W. J. Gaines (Wesley John), 1840-1912
African Methodism in the South; or, Twenty-Five Years of Freedom
Atlanta: Franklin Publishing House, 1890.
African Methodism in the South deals mainly with the history of the African Methodist Episcopal (A. M. E.) Church in Georgia. The author, Rev. Wesley Gaines, was the sixteenth Bishop of the A.M.E. Church. He had been present at every session since the first held in Georgia in 1866, and therefore brings primary knowledge to the text. He and was a major figure in promoting the growth and development of the A. M. E. Church.
Gaines is concerned with the church in the twenty-five years following Emancipation. The work gives a synopsis of the birth of the A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia in 1787 and traces its spread through the South. Church reports, details of Conferences and meetings, discussions on ordination, financial information, church statistics, details of Sunday Schools, and discussions on the future of A.M.E. children present a rounded view of the Church's growth and development. Gaines emphasizes the importance of missionary work in Africa as well as the education of its young people as part of the church's future and destiny. Readers interested in A.M.E. history, history of missions, and southern history will find African Methodism in the South a useful resource.
Nora Rubel
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