About Amazing Grace

The story Amazing Grace Lutheran Church begins in February of 1982, when Pastor Michael Robinson of Atonement Lutheran Church of San Antonio was assigned by Mr. Clemente Saenz, the director for missions in the Southern District of the former American Lutheran Church, to explore the possibility of a mission start on the far western side of San Antonio. With a few members from the following congregations: Atonement, Zion Lutheran Church in Castroville, Texas, and Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes, planning meetings were held. After much prayer and research, the group decided to initiate a new congregation. The planning committee chose Fatso's Bar-B-Q restaurant on Culebra Road as the location for the first services. Fatso’s later went on to become Theadora's Mini Taco restaurant. Signs were made and placed in the surrounding area, announcements were made through the local print media, and the "Northwest Mission" was born.
The first announced worship service took place on Sunday, June 13, 1982. Pastor Robinson served double duty in ministering the Northwest Mission and Atonement Lutheran of San Antonio. Not long after holding first worship services, the membership began to increase and on Sunday, July 7 of that year, the first members of the Northwest Mission were installed. The initial membership consisted of 10 families-totaling 25 people. Meeting in a barbecue restaurant was quite an experience, and one that will never be forgotten. We were “smoking” so much so, that we were dubbed “The Barbecued Lutherans" in an article in by Roddy Stinson in the San Antonio Express newspaper.
One of the original members built the altar and pulpit. They were kept in a storeroom at the restaurant and each Sunday the altar and pulpit were brought out for worship. On Sunday, January 13, 1983, after much congregational deliberation, the name "Amazing Grace Lutheran Church" was chosen as the official title for the young Northwest Mission congregation. Some say it was the influence of the children that swayed the congregational vote. The children chose the name Amazing Grace partly because they could easily spell it when compared to the more complicated liturgical words that were being considered for the new church.
The congregation was officially chartered as a congregation of the American Lutheran Church on Friday, April 29, 1983. Pastor Robinson was installed as its first pastor on Sunday, May 22. The service to officially install Pastor Mike Robinson as its first pastor was held at Chapel 2, Kelly MB. Pastor Marvin Huth and our current pastor, Dr. Edward Kern, then the pastors of Shepherd King Lutheran Church officiated the installation service/ceremony.
Worship services continued at Fatso's but the congregation was outgrowing the party room. A search for a new location was initiated and thanks to the generosity of the Henry De Osso Catholic School nuns who ran the parochial school we began holding church services on October 2, 1983 in the school cafeteria and had use their classrooms for Sunday School.
The congregation continued to grow and felt it was time to find a permanent location with its own Sanctuary. December 1983 the Amazing Grace congregation bought five acres of land from the Bongers Family Homestead on Potranco Road, with the expectation that construction would soon start. Mr. Bongers loved his family’s land and intended to work and save it for his children. He would often sit on his front porch and dream about how good it would be to see a Lutheran church built on this land. That dream was finally realized when he sold of a portion of his property to Amazing Grace, the “Bar B Que Lutherans.”
On one of the coldest days of the year, January 1984, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the first building, the Fellowship Hall. Construction began later that month. The Founding Families of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church can proudly say they built the majority of the structure themselves in 4 months of relentless work and fellowship. Only the foundation and the heating/air conditioning system were sub-contracted.
By doing the majority of the work themselves, the congregation saved nearly $50,000 in construction costs. On May 6, 1984, the sound of Scottish bagpipes filled the country morning air during the dedication of Amazing Grace's first building. At that dedication service a plaque was unveiled revealing that the new Fellowship Hall had been named in honor of Mr. Raymond H. Lieck, for his tireless help and leadership of the new congregation in designing, landscaping, and the construction of the sanctuary.
Shortly after the Fellowship hall was completed, it became very apparent that additional space was needed for Sunday school. Again, the congregation members came together to build a small Sunday School Building to meet the needs of a growing church community. However, with its continuing growth, the congregation once again realized that additional classrooms were necessary. Construction on a two-story Sunday School Building began in 1991 and as before the congregation members stepped up to the challenge and did the work. The new Sunday School Building was dedicated on August 28, 1994 as Harry L. Bongers Education Center in tribute to man who once sowed corn on this land where now the seeds of Christianity are been sown. .
Amazing Grace Lutheran Church has and is blessed with its pastoral leadership. On May 23, 1983, Michael Robinson was installed as our full time Pastor. Pastor Mike had served the congregation from the beginning on a part-time basis. Through his spiritual leadership, the congregation grew from the initial group of 25 to over 125 baptized members.
In February 1988, Pastor Mike was called to a church in Conroe, Texas. Pastor Fred Scheffel, the interim pastor, served from February through November and provided wonderful pastoral leadership. In November 1988, after a thorough review of our area and our needs we called pastor Edward Kern, our current pastor.
In January 1988, the Amazing Grace Lutheran Church membership voted to merge with other Lutheran Synods to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Amazing Grace actively participates by giving to ELCA functions, the San Antonio Community of Churches, Christian Assistance Ministry, San Antonio Metropolitan Ministry, Lutheran Social Services, and the sponsoring of a Mission Partner congregation. Additionally, our members generously give of their time and talent to Habitat for Humanity and by helping community neighbors in need. The tradition of the founding members of being self-reliant, continues today with much of the maintenance of the property/buildings is done by the congregation members.
Amazing Grace Lutheran Church is the friendly, caring, country church. It used to be “just on the edge of town” but now we’re right in the middle of everything. With Sea World just to the east and the spacious" new Texas Research Park to the west, Amazing Grace truly is the church right in the middle of everything happening in Northwest Bexar County. We are in the fastest growing area of San Antonio
As of January 1, 1992 Amazing Grace Lutheran Church is no longer a Mission church of the ELCA, but a self-sustaining Congregation.