Center Church of Star, Idaho Turns One

An update from Jeff Palen, Lead Pastor of Center Church of Star, Idaho, USA…

Center Church of Star, Idaho, began as a prayer of Center Church in Gilbert, Arizona. In 2022, I began to sense that God was doing something that would ultimately lead my family and three others to move a thousand miles north to the unknown world of the Northwest United States in 2025. Those three years felt like ten as we prayed, met with regional leaders and pastors in the Boise area, took numerous trips north, and, still praying, were sent by our dear friends in Gilbert to plant in Star.

We had almost no idea what we were doing, and with many watching us and wondering what we were thinking, but God paved the way for our little group to find homes, jobs, and schools in our new little town. What a big change it was for us too. Gilbert, Arizona, and Star, Idaho, are nearly opposite in terms of climate. When our family left Arizona, we were still wearing summer clothes, and when we pulled into our new home, we hit freezing temperatures. One of the guys on our team must have purchased three or four winter jackets in those early months!

Everything we ran into was new for all of us. Even the neighborhoods were new! Not just new to us, but freshly built! Star has been a rapidly growing area in the US, doubling in population twice since 2010. So when we moved into our new homes, we were surrounded by others moving into theirs too! Most of them were new to Idaho, coming from Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. 

Early on, we were building relationships within our neighborhoods, and most of our first six months consisted of get-togethers and cookouts we affectionately named “driveway dinners.” So by the time we were ready to launch the church in October of 2025, most of our attendees were the people we lived next to and spent time with every day.

When it was time to start meeting as a church, we had several options in Star that seemed perfect for a church plant. However, when we started to inquire, we were surprised to find that none of them worked out. So after our last option fell through, we decided it was best to meet in one of our members’ garages! They painted it and installed a heater, and by October 5th, we were ready to go! On our first Sunday, we met a handful of people who heard about our church and had been waiting to come! Although the garage felt a bit odd at first, it quickly became a part of our story.

Not long after launching, we were excited to learn that one of the neighbors, who had no background in church or faith, reached out and expressed faith in Jesus! A few months later, we were blessed to have our very first baptism celebration! I am so thankful to have been able to be a part of this, and even more so to walk with this brother as he continues to grow and walk with the Lord.

After about six months of meeting in the garage, we found a local gym that was closed on Sundays and was happy to rent to us for our weekly gathering. The best part about this is that they were already set up for children’s ministry and had enough room for us to grow. We are so thankful for the central location, and many visitors have found us because of it.

Our church is still pretty small, but we have so much to be thankful for. While we were surprised to see how God has chosen to work in Star, we are continuously reminded that he is, in fact, working! As we celebrate our first year as a church, we continue to see the same faces show up week after week. We are eager to start reaching out to the community through programs like the Bridge Course. One of our members even got approval to run a Bridge Course at his office!

As we look to the coming year and many after it, please pray that God brings more people to worship with us, new friends to serve alongside us, and called men willing to help lead us. We are so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement from our friends and churches across the globe. Please pray that God moves in power in Star. We are eager to see all he has in store for this little church and the town of Star.