Emmanuel Lutheran Church began in 1904 when nine charter members led by the Rev. Gottlieb Langner organized a congregation in Knippa. Services were first held in members' homes and were conducted by area pastors and traveling missionaries. Georg Knippa, for whom the town was named and who was a charter member, died in 1905, and land he donated in his will for a Lutheran church was exchanged for the present church site. A wooden church with a 67-foot bell tower was built in 1910. In 1912, Pastor Langner became the first full-time pastor and organized a Sunday school and choir. The German-speaking congregation held services in German, and during World War I a Uvalde County resolution prohibited use of the language, but after a challenge and appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1918, the court ruled that the matter was for the church to decide. German continued to be spoken in church until 1942. A new sanctuary for the growing congregation was dedicated in 1954 on the fiftieth anniversary of the church's founding, and a new parsonage, annex, and fellowship hall were later added. The church has continued to serve its membership and the community for more than ninety years.