About Our Church

St Mark was organized in 1892. Following Hurricane Floyd in 1999, relocated from 801 West End St to our current location at 1150 Tarboro Street. In 2022, St Mark celebrated 130 years of ministry to the greater Rocky Mount Community.

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Richard Allen founded African Methodism in 1816 and is our first elected and consecrated Bishop. We are the first independent Protestant denomination and oldest church founded by Black People on American soil.

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The AME has 2.5 MM members, over 3800 pastors, 21 bishops and over 7000 congregations.

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The word African means that the church was organized by people of African descent and heritage. It does not mean that the church was founded in Africa, or that it was for persons of African descent only.

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The church’s roots are of the family of Methodist churches namely the Methodist Episcopal Church. Methodism provides an orderly system of rules and regulations and places emphasis on a plain and simple gospel.

 

Episcopal refers to the form of government under which the church operates. The chief executive and administrative officers of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination are the Bishops of the church.