The history of Israel Temple CME Church begins in 1867, when a group of formerly enslaved men and women left the white Methodist Church south of Jackson, Georgia, to establish a congregation in the Black community. Known at first as the Colored Methodist Church, they met under a brush arbor on land donated for their use. According to church records, “these bold men and women left the White Methodist Church as a result of the Civil War, the nature of slave religion, lack of policy regarding Black members, the missionary work of Northern ministers, and the desire for a separate religious institution where they could sing the songs of Zion with feeling, pray prayers of confession, and be a true part of the worship service.”

In 1868, the congregation moved into a former Baptist church building. Rapid growth between 1871 and 1888 made it necessary to replace that structure with a larger sanctuary. In 1891, after much hard work and sacrifice, the present building was completed, its cornerstone laid by members who contributed their own labor and funds. Today, Israel Temple stands among the oldest Christian Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church—originally the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church—was organized on December 16, 1870, in Jackson, Tennessee, by 41 formerly enslaved members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The denomination is part of the Wesleyan Methodist tradition founded by John Wesley in England in 1844, and it became the Methodist Episcopal Church in America in 1784. Today, the CME Church has more than 1.2 million members across the United States, with missions and sister churches in Haiti, Jamaica, and 14 African nations.

For more than 150 years, Israel Temple CME Church has been lovingly cared for by its congregation. Its weathered but steadfast walls stand as a symbol of perseverance, faith, and community pride, built by those who claimed their freedom not only in life, but in worship.