Our History

The History of Saint Mark AME Church

Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” In the late 1800s, when Clermont, Florida was still a quiet stretch of land and opportunity, James S. and Sallie Townsend arrived from Brunswick, Georgia—pioneers of faith and vision, the first African American family to call Clermont home. With hearts full of purpose, Brother Townsend discovered two other families, the Millers and the Frasiers, and together they planted seeds of hope through a humble Sunday School for their children. Guided by a Methodist neighbor, Rev. Homer Hoods, Mr. Townsend ordered Sunday School literature from Illinois and gathered the children each Sunday at 3:00 p.m.—the hour that faith first took root in Clermont’s red clay.

By 1888, as new families—the Woodalls, Annie Jacob, and Nellie Miller—joined the fellowship, the Holy Spirit stirred in Brother Townsend’s heart to organize a church. With determination and divine assignment, he traveled fourteen hours by horse and wagon through the Florida woods to Mt. Olive AME Church in Orlando. There, God’s call was confirmed—Mr. Townsend was ordained a Local Minister and Mrs. Townsend a Stewardess. Soon after, Saint Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church was born, its first services held in a one-room hay barn between Clermont and Minneola. From that humble altar, the fire of worship began to burn brightly!

As the years passed, faithful families—the Braswells, Whitakers, Clutts, and Coopers—joined hands and hearts, building a strong fellowship grounded in love, service, and praise. By 1902, under Rev. McIntyre and Rev. George Hawkins, Saint Mark established a new home on East Chestnut Street, where the congregation’s light continued to shine. In 1971, the vision expanded: land was purchased on Highland Avenue (Highway 50), and with the skilled hands of Prince Spears, a bricklayer by trade but a builder of dreams by faith, a new sanctuary began to rise. On April 1975, under the leadership of Rev. G. L. Jones, the doors of the present church at 810 Disston Avenue opened—a monument to God’s faithfulness and the perseverance of His people. “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Saint Mark AME Church stands as a beacon of hope, healing, and heritage. Once a part of the Orlando Conference and later Leesburg, it now belongs to the Central Annual Conference of the Outstanding Orlando District, under the guidance of Presiding Elder Milton Broomfield and Consultant Ronda Broomfield. St. Mark AME Church is under the stewardship of the 11th Episcopal District of the AME Church under the dynamic leadership of Bishop Marvin C. Zanders, II and Supervisor Winifred Houston Zanders.  Through every generation, countless pastors have shepherded this flock, each adding a stone to the foundation built by the faithful Townsends so long ago. And now, under the anointed leadership of Rev. Denzil D. Brumfield, the legacy continues—rooted in faith, growing in grace, and walking boldly into God’s promises.