Piney Grove A.M.E. Zion Church

Mission Statement

Having been led, as we believe by the spirit of God, to receive The Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and on the profession of that faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, we do now in the presence of God, most solemnly and joyfully make this Mission Statement:

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; To promote its prosperity and spirituality; To sustain its worship, sacraments, disciplines, and doctrine, to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of its ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor and the spreading of the gospel through all nations.

We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; To religiously educate our children; To seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; To walk circumspectly in the world; To be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements and exemplary in our behavior; To avoid all tattling, backbiting and excessive anger; Be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; To remember each other in prayer; To aid each other in sickness and distress; To cultivate Christian sympathy in feelings and courtesy in speech; To be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation; And mindful of the rules of our Saviour, to secure it without delay.

And now unto Him, who has brought us again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, be power and glory forever, AMEN.

Organizational Overview

Piney Grove A. M. E. Zion Church was organized in 1865, and is a member of the Beaufort, North Carolina, A. M. E. Zion District.

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was established in 1796 in New York City by James Varick, Abraham Thompson, William Miller and others. The church was an out-growth of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was necessitated because of discrimination and denial of religious liberty.

The founders of the church determined that this denomination would dedicate itself to the liberation of the human spirit. The early society was known as the "Freedom Church." Spiritual, social, and economic emancipation were the hallmarks of their faith. It boasts as some of its members, James Varick, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Soujourner Truth, to name a few.

The organization now encompasses 3,000 churches and it has an active membership of 1.5 million. The church has founded and contributed to the support of a number of institutions of higher learning - Livingstone College {with its affiliate, Hood Theological Seminary}; Lomax Hannon Junior College in Alabama; Clinton Junior College in South Carolina; Dinwiddie Institute in Virginia; and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Junior College in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa - and maintains missions here and abroad.

The Star of Zion, the A. M. E. Zion Church newspaper, is published biweekly.

The A. M. E. Zion Church also owns and operates the Harriet Tubman Home, located in Auburn, New York.