We are excited to announce that we have officially and legally changed our church name FROM New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church TO THE STAR Church. We made this change of name in obedience to God the Holy Spirit after our Senior Pastor, Dr. Thomas Beavers, heard the voice of God loudly and clearly on Saturday January 25, 2025 on Day 21/21 Days of Prayer and Fasting during our Grand Finale Prayer Service. Nothing was wrong. We simply heard God and obeyed him.

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We are so grateful to God for what was in the past. We are also excited for what God is doing in the present and for what’s to come in the future as God leads us. We are now a non-denominational church. We have always believed and still do believe in the primary doctrines of the Christian faith pertaining to matters of salvation. We have also taken a stance concerning secondary doctrines of the Christian faith that don’t pertain to salvation. We fully embrace women in ministry (see Gal.3:28). We fully embrace the gifts of the Spirit and believe that they are still in operation today (see 1 Cor.12 & Eph.4:8-13). We fully embrace the prosperity of God’s people in this life and the one to come, despite the sufferings that come with the world in which we live (see Mk.10:29-30). Despite this change of name and denominational status, three things remain constant:

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(1.)Our MISSION of knowing Christ and making him known to the world has not changed and will never change.

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(2.)Our MASTER, Jesus the Christ, has not changed and will never change.

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(3.)Our MESSAGE of Jesus the Christ, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and his teachings in full has not changed and will never change.

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Although we are no longer Baptist, as it pertains to a denomination, we still do believe in believer’s baptism. We believe that one is saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, and we rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. We believe that as a result of being saved, we are to be baptized in obedience to the command of Jesus and as an outward symbol of a change that has already taken place inside the human heart. We believe that baptism symbolizes our old life being buried in Christ when we are submerged in water, and also symbolizes us being resurrected to new creatures in Christ (see 2 Cor.5:17) when we come out of the water.

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Internally, we have held meetings with stakeholders of our church including but not limited to long term members (50+ years), deacons, staff, campus pastors, and new additions to our congregation via church merges. We’ve expressed and will continue to express our appreciation for each member, as well as our concern for their over all wellbeing. It is our hope that our members feel like this is being done with them and not to them.

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To many people, this change of name and denominational status is not big news. To those who know our history, this change is monumental. We thank God for his entire body, regardless of denomination. We will all be together in Heaven because of our faith alone in Jesus. We hope to continue to work together on earth; UNTIL ALL HAVE HEARD……