We are a community of hope.

Our Mission

Live Oak A.M.E. Church exists to nurture faith in Jesus Christ build disciples and serve our community with love and justice.

About Live Oak A.M.E. Church

Live Oak A.M.E. Church is a Christ centered congregation rooted in faith committed to spiritual growth and dedicated to serving the community. As part of the African Methodist Episcopal Church we honor a rich tradition of worship justice and discipleship while responding to the needs of today with compassion and purpose.

At Live Oak we believe the church is more than a building. It is a living community where faith takes roots and lives flourish. Through worship prayer teaching and service we create space for people of all ages and backgrounds to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our worship experience blends traditional and contemporary expressions including hymns anthems and gospel music all grounded in Scripture and centered on Christ. Whether you are new to church returning to faith or seeking a church home you are welcome here.

Live Oak A.M.E. Church offers ministries that support spiritual formation health and wellness hospitality music military families and new members. We are committed to discipleship education and caring for one another as we live out the gospel in our daily lives.

We invite you to worship with us connect with our ministries and grow alongside us in faith service and love. Live Oak A.M.E. Church is a place where community is nurtured faith is strengthened and lives are transformed through the grace of God.

If you are searching for a welcoming African Methodist Episcopal church a place to grow spiritually or a faith community rooted in tradition and active in service Live Oak A.M.E. Church welcomes you.

About Us

We are a community of hope.

WE BELIEVE

WE BELIEVE in a God who is infinite and eternal, omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), who has been manifested and revealed in Jesus Christ and still lives among us as the Holy Spirit.

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the final and fullest revelation of God and that he is both fully human and fully divine (Heb. 1:1-3).

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (I Tim. 1:15) and that having conquered death he now reigns as Lord of all (Rev. 11:15).

WE BELIEVE that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we shall be saved (Romans 10:9).

WE BELIEVE that Jesus died for our sins (I Cor. 15:3) not because he had to, but because he loves us and that each of us is important, really important, in the eyes and in the heart of God (Jn. 15:13).

WE BELIEVE that once we confess Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit becomes a permanent presence in our lives (Jn. 14:16-17).

WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit fills (Eph. 5:16) anoints (Luke 4:18) empowers (Acts 1:6) and bestows gifts upon us (I Cor. 12:4-6) to equip the saints for ministry, to edify the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12) and set the captives free (Luke 4:18).

WE BELIEVE that the Bible is the inspired word of God written by fallible human beings who were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that it contains all things necessary for salvation (II Tim. 3:14-17).

WE BELIEVE that the Lordship of Jesus Christ mandates that we tithe, which means giving 10 percent of our gross income to the church, and that the failure to tithe is flagrant disobedience to the word of God (Mal. 3:8-10).

WE BELIEVE that because Jesus was resurrected from the dead, we too, shall live eternally in a body that is immortal and incorruptible (II Cor. 15:20-23).

WE BELIEVE that according to God's Word and promise, Jesus is coming back in glory and that we shall live with him forever (I Thes. 4:13-18).

WE BELIEVE that until the time of Christ's return or our departure, God wants us to grow and grow and keep on growing until we reach full maturity as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Apostle’s creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Church Universal, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

In the African Methodist Episcopal Church, we believe that sacraments are means whereby God expresses God’s grace to humanity. In keeping with this belief, the AME Church celebrates The Lord’s Supper and Baptism as sacraments while recognizing and occasionally participating in other diverse Christian liturgical practices when deemed appropriate.

The Lord's Supper

We believe The Lord’s Supper is a symbol of God’s covenant made to humanity for the purposes of reconciling the diverse peoples of the world necessitated by the natural human inclination to turn from God and pursue certain activities and/or thoughts that lead us away from the path God calls each person to pursue. In our church, we call these activities and thoughts sin. Because we believe in accordance with the Holy Scriptures that all persons have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, through the Lord’s Supper we commemorate Christ passion/crucifixion and commit to live our lives in greater accordance with God’s unique call on our lives.

This sacrament is administered by deacons and elders in our church on the first Sunday of each month. During the celebration of The Lord’s Supper, individuals are invited by our celebrants (persons serving communion) to come to the chancel rail, kneel if able, and receive unleavened bread and a cup of grape juice symbolic of Christ last meal with His disciples.

The unleavened bread symbolizes the brokenness that comes in our lives and our communities when we fail to properly love God, our neighbors, and our ourselves. The grape juice symbolizes the blood that Christ shed on the cross because the world’s inability to appreciate and value the gifts of love, grace, and mercy Christ offers all of us as children of God.

Sacraments

We believe that when an individual for the first time publicly repents or apologies for the wrong thoughts and actions that he or she has taken that seek to separate himself or herself from God, the individual is in the process of undergoing a transformation in their heart. This transformation causes an individual to desire more fully to know God through Christ Jesus and model His teachings. During this process an individual's entire ideological outlook is reoriented/surrendered to Christ, causing the person to be "born again." The symbol of this new birth is affirmed in the sacrament of baptism where an individual is either immersed in water, sprinkled with water, or has water poured on them.

This sacramental act dates back to water cleansing rituals found in the Ancient Near East and other parts of the globe. In some of these traditions as well as in ours, we believe the purification powers found in water and the importance of water as a natural resource indispensable to human life culminated in the production of a liturgical ritual that allows individuals to be cleansed of passed wrong thoughts and actions, and freed to live a new life.

Baptism

Ministries that make a difference

Women's Missionary Society

The WMS is composed of over 800,000 members located across four continents in thirty-two countries.

We are in the forefront of works of mission, at the head of the Church, operating from the highest level within each of twenty Episcopal Districts and reporting to every meeting of the General and Annual Conferences.

As the Women's representational entity of the AMEC nationally and worldwide, the WMS has a record of 131 years of service committed to winning souls to Christ, health, economic, peace and justice issues.

The WMS hosts an annual conference at the United Nations every October at which members of the various agencies and components of the United Nations offer workshops and seminars on current global issues. The WMS has established a Foundation to support education through scholarships and social and economic development for the diversified constituencies we are privileged to serve.

Patricia Darby, President

Sons of Allen

The Sons of Allen seeks to create a ministry for men, both clergy an lay, which will seek to address the needs for distinctive ministries to men, who are faced with spiritual, social, political, and psychological challenges, to equip men to follow the example of Andrew (St. John 1:41-42) who brought Peter to Jesus; to encourage men to emulate the resolute and redemptive spirit of Richard Allen, our revered, ancestral patriarch who in negotiating for his freedom with slave master Stokely Sturgis, negotiated freedom for his unnamed brother as well; to encourage men to implement ministries modeled by our founder, Richard Allen as he sought to meet needs in his community.

Jimmy Montgomery, President

Young Adult Ministry

The Young Adult Ministry at Live Oak supports young adults as they grow in faith, build meaningful relationships, and live with purpose. Through worship, discipleship, and service, we help young adults strengthen their walk with Christ and engage fully in the life and mission of the church.

Young People Department

The Young People's and Children's Division (YPD) under the leadership of the Women's Missionary Society provides meaningful youth training programs and opportunities for leadership experience in all areas of church life. By providing training in Evangelism, Christian Social Relations, and Education programs the YPD is designed to connect youth more fully to the mission of the church and increase knowledge of the African Methodist Episcopal Church history and the scriptures.

Debra Wright, Director

DMC

Christian Ed. Department

We, the members of the Christian Debutante-Master Commission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, endeavor to promote the principles and doctrines of Christian Education as set forth in the guidelines of this initiative. We will create an environment for spiritual growth and development of our youth through exploration of "spiritual gifts"; availing resources and remembrances that will guide, instruct and instill Christ-like attributes in our youth. Furthermore, we resolve to work collaboratively and diligently in fulfilling our commitment to "creating a future worthy of our past."

Michele Frazier, Interim Commissioner

The Book of Discipline charges the Department of Christian Education with responsibility for "Developing standards, preparing programs, offering classes, teaching Christian education, publishing material, training people for pastoral ministry and other church vocations" in accordance with the tradition and doctrine of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Cheryl Milford, Director of Christian Education

Lay

The Lay Organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is commissioned to teach, train and empower its members for lay ministry, global leadership and service following the tenets of Jesus Christ.

Gaillian Bryant, President