The month of February is a time at The Church of Grace and Peace when we highlight and honor Black History Month, a celebration of faith in the African American culture. The contribution our black brethren have made to the Lord’s Church over the years is immense. Every great revival in America always included a freedom for women and for black Americans. Unfortunately for the Church, challenges to that freedom have hindered great moves of God that had begun and had been authored by Holy Spirit.

Many black brethren courageously have brought forth the Word of God and have brought many positive changes to the American Church culture. This has been such a courage that has cost some very dearly, and yet brought great inspiration to all. Black Holiness – Pentecostal movements from the post-civil war times, which had encompassed several denominations, burned brightly across America also attracting many non-blacks which richly enhanced their Christian experience.

It is very important to remember that the great Azusa Street Mission Revival at the turn of the 20th century was pastored by a one-eyed black preacher named William “Daddy Seymour.” The very early Pentecostal movements were inter-racial. Black Christian leaders like Brother Charles Mason, the founder of the Pentecostal denomination Church of God in Christ, among many other heroes of the faith, changed the course of Christianity in this past century.

In our modern days, we must always remember men like Dr. Martin Luther King, a pastor, whom God used to challenge the moral conscience of a nation, and a work that came through his leadership that brought many changes to our country that freed all men and women, of all races; a work that still continues to this day.

Perhaps this is the greatest legacy for all to ponder when we remember and celebrate Black History Month in February. What can we learn from these courageous men and women that will cause all of us to rise to a higher level in our faith? How do we respond today with actions that match such a legacy that has been brought to us of what we now hold so dear in our hearts? Let us all have a collective thankfulness to our God, for the contribution the black brethren have made to His Church!