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Jacob Albright was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and raised as a Lutheran. He converted to Methodism in 1790 and intended to embark on a missionary journey through the 'frontier' regions of Pennsylvania. The leaders of the Methodist church licensed him to preach, but they forbade him to preach in the German language. Rather than comply with their restriction, Albright chose to strike out on his own. The Albright Association was founded as a result of Jacob Albright's noncompliance with the established Methodist doctrine. The new denomination went through a number of changes and mergers.
In 1816, the name of 'Evangelical Association' was adopted. It would be the name of the church for over a hundred years.
A segment of the Evangelical Association broke off in 1891 and formed what they called the 'United Evangelical Church.' Then in 1922, the two groups reunited under the name of the 'Evangelical Church.'
In 1946, the Evangelical Church merged with the United Brethren in Christ to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church, which in turn merged in 1968 with The Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church.
The Albright Brethren Church is located in the Borough of New Paris.
