David Koontz, the first black president of a Lutheran Synod in North America, began life in 1846 as a slave in North Carolina. Freed following the Civil War, Koontz studied under Rev. W. A. Julian who ordained Koontz in 1880 in Mount Pleasant, NC. Koontz served his church in Mount Pleasant and also helped found Grace Lutheran Church in Concord, NC in 1883, both initially part of the North Carolina Synod, which is part of the ELCA today.
In 1889, Koontz and three other black Lutheran pastors, W. Philo Phifer, Nathan Clap, and Samuel Holt, asked to form their own synod, the Alpha Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Freedmen. Rev. Koontz served as president. Rev. Koontz died unexpectedly in 1890, and the Alpha Synod did not receive the support it needed from the North Carolina Synod. The five member congregations subsequently joined the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Though he lived only 44 years, Rev. Koontz left a legacy of faith in those who followed him, and in Grace Lutheran Church which still serves the Concord community today.
The historical record of Rev. Koontz life is somewhat sparse, but information can be found in the following locations:
- History of the Lutheran Church in North Carolina, 1803 – 1953 , pages 56, 57, 372 https://ia800201.us.archive.org/33/items/historyofluthera01morg/historyofluthera01morg.pdf
- American Lutheran Biographies or Historical Notices of Over Three Hundred and Fifty Leading Men of the American Lutheran Church from Its Establishment to the Year 1890, pages 415-416 https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/public/gdcmassbookdig/americanlutheran00rose/americanlutheran00rose.pdf
- Website of Grace Lutheran Church, https://www.glcconcordnc.org/Grace-History