May 8, 2000
San Antonio's Manor passes property to First Mexican
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___SAN ANTONIO--Contrary to popular belief, the ministry of Manor Baptist Church in San Antonio has not died. It merely has transformed into something new.
___Manor experienced its grandest moments in the mid-1960s, with a membership of about 2,200, but times changed. The community around the Anglo church transitioned, becoming at least 85 percent Hispanic, and the church had dwindled to about 150 before the final services were held in early March, Pastor Keith Herron said.
AL FLORES (right) interprets for Keith Herron as Manor Baptist Church passes its property to First Mexican Baptist Church in San Antonio.
___"We had gotten to the place where we could face further declines or find a way to creatively continue to minister to the neighborhood," Herron said. "We wanted to look to the future, not hold on to the past."
___That creativity came in the form of the church conveying its property to First Mexican Baptist Church, a congregation that was landlocked in a historic section of the city. While being located there was nice in some respects, it made the church's continued growth impossible, Pastor Al Flores said.
___The decision to transfer was not any easy one for the members of Manor to make, however. Of the 150 members who still attended, about 75 percent were over the age of 70 and had very deep feelings for a church that had been part of their lives for many years.
___"It is a very mature congregation, a very wise congregation, but it was a tough decision," Herron acknowledged.
___It was also a decision that was very difficult for Herron personally.
___"I'm working through my own grief, my own personal loss," admitted Herron, who had been pastor of the church since 1994. "It was a wonderful congregation. It was a terribly painful decision, but one that had to be made. The makeup of the church just did not allow us to reach out to the surrounding community the way we needed to."
PASTORS Keith Herron and Al Flores guided the transition of property from Manor Baptist Church to First Mexican Baptist Church in San Antonio. (Photo by David Clanton)
___That sense of pain has not been lost on Flores.
___"It was a very agonizing decision for them," he said. "We've tried to put ourselves in their position. Some of them had been here for more than 50 years, and now at the time when many of them need their church the most, they seem to be losing it. We need to love those people and be their church family if they want us."
___Many of those who had been members of Manor have begun attending First Mexican, and just a couple of weeks after the transition, 14 people already had elected to join the church. Herron also is working on the staff of First Mexican during the transition as an associate pastor.
___Flores said that while the change is exciting for his church, a few members' excitement was tinged with pain.
___"This is very exciting for all of us, but the church had been in its previous location for 43 years, and some had become attached to that building and the memories of good times there," he said.
___The cause for the excitement over the move of about seven miles is that the church has moved into the middle of a mission field, Flores said.
___"We literally have endless prospects and a very large opportunity before us," Flores said.
___He said his congregation is very aware of the blessing they have been given. The buildings of Manor Baptist Church were valued in excess of $1 million, and the congregation also left all the furnishings, including a very expensive pipe organ and a fully equipped gymnasium.
___"We gave them $300,000, but that doesn't even begin to pay for the buildings, much less all the other things," Flores said. "We are debtors to the Lord primarily, but also the congregation of Manor Baptist Church."
___Herron said the money would be used to pay off the church's accounts and begin an endowed scholarship at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. Additionally, about one-third of the money will be returned to First Mexican Church as an investment in the ministry there.
___The story of a church declining in a changing community is not unique, Flores said. What is unique is the church's sense of stewardship and its priority on reaching others with the gospel.
___"The story of their generosity needs to be told," Flores said. "Our Baptist family across the state should know of their generosity. Their first concern and their pastor's first concern has always been that there be a strong presence in the community that would further the kingdom of Christ."
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