Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. Church is part of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded in 1787 by Bishop Richard Allen, under whose leadership the denomination grew and flourished throughout the country. First named Bethel, the congregation began in 1875, holding meetings under brush arbors and in the homes of its worshippers. In September 1879, the first plot of land was purchased for $16.00, and a small building was erected for worship. Rev. Jim Henderson, the first pastor, came in 1903. Bethel A.M.E., later Mt. Pisgah, was the first black church built in the Hickory area, and its motto was "a little church by the side of the road, where everybody is somebody and Christ is all."