WS Chronicle

For a church to be around for 99 years means it has seen its share of anniversaries.  This year, Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church not only honored its anniversary but also the surrounding community by making the celebration a weekend event.

To begin the weekend of July 8, Morning Star held a community day on Saturday, bringing in services and vendors for the community such as the police and fire departments; Novant Health, which provided health screenings; and YCFL (Youth Character Football League) out of Union Baptist Church.  The church also provided food, games and a bounce house for the children to enjoy along with Anita “Boss Lady” Dean-Arnette, who served the role of disk jockey throughout the event.

Eric Montgomery is one of the co-chairmen of the outreach ministry and church anniversary committee.  He says he was pleased to be a part of the event and glad so many church members and people of the community came out to enjoy the day.

“We just wanted to be able to put the word out about us giving resources and educational opportunities for our community and our members,” Montgomery said. 

The Rev. Dr. Dennis Leach, pastor, added, “We started our community outreach around four years ago and we do it every other year.  It gives us the opportunity to bring resources to the community and to build relationships.  Ministry ultimately involves building relationships with people in the community, getting to know people and they in turn get the opportunity to meet you.”

On Sunday, the anniversary celebration continued at the 11 a.m. service as guest preacher Dr. Gregory Headen, pastor emeritus of Genesis Baptist Church in Greensboro, delivered the sermon.  The church also held a 4 p.m. service in which Bishop Sir Walter Mack Jr., pastor of Union Baptist Church, gave the message.

Mack’s message touched on how God will give people what they need but in many cases He will exceed expectations.  He later touched on the goodness of God and how we should give Him praises.

“I wanted people to understand that when a church exists for 99 years, it doesn’t happen by chance,” Mack said.  “There has to have been strategic things put in place to help sustain the life of the church.  For this particular church, what I personally know is that it has been built upon a solid foundation.”

“The leadership of this church  has always been in alignment with what God desires for their ministry, community and personal lives” he continued.  “Dr. Leach has come and done a tremendous job leading his church forward and making an impact in the community and standing for what the church should be.”

Dr. Leach felt as though the entire weekend was a great success with all the hands that came together and made it happen.  He says Bishop Mack’s message was very powerful and he was happy to “renew friendships between two churches.”

He says he was happy that two churches with common history could come together and worship as one. 

“This is a strong family church and the people are committed, especially in our seniors,” Leach said.  “It’s an inspiring thing to be a part of a church that has a legacy and a history.  To see the commitment of the membership of my eight years here is great and I am proud to be a part of that.”

Leach says he is a “blue collar” pastor because of his military background.  He says he has absorbed a lot from his predecessors and loves to cater to his congregation.