The History of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of Amarillo, Texas

The History of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of Amarillo, Texas

In one of the first publications of Prince of Peace, its founding pastor wrote, “‘Unless the Lord builds the house, they that labor labor in vain.’ Psalm 127:1 God began with a vision that He implanted in the minds of a few people, the dedication and willingness to sacrifice by a few others and brought together a church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, here in southwest Amarillo. From that meager beginning God has fashioned His ‘house’ by adding to it men and women, young and old, with various gifts and talents to bring about the ministry that He desires. He has been and will continue to work in and with us to the glory of His Name and the extension of His Kingdom as we give Him reign in our lives both individually and corporately. But that is the key: it is His work that Hedoes in us for His Kingdom. He (Jesus) is the Vine and we are His branches. Without Christ as the Nourisher, Provider, the Source, we can do nothing. At the same time, Christ Himself is dependent upon us for His work. We are His Body: His eyes, ears, hand, feet and voice. As we open our mind to His Mind, our heart to His Heart we become Christ(ians) to those around us. But should we work from any other purpose, any other source, then our labors would be in vain. God grant that we may be a faithful bride to Christ our Bridegroom, a healthy branch, an active body firmly planted in the One who has chosen to bring us together. And may this church, represented here in this book, labor in Him to bring peace to many in Amarillo.” (--Rev. Tim Baldinger)

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of Amarillo began its ministry in January 1981 as a Mission congregation. The Texas District of the LutheranChurch—Missouri Synod purchased five acres of land at Hillside near Coulter in early 1980 and calledRev. Tim Baldinger in September of that year to develop the mission. The first official meeting was at the home of Carl and Janese Ackerman to discuss the plans to bring a new mission church to Amarillo. Rev. Tim Baldinger and his family arrived in November of 1980 and the first official worship service of around 30 people occurred January 4, 1981 at Dianna's Day Care at 2831 Mays in Amarillo. The fellowship gradually grew and on May 17, 1981 the Lutheran Mission chose the name Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in a congregational meeting. Prince of PeaceLutheranChurchbecame an official congregation on February 28, 1982, with 76 chartered members. In March of that same year, a voters assembly extended an official call to Rev. Tim Baldinger to be Pastor at Prince of Peace.

In early 1983, plans for the first facilities were drawn up. Canadian Construction Company received the contract to build a 6889 sq. ft. building. The building included a sanctuary seating 200, offices, classrooms, a kitchen, a fellowship hall, and restrooms, as well as storage space. The building was dedicated to the glory of God on April 1, 1983. During this time, the congregation experienced much growth, as it grew to include about 150 members. By 1985, Prince of Peace had grown to 200 members. Prince of Peace continued to grow and many modifications were made to the building to accommodate the growth. You could feel God's love at this church. By the end of 1986, the congregation had grown to 250 members, and we had grown to the point that Sunday School classes were held not only in the kitchen and Sanctuary, but also in the homes of Sunday School teachers. We also had a class meeting outside on the old playground equipment, weather permitting. In June of that same year, the church council approved the purchase of padded seating in the Sanctuary, allowing it to seat about 250 people. God always provided for the improvements of the church, and we should always trust in Him. Prince of Peace also had a first place softball team that year in the City Church Softball League. We made the playoffs for three consecutive years. Those trophies are still around the church.

When the late 1980's and early 1990's came, Prince of Peace went through some growing pains. The economy was weak and many families moved away following their careers to other places throughout the country. Prince of Peace had lost about half of the congregation. We also lost our Shepherd. Pastor Tim received a call from Messiah Lutheran in Charlotte, North Carolina, and after prayerful consideration, accepted that call. Pastor Tim was installed at Prince of Peace on April 18, 1982 and his last worship service with us was on January 5, 1992. During the vacancy, Rev. Dan Jones took over Sunday Services. He was the pastor at St. Paul in Canyon. The call committee met and issued a call to Rev. Jon Braunersreuther. He accepted the call and was installed on November 15, 1992. Pastor Jon brought a lot of excitement to Prince of Peace, and the congregation began to grow again. Many new programs were started and Prince of Peace was starting another chapter in her history.

Pastor Jon selected several families and individuals to lead Celebrate groups. Each group would meet at least once a month to have Bible studies and other activities to get people more involved in our ministry and to help meet the needs of the individual members. Everyone in the congregation was encouraged to join one of the groups. Some of the activities included bowling, Dillas baseball games, high school football games, cookouts, and one of our favorites was the Thanksgiving dinner at the church. Good food, great fellowship and, of course, football. In 1994 we put a building committee together to start plans for a new wing at the church. The plan would include a new fellowship hall, Sunday School classrooms, a new kitchen, and a gymnasium. The new wing was built and dedicated on April 14, 1996. At the beginning of Pastor Jon’s ministry at Prince of Peace, he started a contemporary service. Daniel McFaul started bysinging a solo during one of the services, and soon after we hired Dana Muehling as our worship teamleader. The worship team included keyboards, guitars, drums and vocals. She also taught guitar and piano lessons to members of the church and led the youth choir in our Pathlight program. The Pathlight program was a Bible study for the youth preparing them for confirmation and a confirmation class. Prince of Peace was once again a growing and thriving church, with many successful programs and many talented members. Then Pastor Jon took a call to the Texas District of the LCMS. His last worship service with us was on September 8,1996.

Rev. Mark Paul took over as our vacancy pastor. He was from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He flew to Amarillo every weekend for our worship services and flew back to Dallas every Sunday after church. He continued to serve us until we called another pastor. In the Call process, our committee met and narrowed it down to two candidates, Rev. Paul and Rev. John Elser. Rev. Elser was called to be our next pastor. He accepted the call and was installed in June of 1997. As he began to serve our congregation, the contemporary service continued to grow, as did many other programs. VacationBibleSchool was one program that was a big success, bringing in youth from around the city to know Christ our Savior. We had a Mother's Day Out program each year around Christmas and also started a group of members to reach out to the homeless. On the fourth Sunday of each month, we take a hot meal and clothing either to the park or under a bridge downtown. We named this ministry the Jones Family Picnic. Pastor Elser led our group and other churches to host a singles’ fellowship gathering once or twice a month at different churches in our community. At one of these events, Pastor Elser was introduced to his future wife. Pastor Elser and Shantell were married at Prince of Peace on January 8, 2000.

In all areas of life, change happens. Some change is good and some is difficult. Prince of Peace also experienced some changes. Some of the change was positive, but there were also changes in members and in resources. Much discussion took place as to the future of Prince of Peace. After much prayerful consideration, it was decided that the church should sell some adjacent land to pay off the congregation’s debt. The land was sold, the mortgage was paid off, some money was given for mission work, and some was set aside for future ministry needs. During his ministry at Prince of Peace, the Lord led Pastor Elser to a new and different type of ministry. Pastor Elser started to work at the Veteran’s AdministrationHospital part-time and later moved to a full-time position in that ministry. Pastor Elser continued to serve as vacancy pastor until a new pastor was installed.

In the past few years, ministry continued and the congregation continued to seek God’s direction for ministry. In the Spring of 2005, Chris Hegstrom began serving Prince of Peace as the music director. The congregation also began the call process to seek a new pastor. A call committee was formed that included eleven members. After much work and prayerful consideration, God led Prince of Peace Lutheran Church to call Rev. Jeffrey Geske. Pastor Geske was installed on April 2, 2006. Since Pastor Geske has been with us, we have replaced the sign in front of our church. The new sign was installed on September 29, 2006. As of this writing, we have begun a committee to install new flooring throughout our building. In addition, a twenty-fifth anniversary committee has proposed three anniversary celebrations throughout 2007.

We continue to strive to serve the Lord and bring people to know Christ. Many of the activities that have been mentioned continue today. We are excited about the ministry that God will do through us in the future. Our prayer is that God will be mightily at work through this ministry to make His love and forgiveness known to our generation and to future generations.

For all that have served and have been apart of this congregation, we thank you! From our pastors, to our music ministers, to all who have given of their time, their talents, and their resources in support of this ministry, we thank you! We pray that God would continue to bless us all and continue to fill Prince of Peace Lutheran Church with His people growing rich in His Word and out with His love. Happy 25th Anniversary, Prince of PeaceLutheranChurch!

Prepared and written by:

Mr. Dan Fisher, Rev. Jeffrey Geske, and many members and friends of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

Pastors that have served:

Rev. Tim Baldinger

Rev. Jon Braunsreuther

Rev. John Elser

Rev. Jeffrey Geske

Sons and Daughters of the Congregation in ProfessionalChurch Work

Mrs. Charessa Koontz

Rev. Matthew Williams

Vicar Martin Danner