Morning Star Outreach History
Abandoned
Abandoned by his father, Mike Shaefer, founder of Morning Star Outreach Camps, was placed in an orphanage by his mother at the age of three. Without the family unit and a male role model, he quickly adopted the bad habits of lying, cheating, stealing and fighting. Toughened and self-reliant, he lost his childhood to survival.
Mike’s mother returned for him when he was nine years old. By the age of ten, still feeling unloved, he had become a victim of physical and emotional abuse.
Hardened by the lack of support and acceptance, he turned to negative behavior for attention.
After several violent acts, Mike dropped out of school in the ninth grade and had committed a number of armed robberies by the age of sixteen. He later moved to San Francisco and at nineteen, was almost killed during an armed robbery. He served time behind bars for his crime.
Hardened
At twenty-three, Mike began a ten year association with organized crime and continued down all the wrong roads. The brother of a former crime boss of the Los Angeles crime family stood as best man at his wedding. For many years he participated in countless illegal undertakings in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At thirty-four, Mike thought he had it all. He earned a name for himself as a stand-up guy in the criminal world and started several businesses making significant amounts of money.
Saved
Mike soon found himself being investigated for three major felonies. If convicted, he faced many years in prison. It was then that Mike cried out to God for help. He promised to serve God for the rest of his life if God could somehow help him out of the disaster that had become his life. In making that choice, the awesome vision of Morning Star was born.
Miraculously, all three charges against him were dropped and Mike Schaefer accepted Jesus into his life.
Understanding that God is more interested in internals than externals, he asked for and received a changed heart – a heart that desired to be a giver instead of a taker.
Inspired
With the establishment of Morning Star Outreach in 1978, and for many years since, thousands of young people in need have become Christians. These kids have been given a new start in life with renewed hope and a brighter future. Each child attending a Morning Star Outreach camp now understands the fundamental truth, the choices you make today will affect all your tomorrows. Morning Star Outreach has brought people from various backgrounds, from the business person in Danville to the youth worker in East Oakland, to work together with the common purpose of reaching young people with a message of hope and encouragement.
Mike’s goal, and the goal of the Morning Star Outreach team, is to see that kids stay out of trouble, stay in school, stay home and make the right choices.