Our Mission

 The mission of St. Mark A.M.E. Church is to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to develop dedicated disciples in a loving environment; through relevant, dynamic and transformative worship, preaching and teaching; courageous leadership, faithful stewardship, meaningful fellowship and community development.

About St. Mark A.M.E.

St. Mark A.M.E. church was organized as a Mission on May 22nd, 1922 under the pastorate of Rev. Issac Kirkland. The Mission was organized at the home of Mr. & Mrs. John W. Allen with other founding members in attendance. Those members were, Mr. John Harris, Mr. & Mrs. Loney Harrell and Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Simmons. Mr. John Allen was the brother-in-law of the late Mother Cassie Allen who was the mother of Sis. Dorothy Christmas. The worship services were held at 95 Main Street from May 6th, 1922 until July 22nd, 1923.

In July 1923, Rev. R.T. Parson was appointed pastor. The meetings were conducted at the homes of its members. In 1925, Rev. George E. Sanders was appointed Pastor of the Mission. The church grew in numbers during his tenure. Initial planning for the construction of a church home was implemented under his leadership. Several pastors served during the construction of the new building. They were: Rev. George Duhart (1930 – 1931), Rev. J.E. Evans (1931 – 1932), Rev. Elzae Warwick (1932 – 1937) and Rev. James C. Choice (1945 – 1954).

In 1937 Rev. William Kelly assumed the pastorate. Construction of the church began, and the cornerstone was laid in 1938. In 1945, Rev. James Choice became pastor. Under his pastorate the church was completed and the first service in the new church was held November 18, 1951. There was much praise and rejoicing over this long awaited blessing, a new “church home”.

Rev. Thomas Puryear became the pastor of St. Mark in 1954, serving for one year. The conference then appointed Rev. Samuel L. Matchett to the church. It was during his second year of his service at St. Mark (November 20th, 1957) that he was called from labor to reward. Rev. L. H. Midgett completed the conference year. During that same period of time the mortgage payments were completed and the church was able to burn the mortgage.

In 1958, Rev. Spurgeon Harmon was appointed. He served St. Mark for fourteen (14) years. During his term as pastor, our present church location at 587 Springdale Avenue in East Orange was purchased. The year of purchase was 1968.

In 1972, Rev. John D. Bright was appointed pastor and he pastored the church for two years. In March 1974, Rev. Arthur S. Jones became the pastor of St. Mark. With prayer, dedication, hard work and sacrifice on the part of Rev. Arthur S. Jones and his faithful membership the mortgage was burned on November 14th, 1981. In addition to burning the mortgage, Pastor Jones and his congregation worked and prayed in order to add an annex to the church. The annex, The St. Mark Center, was built to provide spiritual and physical outreach to the East Orange Community. Rev. Arthur Jones pastorate lasted for twenty (20) years.

Rev. John C. Justice assumed the pastorate of St. Mark in 1996. Under his pastorate some of the finishing touches were completed on the new annex. We were encouraged to grow spiritually and give back to God, improving our tithes and offering. Pastor Justice served until March 1997.

In March 1997, Rev. James E. Deas, became pastor of St. Mark. Under Rev. Deas, we experienced growth in membership, and increased finances. In April 2005, Rev. John C. Reynolds, Jr. became pastor. Then later that same year, Rev. Carl E. Wade was appointed the pastor of the St. Mark family.

On July 27th, 2006, at the Christian Education Congress in Dover, Delaware, Bishop Richard F. Norris assigned Rev. Archie Cummings, Jr. to shepherd the St. Mark family. Rev. Cummings was the Pastor until 2011. On June, 11th, 2011, Rev. Vernon H. Peters was appointed pastor of St. Mark A.M.E. Church followed by Rev. Dr. Kenneth Mitchem in 2014.

On August 27, 2020, Rev. Paul P. Martin, Esq. was appointed Pastor of St. Mark A.M.E. Church. At the 149th New Jersey Annual Conference, Pastor Martin was reappointed Pastor of St. Marks. Since Pastor Martin’s appointment the Church has been renovated, the security system upgraded, a sound system has been installed, and virtual services have been launched.

Great things are still to come, because of God’s blessings and our faith, we have grown from a small mission with nine founding members who had a vision, to a “little church” on the corner of Springdale Avenue and Glenwood Avenue, where our light shines. “To God Be The Glory”.