Imagine that you have just entered an African-American church in Louisiana in the 1940s. Chances are, you will not see a white person in any of the pews. You will hear the joyful singing of songs like "Amazing Grace" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," from those in attendance, along with the approving cries of "Yessir!" and "Sweet Jesus!" from the enthusiastic congregation. You will feel the sense of community as people whom you have never met before stride up to welcome you to the congregation. You will be moved by the soulful words from the pastor's sermon that seem to echo throughout the entire building and the testimonies by those who feel called to speak to the crowd. You see these beautiful sights and hear these emotional prayers and ask yourself how this church came to be formed, pondering the history behind the African-American church. Nearly all the world's religions have some sort of community worship service, as do the African-Americans. In Ernest J. Gaines' novel A Lesson Before Dying, church services and belief in God play a major role in almost everyone's day-to-day life. In Gaines' novel, the church is an important piece of local color because it shows the reliance people have on their religion in the Black South and how they believe that it is their duty to convert all non-believers, such as Reverend Ambrose's ploy to convert Grant. The history of the African-American church is a long and eventful tale. Many Blacks are followers of the Southern Baptist Church, which is the largest of all Baptist denominations ("Bowker ). Many Blacks are members of the Southern Baptist Church because the majority of slaves worked in the South, and many of the plantation owners were Baptists. The Southern Baptist denomination was founded in 1845 as a result of a major schism ("Baptist ). However, African-American religion did begin before the formation of the Southern Baptist denomination, "One of the first known Black churches in America was created before the American Revolution, around 1758 in Mecklenburg, Virginia  ("The Black Church ). As shown, the African-American church has many interesting facts that many people do not know about. As previously mentioned, many Blacks are part of the Southern Baptist Church, which is the most popular denomination of the Baptist faith. After its foundation, the Southern Baptist Church began to spread like wildfire throughout the South creating believers out of both whites and Blacks. The Southern Baptist denomination led the spread of religion in the South along with the Methodists and helped convert thousands of people ("The Black Church ). In recent times, the Southern Baptist Convention has reached nearly all the states in the country, thanks to the help of the numerous military families that move around the nation ("Baptist ). Although the Southern Baptist message has spread across the country, the majority of believers are still in the South where the denomination originated ("Baptist ). As more African-Americans formed independent churches, they all came together in 1816 to form the African Methodist Episcopal Church, naming Richard Allan as its first bishop ("The African-American ) The spread of African-American churches is in no small part thanks to a number of missionaries like Alexander Bettis, who singlehandedly founded forty churches in a thirty year span ("The Black Church ). So, the Black church, and more specifically the Southern Baptist denomination, spread like wildfire throughout the South during the 19th century. However, one cannot discuss the history of the African-American church without first bringing up the topic of segregation. From the 1700s to the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, slaves were an integral part of everyday life in the South. As previously stated, many slaves were religiousl