Back in 1946, when all that you could see of the Schertz area was just coming into existence, a few people with a deep commitment and a great hunger for God's word banded together and sought a way to achieve their desires. Just how many families were involved is not known, but two -- the W. A. Morgan family and the R. R. Cosby family -- seem to have been the guiding force in the group.
In early 1946, a lot located near the front gate of Randolph AFB was deeded to the San Antonio Baptist Association with the understanding that a Baptist Church should be built on it within a certain time frame or it would revert to the heirs of the family. No church was built there, but still God provided.
The prayers of the Cosbys and Morgans were answered when God led the two families to a worship service at the Houston Terrace Baptist Church where they met the pastor, Rodney Dowdy. He felt the desire and yearning of these families to have their own church and in July 1948, he began to seek help from other San Antonio churches. Finally, the San Antonio Baptist Association agreed to help Houston Terrace conduct a revival in Schertz.
In late May 1950, a tent was pitched in the front yard of Sergeant and Mrs. E. E. Newman in Schertz; chairs were borrowed from the Chapel on Randolph AFB. The Newmans provided a piano and electricity and the revival ran from May 28th through June 4th. Brother Dowdy preached the revival and a student by the name of George Kemp from Corpus Christi Baptist University led the singing. They were rained out three nights but still two people came on profession of faith and two more by letter. Everyone was elated with the results and desired regular services. Pastor Dowdy agreed to preach for them.
An old theater building owned by E. M. Church, J. L. Dendy, and Malford Koch was offered for use and from June 25, 1950, until January 1951, Brother Dowdy would drive the sixteen miles to Schertz and preach from 9:00 - 10:00 each Sunday morning and then return to his own church for their regular services. Meanwhile the Schertz group held their Sunday School after the worship service. There were 20 in that first worship service and 17 in Sunday School.
On January 2, 1951, Brother Dowdy met with several representatives from the San Antonio Baptist Association and the Mission Board of the Baptist State Convention who purchased for us a tract of land on the corner of Randolph and Aero Boulevards. They also sent a field worker, the Reverend W. H. Colson, to help us get started. He first met with the church on January 21, 1951. Plans were immediately made to incorporate as a church and all the necessary paperwork was filed with the State.
The people had caught a vision of what could be done and by the time the church actually incorporated on March 11, 1951, the Sunday School had an average attendance of 138. On this day of incorporation, only 52 people joined the church as Charter Members. The charter was left open and during that time, 20 more people joined so that in the end 72 members were recognized as being part of the chartered group. Only one of the charter members remains today - Helen Eaddy.
The first church building was begun in July 1951 and put to use in September of that year, even though it was not finished. With the work begun and the congregation growing, the church called its first pastor - the Reverend Eugene Ege answered the call and came on the field in August 8, 1951. The people loved him -- not only was he a good preacher but also a good plumber, carpenter, painter and all-around general handy-man -- a great asset when you are in the middle of a self-help building program.
In April 1952, work began on a second building to be used as a tabernacle/auditorium. As soon as it was closed in, the congregation began to use it even though there was only a dirt floor and folding chairs. The people were enthused about what was happening with their growth and fellowship, God was blessing them.
Growth began to slow in the local church and the people under God's leading sought a place to establish a mission. Converse was chosen and the work was begun with a Vacation Bible School in June 1954, and the work grew so that the mission constituted as a church in March 1955. In October 1955. a third building was added to replace the two city buses that had been used as classrooms since October 1953.
By the fifth anniversary of the church, March 11, 1956, the Sunday School enrollment had grown to 237, the church membership to 131. Sixteen had been received by baptism and 51 by letter. By the time Brother Ege was called elsewhere to continue his work, the church had grown to 545 members, three young men had been licensed to preach, and several young people had surrendered to special service. Brother Ege left the first of June 1957, and Brother Harold Cornelison was called as the new pastor and came on the field on September 1, 1957. The church has continued to thrive under a succession of pastors.