The Rev. E. J. Moebus was sent by officials of the Texas district of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to establish Lutheran congregations in the Rio Grande Valley. Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel Church organized at Mercedes on October 30, 1910. The American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Co. gave property located along the railroad tracks to the group, and the church's first building was dedicated on May 28, 1911. The congregation later sold the property and purchased land on Washington and West Third streets. Although the original church building was moved to the new location in 1920, another structure was built and dedicated on the site in 1929. In 1945, the church was renamed Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. (2009)