The Assembly of Christian Soldiers is a Christian Identity church that was established in 1971 by former members of the Ku Klux Klan. At its peak, the church had approximately 3,000 members organized into 16 congregations in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
The Assembly of Christian Soldiers was incorporated in Alabama in August 1971 by Jessie L. Thrift, who was a former Grand Wizard of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a schismatic KKK group. Among the members of the church were a number of other well-known KKK members. The church is categorized within the Christian Identity movement, which espouses a radical interpretation of Christianity intertwined with white supremacist and racially segregated ideologies. Christian Identity theology teaches that white Europeans descend from the biblical lost tribes of Israel, while portraying Jews as satanic offspring.
The church was best known for its 1970s program of using its tax-exempt donations to subsidize private, all-white segregated schools in the southeastern United States. This initiative reflected the group's alignment with racial segregation ideologies prevalent during the era, blending religious beliefs with white supremacist views. The church's establishment and activities occurred within the broader context of racial tensions and shifts in the civil rights landscape of the United States.
The organization is also known by the names ACS and Assembly of Christian Soldiers of the Kingdom of God.
