Reverends Daniel Mueller and Louis "Bud" Redmann, and the congregants of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in San Antonio, saw a need and an opportunity for evangelism, with the hope of a church-plant, in the Boerne-Leon Springs area, a region north of San Antonio, as early as fall 1987. In Boerne, the nearest Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) parish was more than 20-miles away. And the only Lutheran congregation in Boerne was St. John's Lutheran Church, a congregation of the up and coming new synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In fact, members of LCMS congregations of San Antonio living in and around Boerne periodically worshipped at St. John’s when weather conditions made travel to San Antonio hazardous.

With the synodical merger of what would become the ELCA in 1988, there was the elimination of the "six-mile rule", a prior agreement among synods, including the LCMS, as regards the proximity of Lutheran churches of different synodical affiliations. The door was wide open for an LCMS mission to Boerne.

Mueller and Redmann led their congregation in San Antonio in an effort to reach out to Boerne; they desired to serve the Lutherans living in the area, and to bring God’s Word to the unchurched. With a simple ad in the local newspaper, Boerne Star, a weekly Bible study and prayer fellowship was created. Odell Buchhorn says that he heard about the study by word-of-mouth from a fellow member of Concordia Lutheran Church.

A handful of persons, six to eight couples, including a couple from Shepherd, came together in the community service room of a local bank on Main Street in Boerne. For about six weeks Rev. Dan Mueller led a study of the Gospel of John. Thereafter, Reverend Bud Redmann led the time of study and fellowship.

The bank made the space available as a community service donation on Wednesday evenings. Here, the study went on for about a year and a half. The class completed its study of John's Gospel, and it continued with a study of the Christian life using the Life With God curriculum.

This effort saw little success and did not self-perpetuate. In fact, Pastor Redmann, notes, some of the persons initially involved in the study were a faction from St. John’s involving that church’s pastor’s estranged wife and her friends! It would appear that they had other things in mind besides joining a church planting movement, Pastor Bud quips. Persons in the study, who later became members of Messiah included, Ila and the late Ewell Maloy, and Odell and Iva Buchhorn, long-time Lutherans who commuted significant distances from their homes around Boerne to Redeemer and Concordia Lutheran Churches in San Antonio, respectively.

Pastors and members of Messiah reflect on how Messiah, ultimately, began to prosper through the development of relationships. For example, 13-year old Nick Mycock, upon forming a close bond with Rev. Dankis (when Dankis was a mission developer in the Sea World area of San Antonio, and a member of Shepherd of the Hills), acted as a kind of emissary between his family of five and Messiah. Another member remembers the simple gesture of a returned phone call: "Pastor Dankis and I hit it off immediately," Kelly Mitchell recalls. The importance of relationship building cannot be denied. Even so, it was discovered that there was a time and place for campaigns involving the use of technology, as we shall see.

Redmann recognized that the next step in reaching Boerne was through a regular service of worship. However, the bank was unable to provide space in its community service room on Sundays. He considered other locations, including a motel conference room. Finally, the group settled for the Boerne Community Center (BCC) on 820 East Adler Street. This would be Messiah’s home for the following six years.

As the vision for a worship service began to take shape, Pastor Bud and his disciples determined that telephone solicitation and direct mail would be the most inclusive means for accomplishing their objective of telling the community about the formation of a new worshipping community. Redmann contracted with Phones For You to guide the outreach effort. With their guidance, Shepherd of the Hills and the Bible study participants made more than 6,000 phone calls to people living in the Boerne-Leon Springs area over a 3-week period! They set up a phone bank in the church office on Pecan Street. Using a criss-cross directory, they dissected the area neighborhoods and made contact with virtually every home in their target locale. The technique was methodical and comprehensive. In addition, Pastor Bud says that the mission put out several mailings, including postcards with his likeness, as often as every week for the final 3-weeks before services began. The response was positive. The date was set. And on March 18, 1989, Palm Sunday, the Boerne-Leon Springs Lutheran Mission held worship. This service marked the end of Bud’s ministry at Shepherd of the Hills, and it signaled the beginning of his 21-hour per week ministry to the new mission.

The first service drew sixty-six persons. "There was quite a bit of excitement for starting a new church," Redmann says. "The director of Phones For You told us to expect a 50% drop in our numbers following the first service, but it didn’t happen! Nearly all the people who came on Palm Sunday, came on Easter!" And so it continued. A large majority, in fact, of the original worshipping community stayed with the mission through the formal charter of the church two and a half years later.

The bulletin for the first service included the following note to congregants:

This statement exemplifies the way the movement understood itself thirteen and a half years ago. However, it also demonstrates her character even now as a church; consistently Messiah has had a heart and vision for outreach, and she has used her resources generously for putting her dreams to work.

The Palm Sunday service began with the hymn, "Crown Him With Many Crowns," and it finished with "God of Our Fathers." With his deep baritone voice, Pastor Redmann proclaimed the beginning of our Lord's Passion: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Luke 19:38) This was the beginning of weekly, Sunday morning worship services for the Boerne-Leon Springs Lutheran Mission.

A present member of Messiah describes his experience in worship in the early days relative to his experience in another well-established congregation:

It was unusual, having come from [the city church], with its large pipe organ, its large congregation, its well-practiced choir, and all these people who knew all the songs, and we’d go through the same high liturgy, page five or fifteen, every Sunday. But now we move into the smaller room [in Boerne] with fewer people, keyboard hooked up to a stereo system in the back, and all of a sudden you realize, if one person doesn’t sing in this room, you’re going to know that they’re not singing!

As the church grew it found reason and opportunity to move to a larger room on the second floor of the BCC, and then downstairs to the auditorium. Lectern, altar, and paraments could be found in the "church closet." Every Sunday, every Lent, every Advent, and for every special service for the next few years the church would follow the same routine. One parishioner put it like this: "We had to put everything in the closet every Sunday; running up the elevator—putting it in the closet. And I remember loading the hymnals on that dolly!"

There were several difficulties associated with the use of the community center. Besides the sense of transience and unease for those who worshipped there, there was the nuisance of the "rank smell of beer" leftover from the wedding receptions; there was the elevator that bore the sign: DO NOT USE IF YOU’RE ALONE IN THE BUILDING; and there was a second church worshipping on the other floor. In addition, there was parking congestion, and a leaky roof and "water running down the walls and into the elevator shaft." "We knew that if the elevator ever went all the way down to the foundation, you’d drown!" one parishioner muses. On the other hand, despite all of these irritations, seven or eight woman of the church, led by Pastor Redmann's wife, Eunice, created colorful banners with words of proclamation for their sanctuary. The banners, along with paraments and liturgical appointments added a personal and churchly touch to the setting.

The congregation grew as a fellowship during this time. Once a week there was a woman's Bible study led by Eunice Redmann. This study gave birth to "a strong women's group." "We were the ones who planned activities," reflects Anna Maloy Together, the women were encouraged and inspired. They planned and guided activities, and, until the congregation created formal committees, they were "an underlying force," developing programs, hosting dinners, creating banners, and sharing their love of the community, which was becoming an extended family.

Organizationally, the evolution of the women’s group is of interest as it is seen alongside the formal organization which also took place. Anna says that upon the adoption of formal boards by the congregation, "the women’s group suddenly didn’t know what to do." Nonetheless, "eventually we found our jobs on different boards." Also noteworthy is that awhile later, Rev. Dankis, once he had received the call as the full-time mission developer, led the congregation in a 6-month study of spiritual gifts for the purpose of recognizing and applying congregants' gifts and talents.

A sense of community pervades Messiah. Persons interviewed agree that this is an outstanding feature of the body. "It’s friendly. . . It's warm. . . It's Texan!"23 they chorus. And the church has a strong sense of identity. Many of the early members of Messiah transferred from one of three other San Antonio congregations. A sense of competition could have manifested if early on the following battle cry had not been championed: "We are Messiah!" Together, the community felt that they were a unique people, in a unique place, with a mission to a town quite some distance from their past memories. The expression, "We used to do it this way," had no place in Boerne.

Worship at BCC followed Divine Service II of Lutheran Worship. At first, the small gathering used hymnals-on-loan, compliments of Shepherd. Later, the church opted to worship using a customized or "blended" service order. And there were innumerable musicians, each one, of course, compelled to play the community center's piano, which "was in really sad shape!"

For twenty-five dollars per Sunday, the church got a weekly musician. The piano players included local college students; a Baptist woman and her daughter; Arnold Ramming and Nancy Knettel, both hailing from Shepherd of the Hills; and Joyce Buhlmann, a member of the German Band of Boerne! One of the students was Ethan Foster; he came from Trinity University. His playing was superb, and he is remembered fondly today. Too, he helped the congregation purchase its first electronic keyboard, which remains in regular use today. Nancy Knettel and her husband, Kurt, began worshipping at Messiah early in 1990. For the following five years, Nancy would regularly assist with music. In September 1995, she became a regular part-time staff member of Messiah; today she continues her roll as the Minister of Music.

Eunice Redmann guided the development of the children's Sunday school. It began as one group, but soon became two groups: preschool through 3rd grade, and 4th grade and up. And she helped bring together the children's choir, the seeds of a choir that is a delight of the church today. Debbie Bonecutter, Ginnie Jones, Anna Maloy, and others were teachers and helping hands with the work among children during this time. Adult Bible class evolved at about the same time under Pastor Bud's leadership.

After service there was always cookies and coffee, the former, compliments of Grandpa Maloy. One member muses, "My toddlers went to church for the cookies!" And there were the potlucks: Whenever a congregational meeting was held, and on Thanksgiving and Easter, there would be a get-together on the second floor of the community center. Saturday afternoon picnics during the building project later on, pool parties, and the Young At Hearts Social Club were, too, opportunities for casual times of fellowship.

Generosity of time, money, and skills have always been a significant part of Messiah. Teaching, organizing, building, fixing, cleaning, cooking, speaking, and many other skills have been demonstrated continually in the building of Messiah. Donations came from outside and inside the church. For example, Ray Grefen, a wood craftsman by avocation, and a member of Shepherd, built a handsome, portable altar which was used by the church for its first six years. In 1995 and later, Herb Bleice, a wood craftsman like Grefen, built many fine furnishings for the church. His most visible work is the eight foot exterior cross which hangs prominently on the southern face of the church building. Even later, ten thousand dollars was donated for a baby grand piano in memory of a member’s daughter. These are just a few examples of the thousands of man-hours and dollars donated to the cause for which Messiah had dedicated herself. Pastor Bud says that the church could not have done otherwise and remain a going-concern: "When we began, the state of the economy was such that there was no money coming from synod, and little from the district—they helped with the lease for office space." His salary was subsidized for a short-time by Shepherd. But ultimately, his compensation, as he remembers it, was for mileage alone. He was retired military with a steady pension, and he was more interested in the church’s future than he was in making a living. Concerning the mission community, he says that "they just genuinely wanted to carry out the Great Commission," and we were all devoted to doing whatever was required.

Members speak consistently about three things which drew them to the church in Boerne-Leon Springs: location, fellowship, and a sense of place, in this order. Location and fellowship have already been discussed. As regards sense of place, many members have put it something like this: "at Messiah, everyone was needed and everything you did made a difference." Ila Maloy, reflected on her place at Messiah: "Myself? I was on the committee that created our slogan; can you imagine little ole me being on a committee like that?!"

On a Sunday in March 1990, the Boerne-Leon Springs Lutheran Mission became Messiah Lutheran Church. Several names were offered up at the congregational meeting. There was some discussion, and then the vote. Some of the voters were visitors, extended family of regular congregants! No problem, for the gathering was not yet a formal, organized institution. The sense of community, the sense of family, was strong. So strong, in fact, that, ultimately, the name chosen by the congregation was the one offered up by Ila and Ewell Maloy, grandma and grandpa of the mission. By the end of the congregational meeting, everyone was in agreement that Messiah was the name of choice. Such consensus soon became one of the noteworthy virtues of the church.

Incidentally, Messiah was the name of a west Texas congregation from which the Maloys had come years earlier. This Messiah had since disbanded and its building had been torn down. And the Maloys possessed the cornerstone! While the cornerstone was never planted at the future site of the congregation of Boerne, the name stuck, and the heritage of another generation lived on.

On May 6, 1990, the church decided to incorporate in the state of Texas. The original board of trustees was Gene Alder, Ewell Maloy, Kim Maloy, Ernie Mazurek, Evelyn Schussler, and Todd Wenzel. Membership rolled around 60-some persons. Odell Buchhorn, says that "other Lutherans living in the area or moving into the area is where our first growth came from." Many of the early members were transfers from San Antonio congregations (Shepherd of the Hills, Redeemer, and Concordia) and the remainder were transfers from St. John’s, converts from non-Lutheran congregations, Catholics, and a handful of persons formerly unchurched.

On September 15, 1991, Messiah was chartered with the LCMS;44 "there were 63 charter members, including seven or eight children." On December 8, 1991, Pastor Bud tendered his resignation, effective upon the installation of a regularly called pastor. Rev. Mark Dankis, an eight-year veteran of the ministry, was the mission developer to the Sea World area of San Antonio; he and his wife, Gail, were members of Shepherd of the Hills. He had begun to assist Redmann with preaching at BCC, February 1992. By this time the work at Sea World had come to a close without a mission-plant, Redmann was ready to retire, and by August 1992, Dankis received and accepted the call from Messiah to be her full-time mission developer. During his term of service Pastor Bud had led four and a half years of adult Bible studies, three and a half years of worship services, he baptized five or six souls into the faith, the first being Jeff Butter, buried one unto glory, made many hospital calls and home visits, and he confirmed two teenage girls, one of which was Amanda Mazurek. She remains a member of Messiah to this day.

Members of Messiah who have interrelated with Bud and Mark reflect on how each man was the right man at the right time for the church. Pastor Redmann had a take-control kind of approach to the fledgling ministry; he saw a need, he met it; he saw work to be done, even menial tasks, he did it. Retired Air Force, Bud’s sense of discipline and raw-energy took the day. He gathered the flock. Pastor Mark, on the other hand, brought with him planning and organizing skills. An undergraduate business major, a competitive, sports-loving spirit, and a sense of drive for future success served him and the church well. Small group development, outreach, and long-range planning were the major additions which Rev. Dankis brought to the work of the church. In the planning meetings a vision statement was established for the congregation: "Growing Up, Growing Out." With such a statement in mind, the people went to work. And with the new surge in economic vitality in the region, indeed, the country, and with the population growth in Boerne, the members of Messiah saw their hard work and dedication take root and bring forth fruit in numbers. Between 1992 and 1994, even before the new building had been established, the worshipping community grew from about 60 to 120 persons.

A significant initiative launched by Pastor Dankis during this time was home Bible studies. He and Gail had the non-Lutherans in their home, and the Lutherans gathered in another home. After three or four months of study the two groups came together for worship at the BCC. Mark remembers that the numerical difference between the two groups was about 60/40, Lutherans/non-Lutherans, respectively.

In 1992, the church received from District a 3-year subsidy package of $150,000; this would carry it through 1994. The amount was received in increments: $60,000, $50,000, and $40,000 per year. This amount was used mostly for staffing.

Messiah had begun to think about the purchase of property as early as April 1990. In the early 1980s, a mission executive of the Texas District had purchased 10-acres of property near Boerne for $663,000. As the Boerne-Leon Springs Mission took off, the District’s hope was that it would assume the mortgage. However, the price was exorbitant and, upon closer examination, the site was discovered to be contaminated with asbestos! "The District leaned on us pretty heavy to utilize that property." Even so, this issue is not remembered as a source of on-going conflict between District and Messiah. The man who purchased the property on District’s behalf, in fact, ultimately, was removed from his position; this was not the first poor decision he had made.

The church continued its search for property examining many sites. And in February 1992 they purchased a 5-acre tract of land from one Dale Baker for $92,640.55 Later that year, with the calling of the full-time mission developer, Rev. Dankis, a three-year subsidy from District, and a community center bursting at the seams, the time had come to think very seriously about building.

Money was now an issue. Messiah first considered a professional fundraiser. "However, he wanted about ten thousand dollars for work-rendered. The Building Committee felt like, well, let's just read up on it and tackle it ourselves. . . We did, and we raised enough money to qualify for a $500,000 loan." In fact, the church raised from among its members over $300,000 in cash and pledges. Additionally, the church used Tracky Stamps with the Texas District Church Extension Fund—adults and children were involved in the movement. They had a vested interest in the success of the church.

Next, the church applied for assistance from Laborers For Christ. Once Messiah's application was accepted, "we had to get busy," says one member. One Sunday, the end of August 1994, at the BCC, Messiah installed Rev. Mark Dankis as her first regularly called pastor. The members and pastors then drove 8-miles out to the new site for the future church building, and together they broke ground. At the corner of Dietz-Elkhorn and Old Fredricksburg Roads there was a short liturgy; Circuit Counselor, Rev. Henry Biar, preached; and then "We pulled the plow." Ropes were attached to the front of an old wood and iron plow, and Pastor Dankis and Board Chairman, Arlyn Maloy, got behind it. Together, the church pulled and pushed the plow from the future location of the front door of the church to the altar. The Laborers For Christ arrived.

There were 12 trailers hooked up on the property. Every Saturday we all came and worked. . .for several months! And we provided a meal for all the workers. That little storehouse in the back of the church, that was our kitchen! There was so much togetherness; it really made us a family. And, of course, the Laborers offered such a good example.

On Easter, March 1995, the church moved from her homey shelter at the Boerne Community Center—six years and one week after the first worship service—to the new site. Six months later, on September 17, 1995, the anniversary of the church’s charter with the LCMS, there was the Service of Dedication. The church’s vision statement from the service’s bulletin reads as follows:

The vision of Messiah Lutheran Church is to build a church in the Boerne-Leon Springs area where all in our fellowship and new families in our community can grow in relationships with Christ and the family of God through worship, education, discipleship, and outreach.

Over the past seven years, first under Pastor Dankis, the church has enjoyed the work of Sarah Black, Messiah’s first DCE; a fine music ministry under the direction of Nancy Knettel, Minister of Music, and Richard Asher, choir director; professional office management with Kelly Mitchell; two vicarages, both of which included DCEs in the form of vicars’ wives. In September 2001, Messiah installed her second Sr. Pastor, the Reverend Ted Andrada. Kelly, Nancy, and Richard continue within their rolls. And in September 2002, she installed her first associate pastor, the Reverend Steve Fick. Steve’s wife, Pat, is also a staff member. She is the Minister of Youth and Family Life.

Outreach efforts began as a little 8-couple Bible study in a bank conference room, but they have evolved: There is presently outreach to three nursing homes and New Life Treatment Center, a Lutheran Social Services of the South site for troubled teens. The church has adopted a missionary couple for sponsorship and it participates in a Braille Bible making program. Two years ago it began hosting a yearly Oktoberfest, and it has sponsored a float in the Boerne Christmas Parade nearly every year since 1994. And the church regularly offers weekday Bible study fellowships, youth activities, and so forth. Within the last few weeks, the church has begun a second worship service.

Messiah’s membership has grown from seven families to 135 families, from 29 attendees to over 220, since its humble beginnings in late 1987. It would appear that the church has been faithful with the gifts that the Lord has bestowed on her, and that she has been faithful to her mission as it is put forth in her statement of purpose as it is found in the 1993-1995 Strategic Ministry Plan: "The purpose of Messiah Lutheran Church is to enable people to grow personally in faith and discipleship and to grow the Kingdom of God." Amen.

NOTE: Many thanks to all the persons who participated in the interviews necessary for this history, and to Anna Maloy, Mary Jean Cleveland, and Kelly Mitchell; they each forwarded information to me by snail-mail and email for this study. The telephone interviewees, in alphabetical order, were Pastor Henry Biar, Billie Bowman, Odell & Iva Buchhorn, Virgil & Mary Jean Cleveland, Pastor Mark Dankis, Kurt & Nancy Knettel, Arlyn & Anna Maloy, Ila Maloy, Kim & Maurine Maloy, Ernie & Ellen Mazurek, Kelly Mitchell, Ed & Carol Mycock, and Pastor Bud & Eunice Redmann. Pastor Redmann weathered two interviews; he’s a very good sport! Also, I am indebted to the good-heartedness of Pastor Ted Andrada who welcomed me back into the community of faith of Messiah to conduct the interviews, and, in fact, went to the trouble of announcing to the church his support of this project.

All of the interviews were done between October 15 and 26, 2002. The paper was completed and submitted on October 31 to Professor William Schumacher, instructor of LCMS History, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.