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

“I always believed that if you can get people to
regularly worship, other aspects of Christian living
will follow,” said Merkens. “So we used many
a device to make our services attractive. And we
did everything possible to analyze the worship
service and everything we did at Concordia. We
were always seeking new ways to meet needs and
to heal hurts by the Spirit’s power.”
The results were impressive. Of Concordia’s
members, sixty-five percent were at worship
each Sunday. This compares with forty percent
in the Missouri Synod and thirty-five percent in
American Protestant churches.
Merkens also believed it was vital that the
church grounds be immaculate and manicured.
The extra care, he said, made the campus inviting
and “really had an impact on visitors.” The
attention to landscaping of the Concordia campus
eventually led to a “Beautify San Antonio”
award being presented to the congregation.
Among the church growth principles
espoused by Merkens was that “if your church is
80 percent full, it is full.” At that point, Merkens
insists, you must either expand or you stagnate.
“And you have to have a surplus of parking,
if you plan to grow. The 80 percent formula
works in parking, as well.”
Merkens said a major focus was always
on visitors.
“I always asked myself, ‘When they come in,
what are they deciding?’ I knew that many were
deciding within the first 12 to 15 minutes
whether they are going to come back, even
before they heard the sermon. They were taking
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Above: Concordia’s acolytes for 1965-
66 are part of a tradition of service by
Concordia’s youth.
Right: Groundbreaking for a school
addition and sanctuary expansion took
place in May 1961. During this period
Concordia added a building a year.
22 ✦ THE CONCORDIA STORY