“An institution where religious, social and political activities existed side by side.” This phrase perfectly encapsulates the story of Greater Mount Teman Methodist Church. Founded in 1860 it began with a small group of free Blacks in Elizabeth NJ.
Originally known as Mount Teman African Methodist Episcopal Church the founders included five men and one woman. Francis Cisco Henry Jackson George Sims Fletcher Williams Henry Wood and Sarah Cook Jackson. Rev A.C. Crippen became Mount Teman’s first pastor.
Initially the church was on Washington Avenue. Later it moved to a public hall on Elizabeth Avenue. Eventually the church purchased a building at 16-18 Union Street. This remained its home until Easter Sunday 1967 when it opened at its current location 160 Madison Avenue.
During its early years Mount Teman faced many struggles. However in 1937 with the arrival of Rev S.B. Nelson significant improvements occurred. The church was remodeled widened and brick-faced. Rev Nelson increased membership establishing Mount Teman as a leading house of worship.
Rev George A. Mitchell continued Rev Nelson’s work after his sudden death in 1946. He completed the downstairs auditorium and purchased a Hammond organ.
In 1953 Rev Walter Wayman Clark recognized that the growing congregation needed more space. He established a Building Fund and acquired property on Madison Avenue.
Rev Lasalle Marshall Watts became pastor in 1965. He pursued the vision of a new and greater Mount Teman. Construction began in 1966 and the new church opened on Easter Sunday 1967.
Rev Millard D. Birt set goals to establish Mount Teman as a leading AME church. He also wanted to liquidate the mortgage. The church succeeded and hosted the New Jersey Annual Conference in 1974 and 1981.
In April 1980 the church burned its mortgage. They then purchased a new parsonage. Reverends Winton Hill and Donald Luster expanded community service through a Soup Kitchen an Emergency Food Pantry and a Clothing Ministry.
Rev Jesse J. Jackson liquidated the parsonage’s mortgage in 1998 making Mount Teman debt-free. Rev Dr. Larry E. Dixon deepened the church’s spiritual relationship with God. He expanded its service to the whole person by adding new initiatives.
Following Rev Dixon’s appointment Rev Carlton Gibson established initiatives to position the church for further growth. The community recognizes Mount Teman as “the church of the community”.
Operating in the tradition of the Black church Mount Teman has always been a center for religious social and political activities. During the 1960s Mount Teman played a pivotal role in Elizabeth’s Civil Rights campaigns. In 1978 the church played a major role in the election of Elizabeth’s first Black councilman Gil Chapman.
In 1985 members of Mount Teman formed the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Committee of Elizabeth. The church hosted Elizabeth’s Inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in 1986. The Elizabeth contingent to the 1995 Million Man March was organized at Mount Teman.
Today under the leadership of Rev. George E. Britt Greater Mount Teman AME Church continues to thrive. It stands at the very center of life in Elizabeth’s African American community. A testament to faith resilience and unwavering commitment to service.