Morning Star First Baptist Church

Morning Star First Baptist Church began in the mid-late 1890s, with some records indicating as early as 1888 and as late as 1898, through the organization of between seventeen to twenty community members believing the statement of Jesus in Matthew 28:20. The congregation led church services amongst themselves until 1898 when the Rowan Baptist Association sent Reverend P.R.D. Gore. A pot-bellied stove, using wood for fuel, heated the church, with large oil lamps acting as lights in the old wooden building where it stood on just three pillars. Despite this, Pastor Gore organized a summer school for pre-schoolers attending at five cents a week. Under Gore, numbers grew slowly, but his impact and leadership allowed the church to be accepted by the Mountain and Catawba Missionary Baptist Association. Reverend Gore pastored at Morningstar until 1903, leaving to organize a second Baptist church, Friendship Baptist Church, around the corner. In 1930 Reverend P.D. Harper was called to service, serving until 1972. Under his leadership, the church increased from 100 to over 400, an education unit and pastorium was built, and the church went under numerous renovations. 

The church continued to grow even further with the control of Reverend E. Lytle in 1973. Membership soared with further investment in the community. During the summer, members were involved in Vacation Bible School to help children in the area, sponsoring a Summer Day Camp, and awarding college scholarships. The church also contributed to local initiatives, including the Cooperative Christian Ministry of Greater Hickory, The Meals on Wheels, Broughton Hospital Volunteer Program, and the Chaplaincy Program of Catawba Memorial Hospital. Morning Star is actively involved in civic affairs in the greater Hickory area, serving on numerous boards, committees, and commissions. Reverend Lytle was the first African-American elected to Hickory City Council, serving two four-year terms. 

Morning Star Baptist Church believes that the Christian Church is called to minister to the whole man and seeks to reach all mankind, build up the weak, strengthen the strong, and heal the brokenhearted. The church continues to grow, contains eight choirs, over ten auxiliary groups, and numerous committees that serve The Hill community. Descendants of some of the first founders still attend the church today. 

Hartsoe, Drucella Sudderth. The Hill: Memories of the Ridgeview Community. High Point. The Marshall Group, Inc, 2001.

“Morning Star Baptist Pastor Terminates 40-Year Service.” Hickory Daily Record, September 16, 1972.

Morning Star First Baptist Church. “History.” Accessed November 2, 2020. http://www.msfbcofhickory.org/about/.