Black History Month Church Activities

Black History month highlights African Americans who have made positive contributions to society. Church activities can center around those values that are endemic in the African American family, such as a strong sense of religion and family values and history and culture of its people. A sense of pride is the catalyst for the celebratory spirit in the churches during the month.

In Sunday School classes give the children five different questions about African American pioneers to which they must learn the answers. Create a treasure hunt using the information they have learned about the pioneers and related vocabulary. In order to win the prize -- or whatever you choose -- they must follow the clues to find the treasure.

Challenge each church member to search for information about his family. Stories, legends, documentation or a family heirloom owned or created by an ancestor are all good starting points. Other sources might be family records, old photographs, family bibles and census records. At intervals throughout Black History month, members can share their findings with the congregation.

Organize a committee to research the history of the Underground Railroad and, using the church and homes in the community, simulate the experience of slaves who followed the route to freedom in Canada. Teach participants how to follow the North Star to freedom. Nighttime lends more credibility when safe houses were identified by a lantern on a hitching post. Use a soundtrack of bloodhounds in the distance to further enhance the experience.

Church members can create collages, murals and posters about famous African Americans and also about their own family members who have made significant contributions. Create a time line of the Civil Rights Movement and stretch it across a wall. Research and write a fictional account of a famous event in African American history.