Morning Star Church exists to honor God by:
1. Making disciples of Jesus
2. Training disciples in the Word
3. Empowering disciples for ministry
Morning Star’s Ten Commitments
The Authority of Scriptures
We believe the Bible is God’s inspired Word, the authoritative and trustworthy rule of faith and practice for Christians. The Bible is both timeless and timely, relevant to the common needs of all people at all times and to the specific problems of contemporary living. Therefore, we are committed to equipping Christians, through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, to follow Christ in every sphere of life.
Prayer
We believe that prayer is the catalyst for God to do great things. Therefore, the ministries and activities of this church will be characterized by reliance on prayer in their conception, planning, and execution.
Strengthening the Entire Family
We believe that strong homes make a strong church. Therefore, we seek to provide an atmosphere that strengthens singles, couples, parents, children, and single-parent families.
Excellence
We believe that excellence honors God and inspires people. Therefore, in the ministries and activities of Morning Star we will seek to maintain a high standard of excellence to the glory of God. This will be achieved when every person is exercising his or her God-given spiritual gift to the best of his or her ability.
Creativity and Innovation
We believe that the church should be continually seeking for the best methods to present the life changing truths of God’s Word. Therefore, forms and methods must be continually evaluated, and if necessary, altered to fit new conditions. While proven techniques should not be discarded at a whim, we encourage creativity and innovation, flexibility and adaptability. We are more concerned with effectiveness in ministry than in adherence to tradition.
Reaching Unchurched People
We believe that lost people matter to God, and therefore, ought to matter to the church. Morning Star looks outward to serve non-Christians and the unchurched in order to reach them for Jesus Christ. This is woven into everything we do.
Lay Leadership
We believe that the primary responsibility of the pastor(s) and teachers in the local church is to equip God’s people for ministry. Therefore, the ministry of Morning Star will be placed as much as possible in the hands of nonvocational workers. This will be accomplished through training opportunities and through practices which encourage lay initiation, leadership, responsibility, and authority in the various ministries of the church.
Cultural Relevance
We believe that the church should be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure. Therefore, we try to adapt our ministry to current needs and trends in American life, without compromising biblical absolutes. We attempt to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ to American society in ways it can understand.
World-wide Missions and Church Planting
We believe that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is far greater than any local church or organization. Therefore, we are serious about building His kingdom. We want to give away to other churches many of the blessings God has given to us. This is done by starting new churches, encouraging hurting churches, sharing what we have learned, learning from others, sending missionaries, and much more. We rejoice when churches and Christians outside of Morning Star prosper and succeed, and we are thrilled when God allows us to have a small part in the great good He is doing for them.
Growth
We believe that God desires for us to reach as many people as possible with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we will pursue methods and policies which will facilitate numerical growth, without compromising in any way our integrity or our commitment to biblical truth.