A Blessed History of Lord of Life - Plano, TX

In 1985 Pastor Ric McMillian accepted his first call to plant a church in the north Dallas/Plano area. After a period of Tuesday night Bible Studies to searching the Scriptures for direction, a small group of families began seeking a place to worship. They prayerfully chose the name “Lord of Life” to mirror their philosophy of ministry. Rental property was found at 6808 Frankford Road in Dallas and services soon began taking place. By May 1990 Lord of Life became a chartered congregation in the LCMS and installed Pastor McMillian as its first pastor.

In 1991, after the Frankford Road property was sold, Lord of Life was offered a church building, furnishings, equipment and 5 acres of land at our current site on 15th Street in Plano. In 1992 a capital campaign was launched under the theme “Building Together in the Lord” and with the help of Laborers for Christ, a multi-function building offering new worship space was completed and dedicated in 1994. By 1996 the congregation had grown and additional staff was called with Mrs. Pat Fick serving as Music Director and Assistant to Pastor McMillian. In 1997 a Future Growth Task Force surveyed the congregation and received approval to hire an architect to make proposals for another building phase.
 

During that time frame, Pat Fick left LOL to join her husband, Steve, as he prepared for the Pastoral Ministry. Ryan Meyer then accepted the call in 1998 to be Director of Youth and Christian Education. Soon after Ryan’s arrival, Pastor McMillian accepted a call to start a new mission in Arkansas. After an 18 month vacancy, Pastor John Lindner accepted the call to LOL and was installed in August 1999.
 

In January of 2000, our organist Benjamin Kolodziej’s role was expanded to Director of Worship and Organist. Ground was broken for a new education wing in May 2000 and the congregation moved into new spaces in early 2001. Additional ministries were added over the next several years which included a Fine Arts Concert Series, Stephen Ministry, and a English as a Second Language ministry to name a few. After Ryan Meyer took a call in 2002, that position remained vacant until DCE Joe Werner was called as the new Director of Youth and Family Ministry in August 2005. He served until August 2008.  2005 also brought the reactivation of the Future Task Force as LOL saw the need to build and expand once again.
 

In February 2007, Lord of Life broke ground on a new addition which expanded the narthex and included a new kitchen, classrooms, administrative wing, and a fellowship hall. On December 9, 2007, LOL's new pipe organ made its debut at the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. The Phase III expansion was completed in the spring of 2008. The dedication of that expansion and the new pipe organ was held June 22, 2008. In August 2009 Scott Peters assumed the duties of Director of Youth. Lord of Life continues to enjoy the blessings God has given her these last 20 years. We continue to look forward to the joys and challenges of mission and ministry for the years to come.