Our Mission It is the mission of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church to proclaim God's grace to all peoples.
Under the blessing of the Holy Spirit, we actively carry out the calling Jesus gave to His Church, that the Good News of His victory over sin, death, and the devil be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. All are welcome to join us for worship, Bible study, and service to our Lord, as together we live out the wonderful truth that because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
Our History
The first Lutheran service in Liberal was held in the country home of Mr. A. J. Winkler on the last Sunday in October, 1931. This service was conducted by Rev. S. G. Widiger, then of Garden City, Kansas. A few weeks later Rev. Widiger and Rev. M. Studtman of Hooker, Oklahoma, began holding services in the Security Benefit Association Hall in Liberal. When the first resident pastor, Rev. C. C. Streck, arrived in August of 1932, services were held in a home on North Prospect Avenue. Shortly thereafter they began to worship in a residence on South Pennsylvania Avenue. The residence served both as chapel and living quarters for the missionary. Pastor Streck left Liberal in October of 1933.
July, 1933 Grace Congregation
In November, 1933, Rev. H. Hageman arrived in Liberal. Rev. Hageman continued to hold services in the home until the following February. It was felt that the location was unsuited for mission work, so services were held in a building at 1020 North Kansas Avenue. This residence again served as chapel and parsonage. Pastor Hageman's services at Liberal were concluded in June, 1935. During the next months very few services were held. Student Bringewatt of Garden City held services for a time.
The members then began worshiping in the Episcopal Church on North Sherman Avenue. Services at that time were conducted by Rev. Studtman and Rev. A. J. Brase, both men serving at Hooker.
Late in 1936, Rev. H.M. Daenzer was called by the Kansas District Mission Board to continue the work in Liberal. He remained until the year 1940.
Pastor A.C. Esch of Hooker then supplied the Liberal Mission from November 1940 until May 1941, at which time Rev. A.J. Bruns of Meade, Kansas, began his work in this city. Pastor Bruns continued to serve the congregation until January, 1944.
Pastor A.C. Esch then again served the congregation until Rev. E.H. Kroening was installed on the 16th of July, 1944.
Grace Lutheran Church was organized on December 16, 1945, under the leadership of Pastor Kroening. At it's organization the congregation numbered 31 communicants and 62 baptized members. On October 12, 1947, Grace Lutheran Parish Hall was dedicated. By this time the congregation numbered 48 communicants and 86 baptized members. Pastor Kroening continued to serve the congregation until June 1948.
Rev. Homer Kurth of Meade served as vacancy pastor until October 1948, at which time Rev. G.C. Hattendorf was installed to serve the congregation. He served the congregation until October 11, 1953. The vacancy pastor at this time was Rev. A. Stoehr of Meade, Kansas.
May, 1957 Fellowship Hall
On August 14, 1955, Rev. David L. Wacker was installed. Under his leadership a new church was built and dedicated to the glory of God on November 10, 1957. On September 4, 1960, a new organ purchased by Mr. and Mrs. V.L. Minns, was dedicated as a living memento to Pastor Wacker. On October 2, 1960, Pastor Wacker preached his farewell sermon and moved with his family to Bridgman, Michigan.
Pastor Robert J. Daniel of Hooker, Oklahoma, served during the vacancy. On January 22, 1961 at 7:30 p.m., Rev. Herbert H. Ries was installed as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Liberal, Kansas. The membership at this time was 177 communicants and 363 souls. On September 19, 1965, Pastor Ries preached his farewell sermon and moved with his family to Adell, Wisconsin.
Pastor A.R. Rasch from Meade filled the vacancy until October 31, 1965, when he also moved to a new parish in Colby, Wisconsin. Pastor Donald T. Heiderich from Hooker, Oklahoma, served as vacancy pastor until May 29, 1966. On June 1, 1966, Rev. W.J. Wehmeier of Guymon, Oklahoma, began serving the vacancy. He was assisted by Summer Field Worker, Vicar Don Mueller, of Hooker, Oklahoma.
Rev. Heiderich, again resumed the duties of vacancy pastor in September, 1966. On January 15, 1967, Pastor Heiderich announced to the congregation that he would be leaving on February 15th so that he could return to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, for post_graduate studies. Rev. E.J. Harman of Christ Lutheran Church in Elkhart, Kansas, filled the pulpit and confirmed a large class of youngsters on April 16, 1967.
After a 19 month vacancy, Pastor Eugene Jurgensen accepted the call extended to him by Grace and was installed in May of 1967. With his encouragement and the hard work of Vera Miller, a weekday school was opened in the fall of 1967 with a large enrollment. The congregation also made the decision to become self_supporting and remove itself from subsidy by the District. Many were thrilled and determined to make this endeavor successful and yet some were a little nervous about it all. It was during this time that midweek classes were begun. In June, 1970, Pastor Jurgensen preached a farewell sermon to the congregation and moved to Pilger, Nebraska where he had accepted a call.
Pastor Donald Deterding of Meade, Kansas, served as vacancy pastor until he accepted a call to Salina, Kansas, and moved away. Pastor James Wenzel, Hooker, Oklahoma, then assumed the duties of vacancy pastor.
On January 10, 1971, Pastor Paul Helmer was installed as pastor of Grace Congregation. He and Pastor Wenzel enjoyed a renewed friendship having been separated by distance for a time. Only for the short time, however, as Pastor Wenzel soon moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to serve a parish there.
In 1976 Pastor Helmer accepted a call to St. John Lutheran College in Winfield, Kansas, to serve as Assistant Professor of Greek. Pastor Helmer preached his farewell sermon on December 26, 1976. Pastor Richard Bode of Hooker, Oklahoma, served as vacancy pastor for the next few months. It turned out to be a short vacancy.
On January 18, 1977, a call meeting was held. A call was extended to Pastor William P. Wagner of Gresham, Nebraska. Pastor Wagner accepted the call and arrived early in March in Liberal. He was installed as pastor of Grace Lutheran Congregation on March 27, 1977. His wife, Ruth, and their daughters arrived in Liberal in May, having completed the school terms at their respective schools in Nebraska. During his years of service until his retirement on August 5, 1984, our membership increased. After retirement Pastor and Mrs. Wagner remained in Liberal. He died August 12, 1988.
October, 1980 Church on West 11th Street
The cornerstone of our current church building was laid October 5, 1980. After a grand march from Lincoln Avenue to our new church building, three dedication services were celebrated on November 16, 1980, with approximately 750 in total attendance. A parochial school was started in the fellowship area in September 1981.
Rev. Dr. Richard Bode was installed as pastor of Grace on September 16, 1984. A separate building for Grace Lutheran School was dedicated on August 25, 1985. Classes kindergarten through sixth grade with three full_time teachers were added. Total enrollment in April of 1988 was 50 students. Women became part of the voters' assembly as officers and committee members, with the exception of serving as elders, president, or vice president. The community benefitted through this time when open_door outreach was available from the pastor at Grace. Pastor Bode preached his farewell sermon May 20, 1990. Pastor Lynn E. Spencer of Meade served as pastor of Grace during the vacancy.
On August 26, 1990 Rev. Dr. Paul Johnston was installed as pastor of Grace. During his ministry the operation of Grace Lutheran Preschool was suspended, a congregational Resource Center was begun, and new impetus was given to youth work in the church, including regular children's sermons. A Wednesday evening fellowship supper was added to the midweek schedule in October of 1990. During the 90's, Grace Lutheran participated in the Heartland Share program, which gave low-income families opportunities to purchase food in bulk for lower prices. In October 1994, Grace began renting space to the Head Start program of the Kansas Children's Service League---a relationship which continues to this day. After a back injury in December of 1997, Pastor Johnston resigned for health reasons on August 16, 1999.
On May 7, 2000, Grace called Rev. Andrew Wehling. After his acceptance of the call, he was installed August 13, 2000, and is our current pastor.
On May 6, 2001, Grace celebrated the retirement of its building debt in a special service of thanksgiving and praise. During the service, a copy of the mortgage was burned by President Kent Krueger and Treasurer James Miller. The church's resource center was rededicated as Wagner Hall in thanksgiving for the ministry of Pastor William Wagner. Guest preacher that day was Rev. Howard Patten, President of the Kansas District---LCMS. Other special guests included Pastor Wagner's wife, Ruth, of Wichita.
In May 2002 Erich Schieber became the director of the Hispanic Outreach program. Erich leads home Bible studies, a Spanish Catechism Class, and translates worship services for Spanish speaking attendees. In June, 2003, Grace began offering worship services in spanish once a month. However, these were suspended after one year due to declining attendance. In September, 2005, an English as Second Language computer lab was opened in an upstairs classroom and is actively used by the community.
At the end of 2006, Grace Lutheran Church included 282 baptized members and 212 communicant members.
Our Teachings Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Being "Lutheran," we accept and teach Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone.
Grace alone God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
Scripture alone The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
Faith alone By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him. Our teachings are We are a confessional Lutheran Church.
We believe that there is only one truth, the Word of God. We believe that the study of God’s Word is important and should be a routine event in our daily lives. All that we do, that we say, and that we believe can be and should be guided by the Word of God.
John 8: 31-32 “...Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 17: 17 (Jesus said) “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”
We Believe In God’s Means Of Grace.
We believe that God has chosen to channel His grace to us through simple, yet powerful means: His Word and Sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion). We believe in the regenerating power of Baptism and that in Communion Christ Jesus comes to us in, with and under the bread and wine to offer us His very body and blood (real presence). In both Sacraments, the forgiveness of sins is offered and conveyed.
Romans 1:16-17 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”
We Believe In God’s Plan for Sexuality.
We believe that any sexual activity outside of the marriage of a man and a woman is sin.
Ephesians 5: 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
1 Corinthians 6: 18-20 “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”
We Believe In The Sanctity Of Human Life.
We believe that every human being is created by God from conception. Human life is to be protected and therefore we do not support abortion except in an emergency where the life of the mother is at risk. We do believe that a Christian, in good conscience, can let the natural process of death occur. We do not believe in physician assisted suicide or any effort to shorten an individual’s life by human means.
Psalm 139: 13-14 “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church - Liberal, Kansas
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