Church History

Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church

Our Trinitarian Journey, from 1875 to Present

Trinity A.M.E. Church began as a prayer and praise group at the home of Mrs. Axie Bryant on Gammon Avenue in South Atlanta, Georgia. For several years Mrs. Bryant served as the only Stewardess. The exact date of the formal organization of Trinity A.M.E. Church is unknown. However, the observed year of establishment is 1875.

 In the early years, many great ministers were appointed to pastor Trinity A.M.E. Church. Each pastor provided dynamic leadership and contributed to the making of a great Trinity.

In October of 1967, the Rt. Rev. Preston Williams became the 27th pastor of Trinity A.M.E. Church. Exhibiting dynamic leadership with a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to the mission of the church, Rev. Williams lead the congregation to purchase our present edifice and opened the Trinity A.M.E. Day Care and Early Learning Center. In 2000 he was the second former pastor of Trinity to be elected a bishop in our Zion.   

Rev. S. W. Wicker became Trinity’s 28th pastor, and under his leadership Trinity’s membership and the number of church organizations grew. During Rev. Wicker’s tenure Trinity’s Day Care Center was greatly improved and became fully certified.

Dr. A. J. Richardson became Trinity’s 29th pastor. During his tenure three choirs and two usher boards were organized, additional property was acquired, and over three hundred new members joined the church. In 1996, he was the first former pastor who was elected a bishop in our Zion. 

In 1979, Trinity was blessed by the spectacular leadership of Rev. G. S. Hardeman, who was the son of a former pastor of Trinity A.M.E. Church. Rev. Hardeman redesigned the Sunday Nursery, appointed a Junior Pastor, organized a Junior Church Choir named “The Ellis Ensemble,” and established a Board of Directors for Trinity’s Day Care Center. Fire doors and two furnaces were installed in the Center, new carpeting and a Communion Room were installed in the sanctuary, and graveled parking spaces were made available for worshipers.

In June of 1982, Rev. Morrie L. Hood was appointed to pastor Trinity A.M.E. Church. Under Rev. Hood’s leadership, the Young Adult Choir and the Young People’s Department were reorganized, and numerous church renovations and augmentations were accomplished.

Rev. T. Leander Mency became Trinity’s 35th pastor in July of 1983, where he served until his demise in March of 1988. Under Rev. Mency’s leadership, new choir robes for the Adult, Young Adult, and Children’s Choirs were purchased, the first Commodore computer was purchased for Trinity’s Day Care Center, the church mortgage of seventeen years was liquidated, more than fifty new members joined the church, the upstairs education rooms were remodeled, and the parking area was completed.

 Rev. Dr. Jeffery B. Cooper was the 36th of Trinity A.M.E. Church. Dr. Cooper was appointed to Trinity in June of 1988 and served Trinity’s congregation and the Southwest Atlanta, Georgia community for 24 years. Under Dr. Cooper’s visionary leadership, Trinity A.M.E. Church’s membership increased, the entire church edifice was completely renovated and remodeled, a pre-kindergarten program was developed and instituted, and an educational annex was erected in 2000. In 2024, he was the third former pastor who was elected a bishop in our Zion. 

The 37th pastor of Trinity, Rev. Vandy Carl Simmons, was assigned to Trinity in October of 2012. During his tenure, the vestibule and Early Learning Center classrooms were carpeted, the church parking lot was resurfaced, broken windows were replaced, and dangerous trees were removed from the property.  IRS non-profit status was acquired for the Early Learning Center.  A house owned by Trinity was converted to a revenue generated home for low-income families.  Trinity’s outreach ministry was greatly improved with the introduction of the “Trinity Beyond the Walls” program. Trinity became more visibly involved with the activities of the Area, Conference Branch, Episcopal and Connectional levels of the A.M.E. Church.  The Sons of Allen was reorganized and became affiliated with the Episcopal level of the Sons of Allen.  Trinity’s YPDers attended Episcopal and Connectional meetings.

In October 2016, the 38th and first female Pastor to be assigned to Trinity was Rev. Conitras M. Houston. Under Pastor C’s, as she is affectionately called, tenure over 20 new members established a relationship with God and Trinity in her first six months. The average weekly attendance in Sunday Service, as well as Wednesday afternoon and evening Bible Study increased significantly. Improvements to the Church’s edifice included: the addition of television monitors in the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall, addition and improvements of the main audio system within the Sanctuary, installation and implementing of financial giving kiosk and other electronic methods of giving, recreating new church logo as well as revised church mission statement. Within the Trinity AME Early Learning Center, more staff training has been emphasized as well as improvements to parent communication methods and much more.

In November of 2021, Bishop Reginald T. Jackson appointed the Reverend Shawn D. Drains as the 39th Pastor of Trinity A.M.E. Church. Though his time was short, we appreciate the ministry of Reverend Shawn D. Drains as senior pastor.

As of June 2023, our senior pastor is the dynamic and energetic Rev. Dr. Charles R. Ramsey Jr. who has ignited new passion in our members both young and seasoned while providing innovative and dedicated leadership as we seek to restore our relationship with Christ, rebuild our ministries, and revive our community.

African Methodist Episcopal Church

The African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church grew out of the Free African Society which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and others established in Philadelphia in 1787. In 1816 as a Deacon in the Methodist Church, Richard Allen led several black Methodist congregants, that had been feeling unwelcomed by white Methodists, to seek their independence and was consecrated its first bishop by a conference of five churches from Philadelphia to Baltimore. The church sought to help enslaved members to purchase their freedom and has persistently advocated for the civil and human rights of all humankind through social improvement, religious autonomy, and political engagement. The denomination expanded west and south, particularly after the Civil War and by 1906, the AME Church had a membership close to 500,000, making it the largest Methodist denomination of African-Americans. The A.M.E. Church currently has membership in twenty Episcopal Districts, in thirty-nine countries on five continents.

Mission & Vision

Mission – The Mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to the
spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, and environmental needs of all people by
spreading Christ’s liberating gospel through word and deed.

Vision – At every level of the Connection and in every local church, the AME Church shall
engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the AME
Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and to serve the needy.