THE CHURCH

Throughout history, the church has served as a political, social, and spiritual home for Blacks in the United States. Certainly this was the case for Champaign County Black communities. Champaign County established a rich and prosperous church community in the second half of the 1800s, and continued to grow and develop with the addition of more churches throughout the 1900s. Two of the earliest predominately Black churches founded in Champaign County were Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Salem Baptist Church.

The earliest record of the founding of Bethel A.M.E. Church dates back to the Civil War period of 1863-64. In the church's beginning, the members pooled together funds to build a small building on Park Avenue. About a decade later (1877), the church purchased some property and moved the church. Growth in membership of the church was gradual, resulting in the building of a new church in 1892. As the new church became older and the membership continued to increase, it was decided in the 1940s that Bethel would be rebuilt. After a long and committed effort, a new and improved Bethel was dedicated in 1959. Bethel has undergone considerable physical change since 1959, but more importantly, the church continued to serve the many needs of its members and the overall Champaign County Black community. For example, over the years Bethel established a church orchestra, library, a park where children could play, and a meeting place for university students.

The present-day church known as Salem Baptist Church was founded around 1867 under the name of Second Baptist Church. Although the first church burned down in the 1870s, its members demonstrated their commitment to serve by using a rented facility until a new church was built on East Clark Street in Champaign. The church remained Second Baptist until a name change to Salem Baptist Church occurred at the beginning of the 1900s. Also during this time a new church was erected at 500 East Park Street. Although the name and building changed, the church kept its religious vision by serving the needs of its members and those outside of the church. The church's continual growth and development reached an apex with the building of an education annex in the late 1950s.

While Bethel and Salem were two of the earliest, some churches such as Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, Jericho Missionary Baptist Church, Morningstar Freewill Baptist Church, Mount Olive Baptist Church, New Freewill Baptist Church, and St. Luke's CME, Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, and Church of the Living God have all contributed to the growth and development of the Champaign County Black communities.

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