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A UMNS Report
By Joey Butler*

3:00 P.M. EDT June 21, 2011 | O’FALLON, Mo. (UMNS)

O’FALLON, Mo. (UMNS)—Most pastors would be upset if they looked up from their sermon notes to find most of the congregants texting on their phones. For the Rev. Mike Schreiner of Morning Star Church in O’Fallon, Mo., that’s just part of weekly worship.

Schreiner invites churchgoers to text him questions during his sermons, be it clarification of a point he made or some other topic.

“We’ve seen everything from, ‘Did Pastor Mike forget to shave?’ to things from John Wesley’s theology,” said Mitch Aldridge, Morning Star’s associate music director.

Aldridge collects the questions as they come in and forwards the most relevant ones to Schreiner’s onstage laptop.

If Schreiner doesn’t get to questions, the senders receive a reply thanking them for their text and reminding them they are always welcome to talk to the pastor after the service or during the week.

“That way people know, ‘My text was seen.’ They don’t feel unvalued,” Aldridge said.

Chase Bascio enjoys the interactive texting allowed during a church service held at Morning Star Church in O’Fallon, Mo. The topic of the service he attends is called, “There’s an App for that – the Storms of Life.” UMNS photos by Gwen Kisker.

‘The next logical step’

Schreiner began inviting texting during the sermon about three years ago after his music director saw it done at another church as a one-time opportunity.

While admitting apprehension at first, he said, “We’ve always tried to take things that are happening currently in culture and ask how we can use those here in the service.”

Schreiner always has sought input from his congregation. He gathers focus groups to evaluate the past year’s sermons and asks for questions from church members before crafting his sermons.

“This was just the next logical step of real-speed, real-time interaction and engagement with the church family.”

But he notes that it was unusual when they had to get rid of the sign that asked people to please turn off their cell phones before the service.

Church member Crystal Orf has been at Morning Star for three years and finds the texting appealing.

“I think it’s so cool because it’s so advanced that I’m OK with asking anyone of any age to come check out my church and I know they’re going to love it,” she said.

Teenager Chase Bascio finds the experience so much different from the stern looks he’s received in the past if he had his phone out in church.

“About 95 percent of the time, a teenager has their phone in their hand. So if they’re in church and they’re being told, ‘Use your phone,’ a lot of teens are going to like that; they’re going to want to come to church more often,” Bascio said.

While the practice has proven wildly popular with young people, they’re not alone.

“There are people in their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s who’ve texted me,” Schreiner said.

The Rev. Mike Schreiner, lead pastor at Morning Star Church in O’Fallon, Mo., addresses questions and concerns texted by his congregants during a service.

Culturally relevant

Morning Star began as a church plant in 1999, and Schreiner said the congregation consisted of “just me and my family.” Since then, Morning Star has been the fastest-growing new United Methodist Church start in the state of Missouri and now serves as a model for other new church starts. It now averages 2,200 in worship at four services.

The pastor attributes the church’s success to staying culturally relevant but grounded in “the eternal truths of God.”

“We’re preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we’re making it relevant to how people are living Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday out there.

“In worship, the texting is just a strategy of people engaging,” Schreiner said. “Instead of us being the professionals that figure it all out, the idea of letting folks know the church is the people. This is your church.”

*Butler is editor of young adult content for United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. Gwen Kisker, a video producer in Pittsburgh, contributed to this report.

News media contact: Joey Butler, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.