The black church, among the most prosperous institutions in America, has long led movements for the spiritual, social and civic uplift of black people.

Now, the African Methodist Episcopal Church — with a legacy of leadership in its own right — has announced an innovative economic partnership with black-owned banks across the country. The partnership aims to be a catalyst to spur business development, homeownership and wealth within the black community.

“We are now pleased to announce a partnership with the presidents of the 19 black banks in the United States, with the goal of increasing black wealth,” said Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, president of the Council of AME Bishops.

“This initiative will strengthen black banks across the United States and increase their capacity to lend to small businesses, to secure mortgages, to provide personal lines of credit and to offer other forms of credit to AME churches and our members. This, of course, includes enabling members and their families to become homeowners.”

Bishop Jackson made the announcement at a news conference during the 2018 Council of Bishops and General Board Meeting in Atlanta on June 26. The specific details of a memorandum of understanding are being formulated and will be announced this summer. But the goals are:

To increase deposits and loans with black banks;

To increase black homeownership to more than 50 percent nationwide, which means 2 million more black homeowners than now exist; and

To grow the number of black businesses from 2.6 million to 4 million and total gross receipts from an average of $72,500 to $150,000.

“The spirit in which you all have shared the commitment to the community, to the banks and to what we can do together is outstanding,” responded Preston Pinkett III, chairman and chief executive officer of the City National Bank of New Jersey and chairman of the National Bankers Association. “Thank you for your willingness to step outside of the norm to do something that I would say is extraordinary here in America and extraordinary in the world.”

Mr. Pinkett said the church-bank partnerships already are beginning around the nation. “It is safe to say that this kind of commitment, this kind of demonstration, will go a long way in supporting our banks and the banks to be able to support the community … With God’s blessings, we will accomplish great things.”

At the announcement, Bishop Jackson was surrounded by the 20 bishops of the 231-year-old denomination, as well as supporters of the movement, including principals of the growing economic movement, Black Wealth 2020, that Bishop Jackson credited as inspiration for the idea.

Black Wealth 2020, an initiative started in Washington in 2015, “is providing an economic blueprint for black America,” Bishop Jackson said.

At the news conference, Michael Grant, one of the founders of Black Wealth 2020, connected the new partnership directly with the movement begun by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The great civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others has now morphed into a full-fledged movement for economic empowerment,” Mr. Grant said. “The offspring of African slaves and their unrewarded labor have catapulted a small colonial outpost into the greatest industrial giant the world has ever known. Now, as a people, we are turning our efforts toward our own enrichment. We must now create those economic opportunities for ourselves.”

Mr. Grant underscored the historic nature of the moment.

“For those of you who are students of history, you would not be surprised that the church of Richard Allen would be leading an effort to close the wealth gap across the United States of America.”

Rev. Allen founded the AME church in 1794. It was the first independent black denomination in the United States.

“In the next decade in the global church and in the AME church and in black banking, we will see both evolution and revolution,” said Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, chair of the AME General Board.

“Banks must reinvent themselves, not just to respond to the pressures of the day, but to be flexible enough to adapt to the world of tomorrow,” she said. “The ecclesia, the church, must also evolve its business knowledge, educational platform, and its missional thrust without losing its stance in the word of God.

“Both of our institutions are dealing with increasing assertive governmental intrusion, higher membership and customer demands, along with increasing change in the wider world.”

The announcement of the new partnership was met with applause from national civil rights and political leaders.

“Thank you and your fellow bishops for making economic development a priority of your denomination,” civil rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis wrote in a letter to Bishop Jackson. “Hopefully, your visionary leadership will inspire other denominations to replicate your efforts nationwide.”

Marc H. Morial, president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, also weighed in with a letter: “I want to express the support of the National Urban League for your leadership and initiative in addressing the challenges of black homeownership and the need to increase the support, viability and profitability of our African-American businesses.”

Mr. Morial is among economic leaders who have determined that homeownership among African-Americans is disparately low, in part, because of discriminatory lending practices.

Mortgage banker Lois Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Salt Lake City-based United Security Financial, said she takes “great pride in our HUD designation as a fair practice lender. We provide loans to all who meet the minimum criteria, especially people of color who have been denied the opportunity to have their own homes.” The company is licensed to operate in 49 states.

Ms. Johnson said she intends to travel to each of the AME church’s districts to “create hope and opportunities.”

The principals agree that the key to the success of the partnership must be mutual respect for black spending power and mutual support of black businesses.

“We hear about black folks having a trillion dollars in spending power,” said Ron Busby, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Black Chamber Inc. and co-founder of Black Wealth 2020. “But that’s usually white folk talking about our dollars and how can they get their share of it. We came together to say how can we deal with the black wealth gap and to move our agenda forward inside our own community.”

Mr. Busby pointed to the chamber’s new USBC Mobile Directory that lists 109,000 black-owned businesses to help consumers make targeted purchases within the black business community.

Robert James, chief executive officer of Carver State Bank in Savannah, Ga., said the movement will be sustained.

“There was a time that no church got financed in Savannah unless we financed them at Carver State Bank,” he said to applause. “This program will get us back on the path.”

Bishop Jackson underscored the fact that the partnership is only the beginning. He indicated that the movement will also expand abroad.

“The possibilities extend throughout the Diaspora. The African Methodist Episcopal Church has over 4,000 churches in Africa, the Caribbean, West Indies and Europe. These churches and members can also benefit from this partnership,” he said.

To augment this expansion, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, ambassador for the African Union, spoke to the bishops the day before the press conference, promising to encourage Africans in America to also put their deposits in black-owned banks. She stressed the need for black-owned institutions to unify and cooperate with one another.

“I have already taken the initiative and listed all of the black banks in the country on our website. I’m already encouraging all black people when I do presentations to say we’ve been stupid for too long. We drive past black banks to give our money to people who don’t give a hoot about us,” she said. “And they take our money so they can get rich, not only here, but in Africa. We’ve got to change this.”