First Presbyterian Church History

Commerce
Street

In 1846, Pennsylvania native and Presbyterian pastor John McCullough established First Presbyterian Church, the first Protestant church in San Antonio, near the corner of Soledad and West Commerce.

John McCullough

The small sanctuary was made of adobe brick. San Antonio, only ten years before, had seen such individuals as James Bowie, William Travis, David Crockett, and other defenders of the Alamo fall to the troops of Generalissimo Santa Anna in a fight for Texas independence. Because of health and safety concerns for his family, The Rev. McCullough departed San Antonio in 1849.

Old Adobe

Without the leadership of a pastor, the relatively new Presbyterian church was in a state of decline until 1851 when the Rev. Daniel Baker, who became known as the founder of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Texas, reorganized First Presbyterian Church and it once again began to grow. In 1859, the Rev. R. H. Bunting became pastor and started in earnest to find a new location for the church. That new location was at the corner of Main and Houston Streets and a new structure was badly needed because a severe storm had destroyed the Old Adobe.

Robert F. Bunting

In 1861, growth of First Presbyterian slowed again as Dr. Bunting departed San Antonio to become a Confederate chaplain and Texas seceded from the Union. Despite these obstacles, the building of a new church went on, and the new sanctuary was in use before its actual completion in 1879.

Flores and
Houston Street

By the time of its completion at its second location, First Presbyterian Church found itself with an inappropriate neighbor: the famous Buckhorn Saloon, located across the street on the southwest corner of Houston and Main. The bar’s Saturday night patrons often had not finished their revelry by worship time on Sunday morning.

This became a significant distraction for worshipers and another location for First Presbyterian was sought. After some searching, the current property at Fourth and Alamo, which was then at the edge of town, was selected.

Arthur G. Jones

1895 marked the arrival of the Rev. Dr. Arthur Gray Jones who began his twenty-six year ministry. Construction of an impressive $100,000 Gothic stone structure went forward and in 1910 the sanctuary for 650 worshipers was dedicated. Upon Dr. Jones' departure in 1921,First Presbyterian Church was well established with 1,127 members and no debt.

The next era of growth was under the leadership of the colorful and sometimes flamboyant Dr. P. B. Hill, who served as Senior Pastor from 1921 until 1939.

Church Exterior
1910

The church plant doubled in size, adding an educational building, which included new Sunday School rooms and a gymnasium. Membership grew to over 2,500, making First Presbyterian Church the largest Presbyterian congregation in the South.

P. D. Miller

When Dr. P. D. Miller arrived in 1941, he inherited a church that was still suffering from the depression years, in debt and somewhat floundering financially. Dr. Miller encouraged the Congregation to adopt a system of personal tithes and financial pledges as a way to raise needed revenues for the church.

George Mauzé

The modern era began with the arrival of Dr. Mauzé as Senior Pastor in 1949. Under his leadership there were many changes in the Church plant. The first major project was the addition of air conditioning, still an innovative improvement, in 1951. By his retirement in 1968 there was little of the physical plant that had not been remodeled or improved.

Louis H. Zbinden

In 1971 Dr. Louis H. Zbinden arrived to lead First Presbyterian Church as Senior Pastor. During his 32 years of leadership, First Presbyterian grew to over 3,000 members and his ministry was punctuated by a new commitment to local and global missions. As a result the church was instrumental in the establishment and leadership of numerous local organizations that assist the homeless, poor and those with special needs, such as Christian Assistance Ministry (CAM), the San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic, Mission Road, The San Antonio Metropolitan Ministry (SAMM) Shelter, Morningside Ministries, Loaves & Fishes, and Victoria Courts Childcare Center. Although Dr. Zbinden’s legacy was marked by many milestones, he firmly believed and said many times that “the best days of First Presbyterian Church lie ahead.”

Richard Kannwischer

In the spring of 2005, the church called Richard Kannwischer to be Senior Pastor of this historical church.

Richard graduated cum laude with a business degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, where he currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees.He also graduated with a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, and recently finished doctoral work from Fuller Seminary in Southern California. Following seminary, Richard served as an Associate Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Houston and as Senior Pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church of Summit, New Jersey.

A native Texan, Richard met his wife, Kelly Beckham Kannwischer, at Princeton Theological Seminary. Kelly is Executive Director of Presbyterian Global Fellowship. Richard and Kelly have two daughters, Danica (age 5) and Ashby (age 4).

In July 2009 Richard was called to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. First Presbyterian is in a transition process and details will continue to be posted HERE.

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