First Black Church Founded

In 1773 under the leadership of Reverend George Leile, the First African Church was organized in Savannah. Liele had been born a slave in Virginia but had been taken to Georgia. He converted to Christianity in the same church as his master Henry Sharp. In 1773 he was licensed to preach by the Baptist, becoming the first African American to be allowed to do so. He started as an itinerant preacher along the Savanah River to slaves. That year he decided to found a church. The church was not officially recognized until 1777, at which time Andrew Bryan, who Leile had converted, became the preacher of the church when Leile left the country.