continual Christian training, as well
as individual and collective mission work; thereby, challenging them to respond to God’s redemptive plan in the world. Likewise, they are positive advocates for human rights and moral values.

Lay Organization Ministry

The purpose of the Lay Organization Ministry is to organize and train the lay members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC), so that each member may utilize to the maximum the abilities and skills granted by God, in assisting with the improvement and extension of God’s Kingdom, and creating happiness, peace, and harmony among its members.

To accomplish this purpose, the following objectives are adopted:

To instill in the membership of the church a love for, and an appreciation of the history, traditions, and principles of African Methodism.
To keep alive the sacred memory of Richard Allen, our illustrious Founder.
To encourage, stimulate, and educate the laity of the church in the history development, and organic laws of African Methodism.
To provide for the orderly and systematic training of lay persons, especially officers, in order that they might more effectively perform their assignments.
To promote activities which will result in harmonious fellowship, for lay persons throughout the Conference and the Connection.
To help in the support of the African Methodist Episcopal Educational Institutions.
To foster a systematic and regular study of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Parliamentary Procedures, to the end that greater knowledge and information maybe disseminated among the laity and with the further purpose of encouraging lay members to participate more largely in the general functioning and supervision of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC).

Health Ministry

The Health Ministry is led by the vision and a core value of the African Methodist Episcopal Church that health care is a right not a privilege. Therefore, it is our mission to ensure that every available health care resource and service be provided to the congregations we serve. It is further our goal to dramatically improve the health and wellbeing of the congregations in the communities we serve.

Purpose

Help the denomination understand health as an integral part of the faith of the Christian church.
Promote the health concerns of its members.
Advocate access to health care as a right and not a privilege.
Challenge and work to reform the unjust structure of the health delivery system.
Seek to make our local church and denomination a healing faith community.
Collaborate with community organizations to improve the
health care system.
Serve as a resource for the congregation or faith community wishing to provide a health ministry.
Serve as a community agency resource and to facilitate access to other support services for people.
Promote a health and wellness model based on the integration of the body, mind, and spirit.
Enhance individual responsibility for personal health, through selfcare abilities, change in lifestyle, and informed health care decision making.

Bible Discovery Hour ( BDH) Ministry

The Bible Discovery Hour (BDH) Ministry is designed to empower spiritual growth by applying faith and sound biblical principles to a variety of real-life scenarios. The Sunday school program ministers to all ages. From Pre-school to Adults.

Mission

The mission of the Bible Discovery Hour (BDH) in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) shall be to teach, train and nurture adults, young adults, college students, teenagers, and children in God's Word, preparing then for Christian service by emphasizing Christian principles. Therefore, the Church shall employ methodologies for effective Christian growth and maximum participation inclusive of creative teaching pedagogies, state-of-the-art learning technologies, and multimedia products, all of which may also assist with the recruitment of church officers.

Creed:

I believe my Bible Discovery Hour School must grow and grow, and that I must make it a top priority to make it so. Every member a Christian, every Christian a worker, every worker trained so that a worker need not be ashamed. This we ask in Jesus' name.

Contact

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