Today’s Leader of Faith
AMANDA SMITH
Home Call : 24 Feb 1915
Evangelist, Missionary, Social Reformer, Preacher, Author
Amanda Smith (1837 – 1915) was an American Methodist preacher and former slave who became a prominent leader in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. She preached the doctrine of entire sanctification at Methodist camp meetings worldwide. Dedicated to serving others, she founded the Amanda Smith Orphanage and Industrial Home for Abandoned and Destitute Coloured Children near Chicago Rising above the racial and gender barriers of her time, she became a powerful preacher, traveling across the United States, Britain, India, and Africa to spread the message of gospel and sanctification. Her deep faith, dynamic speaking, and unwavering commitment to Christian service made her a respected figure in both black and white religious circles. She was a strong proponent of the temperance movement both in Africa and in the United States. Her autobiography was published in 1893, titled “An Autobiography”.
Smith was born in Long Green, Maryland, as the eldest of thirteen children to enslaved parents, Samuel Berry and Mariam Matthews. Her father, a trusted worker, earned extra income and eventually bought freedom for himself and his family, settling in Pennsylvania. Despite limited access to education, Smith learned to read and write at home. Formal schooling was scarce, and after brief attendance at local schools, she continued her education independently. She later worked as a servant in York, Pennsylvania, where she attended a revival service at a Methodist Episcopal Church, a turning point in her spiritual journey.
Smith worked as a cook and a washerwoman to provide for herself and her daughter after her husband was killed in the American Civil War. Religious camp meetings helped her cope with grief, leading her to embrace the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. In 1868, she testified to experiencing entire sanctification and began preaching at camp meetings. She next travelled to and ministered in India, where she stayed for eighteen months. She then spent eight years in Africa, working with churches and evangelizing. She travelled to Liberia and West Africa. While in Africa she suffered from repeated attacks of African Fever but persisted in her work. Smith raised funds for the Amanda Smith Orphanage and Industrial Home for Abandoned and Destitute Coloured Children in Harvey, a suburban community south of Chicago, that opened on June 28, 1899. She also authored many books.
Smith passed away in 1915 at the age of 78, in Sebring, Florida. Though she spent her later years in relative obscurity, her impact on evangelism, missions, and social work remained profound. Her legacy lives on through her writings, the lives she touched, and her pioneering role in Christian ministry, particularly for African Americans and women in evangelism.