The Black Church in America

Richard Allen (1760-1831) was born a slave and converted to Methodism as a young man. After he converted his owner, he was given his freedom. In 1874 he was accepted as a Methodist preacher and returned to Philadelphia to preach . After an incident in which white parishioners forced the African-Americans present to segregate themselves, he led his black parishioners to form a Free African Society in 1787 , and in 1794 Allen established a separate Methodist church for African-Americans. Many African-Americans flocked to the new denomination as it allowed them to worship God in a culture that they could relate to. Allen, who campaigned for many years against the slave trade, worked to make the church an organization that was able to unite the African-Americans together.
In 1816 a number of independent black Methodist churches around the North East came together to form the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and on 11th April 1816 he was ordained its first bishop leading it until his death.

Baptists-the Early Days

A new sect called “Baptists” arose in England at the beginning of the 17th century led by a preacher from Gainsborough called John Smyth. These “Baptists” were Christians who had rejected the teachings of the Church of England and Catholic Church but couldn't accept orthodox Calvinism. They advocated adult baptism, as they couldn't understand how a baby can appreciate the importance of infant baptism. Due to persecution in England they were forced to emigrate to Amsterdam where there was freedom of religion and in 1609 John Smyth and fellow English Non-Conformist, Thomas Helwys, founded the first official Baptist church there. Three years later the first English Baptist church was built at Spitalsfield, London by Thomas Helwys and a small group of fellow Christians in Newgate.
In 1639 the first American Baptist church was established at Providence, Rhode Island, when Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, was baptized before proceeding to baptize eleven others. Rhode Island was a safe haven for those such as Baptists whose are persecuted for their beliefs.

Anabaptists

One of the first protestant movements to spring up in the early days of the Reformation in Europe were the Anabaptist groups. They did not consist of a single, coherent organization, but a loose grouping of movements, all of whom rejected infant baptism and practised the baptism of adults upon confession of faith. Their name was given to them by opponents- it literally meant 'rebaptizer.'
The Anabaptists movement quickly gained strength in Europe in the 1520s, in particular in Germany, where they took over the city of Münster. Unfortunately a wild, licentious lifestyle developed there, due to their belief that as the “elect”, they could do no wrong. Jan Matthys of Münster who was regarded by his followers as a prophet and who controlled the city declared that no unbaptized adult was allowed to remain in Münster.
It was soon discovered that the term 'Anabaptist' gave the authorities a legal precedent to persecute and execute them. By the mid 16th century central and northern Europe, the persecution of Anabaptist Christians was so prevalent that in many places anyone who did not drink to excess, curse or abuse his workmen or family could be suspected of being an Anabaptist and was harassed accordingly.
The Anabaptists were forced to find devious ways to avoid persecution. For instance Peter Peters of Amsterdam, a ferry boatman, loaded up his boat with Anabaptists and whilst pretending to ferry his company across the river, they would hold a Bible study. Persecution wasn’t always avoided and they were frequently killed and stuck outside the city gates on poles as a warning to the general populace. This had the opposite to the intended effect as many of the general population were impressed by the Anabaptist’s desire to die for their faith and were consequently drawn to God through their witness.

Amish

In the 1690s Swiss Mennonite bishop Jakob Ammon formed his own branch of the church after taking issue with other Swiss Mennonite leaders over discipline issues. The Amish church, which he founded, taught the shunning of any Mennonite who did not conform to the standard of behavior required of a member of the Mennonite society. The Amish still practise an exclusively rural and simple way of life in various parts of the USA and Canada.