The Concordia Story: A Fifty-Year History of Concordia Lutheran Church 1951-2001

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Above: Concordia rented a tent in
1952 in which to hold Sunday School.
Below: Pastor Merkens and daughter
Karen carry food across the street
from the parsonage to the church for a
congregational dinner.
Merkens was still considering full-time campus
ministry, but the vicarage in Detroit, he said, “really
turned me on all the more to the parish ministry.”
Upon nearing completion of formal training
at the seminary, Merkens was interviewed as to
where he wished to begin his career in ministry.
“I have no preference,” he told the seminary
officials, “except to hopefully go where no one
else has been a pastor. North, south, east or
west, that’s up to you and the Lord, but I’d like
to start a parish from scratch, if that is possible.”
When calls were announced for the pastoral
candidates, Merkens was delighted to discover
that he had been chosen to start a new mission
church in San Antonio, Texas.
“Of course, we all joked that I hadn’t planned
on being in the ‘foreign’ mission field. And I
didn’t really know much about San Antonio or
Texas, but I was ready to go.”
This course of events brought Merkens and
his wife, pregnant with their first child, to San
Antonio in June of 1951.
By the early 1950’s San Antonio had already
overcome its reputation as a sleepy little village
on the banks of the winding San Antonio River.
Through the wartime boom of the 1940’s, San
Antonio’s population had increased by 61% and
stood at 408,442, according to the 1950 census.
The boom continued unabated through the 50’s,
as the city’s military bases continued to grow,
and as support and service industries sprang
from the increasing population base. The majority
of this growth was to the north, an area of
rolling hills and live oak trees. New subdivisions,
streets and commercial centers were constantly
under construction through this heady
period of expansion.
The area selected by the Texas District for its
new mission church was right in the path of
growth in north central San Antonio. Although a
site had not yet been selected for the church, the
District purchased a home for its mission pastor
at 1823 Basse Road. That home just happened to
be across the street from the lot ultimately purchased
as the home for Concordia.
Merkens’ meeting with Dr. Rast on June 15,
1951 was in the Basse Road home. In addition to
the home, the District paid Merkens’ salary of $165
a month and provided whatever support it could to
help the pastor prospect for new members.
Dr. Rast provided Merkens with a box of
prospect cards that resulted from a preliminary
canvass of the area conducted by Albert Grauer,
on behalf of the Texas District, earlier in the year.
As Dr. Rast briefed Merkens on what was
expected of him by the District’s Mission Board,
he assured the young pastor that he would be
supported, so long as he worked and was making
an effort to get the new congregation organized.
Merkens’ replied, “Well, I hope to be selfsupporting
in a year.”
This surprised the District official, as no mission
congregation had ever become self-sustaining
in such a short time. It was obvious to Dr.
8 ✦ THE CONCORDIA STORY