The Mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister
to the spiritual, intellectual, physical, and 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
A.M.E. Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and
serve the needy through a continuing program of:
(1) preaching the gospel,
(2) feeding the hungry,
(3) clothing the naked,
(4) housing the homeless,
(5) cheering the fallen,
(6) providing jobs for the jobless,
(7) administering to the need of those in prisons, hospitals,
nursing homes, caring for the sick, the shut-in, the mentally and
socially disturbed, and
(8) encouraging thrift and economic advancement.
Good Reasons For Tithing
Tithing is a moral and spiritual obligation of the Christian for the following reasons.
1. Law commands it. The principle of tithing was known and practiced by ancient people. It was included in the Law of Moses and accepted by the prophets as one of the requirements of faith and duty (see Leviticus 27.:30; Malachi 3:8).
2. Stewardship includes it. Faithful stewardship is required of the Christian. The stewardship of material possession is expressed by the tithe. Jesus commended the tithe, and the apostle Paul approved the principle in his emphasis on regular and proportionate giving (see Matthew 23:23, 1 Corinthians 16:2).
3. Needs demand it. There is much physical and spiritual hunger in the world today. Millions of people are starving. Even more am without Christ and without hope. Are these conditions of no concern to us? World conditions should call forth our tithes and offerings (see Romans 1:14-15, 2 Corinthians 8: 14).
4. Love constrains it. Tithing is not only an acknowledgment of debt; it is an expression of love and gratitude. The Christian has received much from God; therefore, he should give much back to him. It is a simple and easy matter to tithe when one recognizes God's love and mercy and gives himself and his money to the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 8. 5, Luke 7.47).
5. Results justify it. The results of tithing are both material and spiritual. Tithing will provide adequately for all phases of the Lord's work: worship, missions, Christian education, and benevolence. Better still, it will deepen and enrich the spiritual life of the Christian and inspire faith, hope, and love in the hearts of
others (see Luke 16:11; Malachi 3:10).
Food for Thought
5 of the Articles of Religion:
1. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. There is but one living and true God, everlasting,
without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker and Preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this God-head, there are three persons, of one substance, power and eternity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
2. Of the Word, or Son of God, who was made very man. The Son, who is the Word. If the father, the very eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin's; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the God-headed and manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly suffered, was crucified dead, and buried to reconcile his Father to us, and to be sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men.
3. Of the Resurrection of Christ. Christ did truly rise again from the dead , and took again his body with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day.
4. Of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the father and the Son, very and eternal God.
5. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation. The Holy Scripture
containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture, we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the church.