Pastor Keith grew up in St. Louis and graduated High School from Hazelwood Central (a straight C student!). As a young man he studied acting and at the age of 15 he was cast as Huckleberry Finn at The Clemens Amphitheater in Hannibal Missouri. He later went on to play several roles in Branson's Silver Dollar City and The Shepherd of the Hills, before becoming the Director of Entertainment at Rawhide Wild West Town in Scottsdale Arizona.

In 2001 Keith joined a team planting a church in Phoenix Arizona and returned to school to earn a degree in Biblical Studies and Theology. In 2004 he and his family returned to St. Louis where he became an associate pastor at Morning Star Church in O'Fallon Missouri. In 2010 he was appointed to plant The Word at Shaw. Over the past few years he has been the visionary behind the restoration of the old church building and the architect of the multicultural congregation that has been serving the community.

Keith is married to Lorilise and together they have four grown kids (2 girls and 2 boys) two (handsome) sons-in-law, and two (perfect) grandsons. 

Known compassionately by his friends and fans as Praiz’ or V’land, Vance L. Watt II is an accomplished songwriter, vocalist, engineer, producer and worship leader. Vance began writing at age 10 and taught himself to play piano at age 12.

Raised on the streets of St. Louis, MO, Vance had several run-ins with the law. In 1998 while attending a Kirk Franklin concert in Chicago, Vance heard and received the Gospel and vowed to leave his sinful nature at the alter. Since turning from a life of crime and giving his heart to the Lord, Praiz is dedicated to the Great Commission Christ has left with the Church and reaching today’s youth. 

Vance “Praiz” Watt’s career continues on the road of tireless and indomitable creativity. In ten years, he has used every minute to build, inspire, create and share the success of an independent entrepreneur. Vance’s knack not only to create his own music, but his intrinsic ability to discover and nurture talent is what has sent him to the top of the music industry, and his love for people and God's church is what inspires him to lead worship for The Word at Shaw.

Vance is married to Candice Watt and together they have four (GREAT) kids, D'Monti (ROCK), Cadi, Vance (Lil' V), and Jafia (J'Bug).

Mike Schreiner was ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1991. In 1998, he accepted a call to begin a new church in St. Charles County and, with the help of a core group, launched Morning Star Church in September 1999. Under his leadership, 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.

Mike grew up in Jackson, Missouri, and graduated from Jackson High School in 1985. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medicine. In 1992, he received his Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary.

He and his wife, Dede, live in Lake St. Louis. They have two children, Jay and Samuel. He loves to play sports and fish; especially when he can do them with his family.

Jennifer and her husband, Chris, were among the first folks to answer the call to be a part of a new church that would come to be called Morning Star. Jennifer felt called into ministry as a teenager and answered that call first as a teacher and then as a stay-at-home mom, serving the church and community along the way. In 2010, God made it clear that she was being called into full-time, ordained ministry and is now a Deacon within the United Methodist Church. She is thrilled to be living out her calling of bridging the church and the community as the Pastor of the New Hope Resource Center at Morning Star Church.

Jennifer is passionate about crossing cultures and her experience of suffering with malaria while she was pregnant with their fourth child opened her eyes to the devastation this disease causes in the lives of people across the ocean. She championed the Imagine No Malaria effort in Missouri which resulted in $1.3 million donated to end death and suffering from malaria in Africa.

Jennifer lives in O’Fallon, Missouri with her husband, Chris, and their four children, Emilee, Grant, Matthew and Jacob. She is a native of Oklahoma, loves the Sooners, and enjoys people’s guesses about her accent.