The A.M.E. Zion Church
Partners with Gloo

The A.M.E. Zion Church Partners With Gloo to
Strengthen Faith With Technology

One of America’s largest African American denominations will use digital means to connect with current and potential members and communities to meet their needs

BOULDER, Colo., July 27, 2023 – Gloo, the leading technology platform dedicated to connecting the faith ecosystem and releasing its collective might, announced its new partnership with The A.M.E. Zion Church, one of the largest African American denominations in the United States and abroad. The A.M.E. Zion Church will now leverage the Gloo platform to find new and better ways to meet its evangelism and discipleship needs.

The A.M.E. Zion Church, a world-renowned African American religious institution, was established in 1796 and today has a membership of 1.4 million, with approximately 1,600 churches in the U.S. and over 6,000 churches globally. It played a key role in the slavery abolition movement during its early formation with Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass as key leaders and has remained highly influential through the 1960s civil rights movement, and in the lives of marginalized people around the world today.

“We are delighted and excited to partner with Gloo, the trusted platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem,” said Dr. Eleazar Merriweather, the executive director of Church Growth and Development of the A.M.E. Zion Church. “Our partnership with Gloo is all about helping the A.M.E Zion Church faith leaders increase outreach, connection, and discipleship. We know how hard our church leaders are working, so we have hand-curated resources in the A.M.E. Zion Church Empowerment Hub on Gloo, with training resources they need for church growth and development.”

The A.M.E. Zion Church first noticed the Gloo platform at work in support of the nationwide He Gets Us campaign, which was widely publicized in this year’s Super Bowl ads, by Dr. Elvin Sadler, General Secretary-Auditor of the Denomination. The A.M.E. Zion Church partnership with Gloo gives all churches within the denomination the ability to connect with people in their local neighborhoods who are seeking to connect with a local church to ask questions, receive prayer, and, in many cases, just talk to someone. In addition, church leaders and volunteers will have access to training provided by Gloo partner the American Association of Christian Counselors to help them be more equipped to serve people with specific needs like mental health struggles.   

“It’s an honor to partner with such a significant denomination as the A.M.E. Zion Church that’s an established leader in the community and a forward-thinking innovator in the faith ecosystem,” said Christopher Nelson, director of business development at Gloo.  

As part of the partnership, A.M.E. Zion churches will also leverage free texting on Gloo, allowing them to communicate with new people and members at scale, as well as using the Barna Church Pulse to help them better know and serve their leaders and members. 

“We anticipate that our partnership with Gloo will help us increase engagement, evangelism, and discipleship — three very important areas of focus for us,” said Dr. Eleazar Merriweather. “As the culture around us continues to rapidly evolve, God continues to call us to cast the net of the Gospel through a digital missionary viewpoint. Now our members will be able to more effectively use the Gloo platform to connect with their congregations, new visitors, and leaders. Our mission hasn’t and will not change — but our approaches to doing it more effectively must continue to evolve.”

Originally published on Religion News July 27, 2023.

•••

Gloo is the trusted platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. As a leading technology innovator, Gloo connects people, partners, world-class content, funding opportunities, and more to help ministries achieve their goals and change more lives. Gloo is based in Boulder, Colorado, employing a team of more than 150 people.