Our History
Morning Star Baptist Church was founded by Rev. J.C. Crowder in 1924. To establish the church, he called together five people: Bro. Henry Baldwin, Mrs. Lucinda Crowder, Bro. Thomas Douglas, Sis. McCoy and Sis. Mary Douglas who named the church, Morning Star. Rev. H. W. Fitch was elected Assistant Pastor under Rev. Anderson and he served as pastor until 1946.
On July 6, 1946, Rev. Z. W. Williams accepted the pastorate which made him the 12th pastor. For 43 years under the leadership of Rev. Z.W. Williams the church grew and many ministries were created to meet the needs of members and families. On May 18, 1975, Morning Star Baptist Church observed its 51st Church Anniversary. This anniversary was a milestone because at this service, the mortgage on the new church addition was burned. Morning Star began to acquire property for the purpose of constructing a new church building and the ground was dedicated in October 1976. Five years later, in November of 1981, construction began on the new building. The original construction which was started in November 1981 was never completed under Rev. Z.W. Williams leadership. In 1988 after serving for 43 years, Rev Z.W. Williams left Morning Star Baptist Church and on September 29, 1989 he went home to glory. We will forever be grateful to him for all his dedication and love for Morning Star and his memory will forever live in our hearts.
Rev. Ronnie J. Eggerson accepted the call and became the 13th pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in December of 1989. Although Morning Star wanted to complete the vision that God had given Rev. Z. W. Williams, God gave Rev. Ronnie Eggerson a different vision. Under his leadership the church broke ground for Phase 1 of a new edifice and on July 2, 1995 (almost 15 years later) Morning Star moved to 2019 Burdette Street. The new worship edifice cost approximately $600,000.00 and seated almost 600 people. In December 1997, Rev. Ronnie Eggerson resigned his pastorate from Morning Star and during his departure Rev. Clevester Hawkins and Rev Eulish Moore served as interim co-pastors. Under their leadership the old church at 2053 North 20th was demolished and the Vision 2000 Building Fund was birthed. Morning Star continued to believe that God would make the original construction a reality in His own divine time.
In September of 1999, Rev. Leroy E. Adams Jr. accepted the call and became the 14th pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church. In January 2000 Morning Star sphere headed an aggressive building campaign to liquidate the debt of the existing worship edifice and complete the building project that was started in 1981. Two years later in 2002, Morning Star paid off the $500,000.00 debt of the existing edifice eight years earlier than expected. After almost 29 years after the original construction which began in 1981, construction began on a 2.2 million dollar worship edifice and administrative wing in March of 2003. The building project that was started in 1981 was completed in December of 2003. Morning Star held its first worship and dedication service on January 4, 2004 in the new edifice. The new sanctuary seats approximately 1200 and is adorned in purple and gold colors. The old sanctuary now serves as a Multi-Purpose Center where Sunday School classes and other ministry fellowship events are held. Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Adams, Morning Star experienced growth in membership, ministries, leadership, and spiritually. To meet the needs of this growing congregation, many ministries were birthed. Morning Star is not just confined within the walls of the church we minister and sow through our Prison Outreach Program, Evangelizing, Food Pantry, Angel Tree Program (helping families of incarcerated inmates), and our many other programs and partnerships which supports, advocates and promote health, education, families, while serving our community. After serving 20 years as Senior Pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Adams resigned as Senior Pastor in April 2020. We will forever be grateful for his leadership.