Divine Mercy Lutheran Church is a mission congregation located in the Weatherford/Hudson Oaks area just west of Fort Worth. This area is currently experiencing incredible growth with much more on the horizon. This growing and changing landscape presents challenges in keeping up with the pace of the community, but it presents a rich opportunity to share the message of Christ with people of all ages.
Finding a suitable place for a mission to meet for worship is a challenge. Since mission work began in this region of Texas, the congregation has worshiped in several places: a hotel, a school, and presently in a storefront at 3310 Fort Worth Hwy. The current worship facility has given our congregation much more stability and public visibility. Yet we also know that God has greater plans. For the past year, our congregation has been searching for land to be our permanent home. God has blessed us. This summer, we have agreed to purchase a piece of property on the frontage road of Hwy. 20 not far from our present location. This would give us incredible visibility to the massive flow of traffic heading to the main shopping and restaurant section of Weatherford. It may not look like much now (note pic of vacant lot), but with our Lord’s help, this will soon be the place where Divine Mercy brings the truth of salvation to the surrounding communities.
Becoming a part of the community is one of our main challenges. Our congregation is always looking for ways to participate and interact with our neighbors. Besides participating in the Veteran’s Day parade and handing out candy and church information, this past year we put on a fall carnival, Pumpkins in the Park, where over 250 kids and their families came to decorate pumpkins and play games. While we are in a heavily megachurch, Baptist, and Methodist area, we want people to get to know us so they can see what makes our Divine Mercy so special. While many people don’t even know what a Lutheran is, we hold in our hands, and offer
to them freely, the truth of God’s Word and sacraments that teach us we are saved through Christ alone. Praise God for the gift we share!
We also operate our “Loving Life” family center. We gather donations of gently used baby clothes and other items and invite families in need to come once a month as we share these at no cost to them. We also provide diapers and wipes to each family and invite them to join us in learning about Jesus. Many of the mothers we help come month after month and we get to see the blessings God has provided through Loving Life.
We are so grateful for the generous support and prayers we have received from the members of our synod. In addition, we have received incredible support and donations from individuals and congregations across the nation in support of our Loving Life ministry. Please continue to support us, our home missions and our Anniversary Offering so we can continue to establish the Lord’s church here in north Texas. To God alone be all glory and honor!
Rev. James Kassera
Contributing Writer
Divine Mercy Lutheran Church
Hudson Oaks, TX
