The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, familiarly known as the CME Church, was organized December 16, 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee by 41 former slave members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Composed primarily of African Americans, the CME Church is a branch of Wesleyan Methodism founded and organized by John Wesley in England in 1844 and established in America as the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784. The CME Church has more than 1.2 million members across the United States, and has missions and sister churches in Haiti, Jamaica and fourteen African nations.
Our Mission
The mission of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is to be disciples of Jesus the Christ by serving individuals, communities and the world as the representative, loving presence of God and as witnesses to God’s salvation and grace.
Our Vision
The vision of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is to be a transforming church for Jesus the Christ within a changing world.
Church Organization and Structure
The CME Church has an organizational structure that consist of 3 bodies that operate in communion with each other to oversee the operations of the church. Those bodies are the Executive Branch which is represented by the College Of Bishops, The Legislative Branch which is represented by the General Conference Delegates and the Judicial Branch which is represented by the Judicial Council. The Senior Bishop of the CME Church is the Chief Executive Officer of the denomination.
The Leadership of the CME Church
The General Conference meets once every four years. The General Conference has full powers to make rules and regulations for the Church subject to the limitations of the restrictive rules. The General Conference is comprised of delegates elected by the Annual Conferences, one half of whom are ministers and one half lay members.
The General Connectional Board meets once a year in May, except during the year the General Conference is held. It governs the general affairs of the Church with such powers as may be fixed and determined by the General Conference.
There is an Episcopacy. The Bishops of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church are elected by the General Conference and consecrated in the historic manner of Episcopal Methodism. There is a College of Bishops comprised of all the Bishops of the Church. The College of Bishops plan for the general oversight and promotion of the entire church. A Bishop presides over an Annual Conference.
The Judicial Council of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is like a third branch of government in which bishops represent the executive branch, the General Conference represents the legislative branch and the Judicial Council represents the judicial branch.
The nine member Council, which is elected by the General Conference, guarantees “due process” for members and clergy of the Church and is the final interpreter of The Book of Discipline. Members, lay or clergy, may petition the Council for declaratory judgment (interpretation) for paragraphs of The Discipline.
The council was voted into existence by the 1946 General Conference and became operative in 1950. Prior to 1946, the bishops were the final interpreters of The Book of Discipline.
Organizational Terms & Definitions
A local church is a congregation of faithful believers under the lordship of Jesus the Christ. It is the redemptive fellowship in which God’s Word is preached by those whom God has called, and where the Sacraments are duly administered, according to Christ’s own appointment.
The Church exists under the authority and discipline of the Holy Spirit for the maintenance of Christian worship, fellowship and discipline, the nurture and building up in the faith of believers, the conversion of sinners and the world, and for witnessing so that societal structures may become just in order that the personhood of all peoples may be more fully realized according to the image of God in human beings. The church exists in and for the world. At the local church level believers move from formal worship of God into the world where worship is witnessing through service to human beings.
The local church is a connectional society of persons who have professed faith in Jesus the Christ as Savior and Lord, have been baptized, have assumed vows of membership in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, pledging to support the church by their prayers, presence, gifts, and service. It is an assembly of believers who meet for worship in response to the Word of God and go out into the world to witness to God and His Christ from the unit where there is primary encounter with the world.
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) cherishes its place in the universal Church which is the body of Christ and is devoted to acceptance of the Apostolic faith. Therefore, all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, or economic condition shall be eligible to attend its worship services, to participate in its programs, and when they take the appropriate vows to be admitted into its membership in any local church in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Connection.
All persons seeking to be saved from their sins and sincerely desiring to be Christian in faith and practice are proper candidates for membership in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
A member in good standing of any local Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a member of the total CME Connection.
FACTS about the CME Church
Historical Facts
- The Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church was founded in December 16, 1870 by 41 ex-slaves in Jackson, Tennessee.
- The CME Church celebrates its 153rd Founders' Day on December 16, 2023.
- The CME Church is a historical African-American Christian denomination. The membership base of the CME Church is becoming increasingly multi-cultural and multi-national which truly reflects upon the Great Commission to preach the gospel to all nations and all people.
- The CME Church is one of three African-American Methodist denominations in the United States – African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. The CME Church participated in the Great Gathering of the three African Methodist Episcopal denominations in March 2010.
- The first Bishop of the CME Church was Bishop William Miles.
- At the historical 37th General Conference, five bishops were elected including the first female bishop, Teresa E. Snorton, and the indigenous bishop for Africa, Godwin T. Umoette.
- At the historical 40th General Conference, five bishops were elected including the second female bishop, Denise Anders-Modest, and the second indigenous bishop for Africa, Kwame Lawson Adjei.
- The CME Church celebrated its 153rd anniversary on December 16, 2023.
Organizational Structure
- The CME Church has more than 1.2 million members across the United States, and has missions and sister churches in Haiti, Jamaica and fourteen African nations.
- There are eleven Episcopal Districts.
- There are four CME related colleges, Lane College (Jackson, TN), Miles College (Birmingham, AL), Paine College (Augusta, GA) and Texas College (Tyler, TX). There is additionally a CME sponsored seminary, Phillips School of Theology, which is an affiliate member of the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA).
- The CME Church is governed by three branches; Executive (Episcopacy), Legislative (General Conference), and Judiciary (Judicial Council).
- The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is under the leadership of Senior Bishop Lawrence Reddick and the College of Bishops.
- The headquarters of the CME Church is located in Memphis, TN.
The CME Church Logo
The official logo or symbol of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church was originally authorized by Bishop B. Julian Smith for the Centennial General Conference held in Memphis, 1970. It was officially adopted by the General Conference in 1974 as the denomination’s connectional marker.
Designed by Will E. Chambers, the logo shows the place of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the rapidly changing urbanized society and its relation to God’s people.
The logo is composed of:
- The World Globe which represents the vineyard of God
- The Skyline which stands for the Church's concern for human and urban problems and people's alienation from God and one another.
- The Weather Vane which symbolizes the need of the Church to be flexible in terms of meeting the contemporary needs of people
- The Cross which denotes, by its vertical bar, the need for a proper relationship between people and God, and by its horizontal bar, the need for proper relationships between people. The total Cross is a sign of the final-assured victory through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Logo Variations
Click the Logo image to download. For authorized use only.
For additional information about the CME Church, its history and organizational departments, please contact:
