Introduction to Black Church Community

I’ve always had an interest in going to a black church service, but never went because I was too intimidated and fearful that I’d be unwelcomed and unwanted. Based on what I had seen and assumed as fact from TV shows and society, I believed that black church was no place for a white person to ever be in. However, I decided to face my fears and bite the bullet and attend a service at Consolidated Baptist Church, a black Baptist church in Lexington, to observe what really goes on at a black church and to test and see what type of reaction I would get from the regular church members. By observing a service and interviewing a member of a black church, in addition to collecting secondary research, I was able to learn more about what those in the black Baptist community believe in. I also learned about the similarities and differences between the white church community I belong to and the community I observed. In this cultural analysis, I will talk about what I assumed, what I experienced, and what I learned about the black church community.