Address

Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church
5801 State St
East Saint Louis, IL 62203

Overview of Organization

History of Organization

Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church has more than 85 years of history in East St. Louis, Illinois.  Pastor Kaitroy’s grandfather founded the church in 1935, and his uncle now serves as senior pastor.  The church’s first home was on Division Street, but it soon outgrew that location and moved to Louisiana St near Pirtle’s Ice Cream shop.  It finally found a lasting home on State in 1975.  A new main sanctuary and offices were completed in 2000, and the old building is being converted into a theater for the community.  The current space houses the sanctuary, offices, conference space, a computer lab, a church book store, and other supportive services. MSMBC’s rich history and sense of community are evidenced by its archive of document, sound, and video of church programs and events from the 1960s. They continue to document and archive materials and included an audiovisual recording studio above the new sanctuary to that end.

The congregation is made up of around 500 members. It is served by 11 ministers and 30 ministries.  MSMBC prides itself on the variety and diversity of its ministries. From youth to widows, cyberministry to missions, the church reaches out to the community in diverse and engaging ways.  In addition to ministry, MSMBC is strongly dedicated to service.  Their Red Cross Fundraisers include yearly blood drives for East Saint Louis and recently raised over $4000 to provide measles vaccinations in Africa – at 75 cents per shot, that’s 5,333 vaccinations!

MSMBC sees itself as a place of empowerment for the community. Pastor Kaitroy is interested in using this computer lab as a testbed for a Linux distribution that might work for the greater East Saint Louis area. He also intends to partner with churchs that do not have computer labs, either through providing access for its members to the MSMBC computer lab or through the donation of revamped machines so that the CTC movement might continue.  This continues a history of MSMBC’s technological leadership in the community – they once routed a wireless signal through their steeple!

Summary of Organization’s Vision, Mission, and Goals

Morning Star’s motto is “The Home-like Church”.  Many church members have moved out of East St. Louis but still return for weekly services at MSMBC.  There have only been three senior pastors in the church’s history and, as a result, MSMBC has a long and continuous relationship with the community, rooted in their consistent presence there for nearly a century.  These characteristics suggest that longevity coupled with the dexterity needed to meet the challenges of the present time are part of the character of the church and motivate its interest in installing this CTC.

Pastor Kaitroy discussed the following goals:

• Exposure to what can be done on the internet, such as GED/education, taxes, etc., and to what can be done with computers in general.
• Empowerment of the community:
  • MSMBC began Urban Revitalization through Social Achievement (URSA) program which revitalizes the community (in terms of derelict homes and deserted properties) while addressing roadblocks welfare recipients meet in becoming self-sufficient while revitalizing the community. The program emphasizes moving away from dependency on grants or federal money toward more efficient and effective use of community resources and capital.
• Creating partnerships in the community to bring about more powerful forms of computer literacy:
  • The church has previously worked with Digital ESL.
  • Currently, MSMBC collaborates with the New Life Christian Center on church programs such as encouraging and supporting activism surrounding the closing of the hospital.  Pastor Kaitroy expressed the importance of open dialog between the churches as the backbone of the community. Additionally, Interested in working with Teen Tech to increase the technical literacy of students, provide low-cost or free maintenance to the CTCs already in place in East St. Louis, and create an environment that fosters the empowerment of individuals through technology.

The CTC that we are implementing at MSMBC will help accomplish these goals by providing educational materials, sound and media editing, web/software development tools, and job training.