St. Christopher's is an Episcopal Church, which means that we are under the care of a bishop. The word, Episcopal, comes from the Greek word, episcopoi, which means 'overseer'. The bishop is the chief pastor - or overseer - of a diocese, which is a group of Episcopal congregations in a specific geographical area. St. Christopher's is part of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. Our bishops are the Rt. Rev. Gary Lillibridge and the Rt. Rev. David Reed.

History

St. Christopher's began as a mission in 1948. Construction on the current church was completed in 1955. St. Christopher's received parish status in 1965. In the past few years, the facilities have been expanded and the scope of ministry has increased. The congregation has a significant role in the life of the rapidly growing area of Bandera County.

The Community

The town of Bandera lies approximately 50 miles northwest of San Antonio. It is the county seat of Bandera County, which is the fastest growing county in South Texas. Averaging a 5.5 percent annual growth rate, the county population is over 20,000. This high growth rate includes both retirees and younger people, who commute to San Antonio for work. In recent years, the school population has exceeded an annual growth of nine percent.

A mixture of ranching, tourism, hunting, fishing and, increasingly, retirement households supports the area's economy. Bandera is the site of numerous outdoor festivals and is known as the 'Cowboy Capital of the World.'