Formation of the Early African Church

In 2001, a new historical marker was erected in Silver Bluff, SC. The reading on the marker read as follows: "this church, one of the first black Baptist churches in America, grew out of regular worship services held as early as 1750" (Silver Bluff Baptist Church Dedicates Marker). The worship services were held at Silver Bluff, the plantation of Indian trader George Galphin, originally a racially diverse, non-denominational congregation, but organized as Silver Bluff Baptist Church in 1773, with Reverend Walter Palmer as its first pastor(Silver Bluff Baptist Church Dedicates Marker). This is an impressive piece of information, but just as impressive is the history of how the first independent African churches developed in America.

African Initiated Churches

Research of this topic revealed the abbreviation "AIC", which depending upon the source, is defined as standing for African Independent Churches, African Indigenous Churches, African Initiated Churches, or African Instituted Churches. Whatever the abbreviation indicates, what it describes are Christian worship groups that were established in America (African Initiated Churches). The AICs were founded on the sheer determination of the Africans who came to America voluntarily or were brought here as the result of slavery. What the AICS offered these people was the opportunity to gather together and express their religious beliefs in a congregational setting, culminating in the previously discussed Silver Bluff Baptist Church, which became a tangible sign of the advancement of independent African churches in the New World. It was a source of pride for the parishioners, and gave them an identity in a time when Africans were struggling for freedom and recognition. Although slavery would not be abolished in America for nearly 100 years after Silver Bluff's foundation, the church gave freedom beyond the limits of this world.

Because the early African churches were typically poor from a financial standpoint, very few written records from these churches exists today, but the information that we are able to research today offers a wealth of facts about the early African church and its leaders.

Silver Bluff-A Gateway to Freedom

The remarkable Silver Bluff Baptist Church not only symbolically represented religious freedom for Africans in America, the church and its congregation also provided personal freedom for African slaves themselves. Research indicates that in 1778, 50 African slaves, led by Silver Bluff pastor Reverend David George, a freed slave himself, escaped from South Carolina to Savannah, Georgia, to gain freedom under the British flag. By 1792, Reverend George was able to accompany a group of liberated slaves from Savannah to Sierra Leone, British Central Africa. These people, upon their return to Africa, brought the Baptist tradition back to their native homeland, thereby creating a religious link between native Africans and early African Americans (Brooks). This event played a key role in affirming the independence of the African Church halfway around the world, and encouraged other Africans to practice their religion and fight for religious freedom.

Impact of AIC Throughout History

As the research clearly proves, the AIC, since its foundations over 200 years ago, has served as the blueprint for the religious freedom of Africans, even at a time when personal freedom for those in America did not exist. Moving forward in history, after slavery was abolished by President Abraham Lincoln, personal freedom gave the AICs more opportunity to grow and thrive. Today, the Independent African Church boasts millions of faithful members who worship, befriend one another, and remember the struggles of their ancestors. The future will surely bring the Independent African Church more achievements and success, all starting from a small, poor church in Silver Bluff, South Carolina.

Works Cited

African Initiated Churches. Southern African Missiological Society. 15 Dec. 2005 .

Brooks, Walter H. The Silver Bluff Church: A History of Negro Baptist Churches in America. Washington DC: RL Pendleton P, 1910.

Silver Bluff Baptist Church Dedicates Marker. 4 Aug. 2001. South Carolina National Heritage Corridor. 15 Dec. 2005 .