Our Story of God’s Grace at AABC
The Seeds
In the middle of March 1992, five people gathered to discuss a calling that God had put in their hearts to start a new church in the DFW area. This new church would target the growing Asian-American population using mainly English. These individuals were Dr. and Mrs. Arnold Wong, Edwin Chin, Paul Wong and Anita U.
Seeking God's will was a priority. Therefore, it was decided that for the whole month of April, this group of people would meet once a week at Paul's home for a prayer meeting, which would be open to anyone who wanted to join other believers to pray. As the prayer meeting began to grow, the founding members felt the leading of the Lord to incorporate as a church. So on April 13, 1992, the church filed papers with the state of Texas to become a recognized church. Plans were made to start holding worship services in May.
The Planting
On the first Sunday in May 1992, the first worship service of Asian American Baptist Church was held in Paul Wong's home. At the prayer meeting held on May 5, the church held a chartering service and the charter members of AABC were received. A vote was taken to "call" Rev. Arnold Wong to be the first pastor of AABC.
In June, the decision was made to lease an office space at 1878 Firman Drive in Richardson. Looking back on the way the space became the home of AABC, it was obvious that the Lord was with the church. The location and layout of the space was perfect, and the price was affordable. On the first Sunday in June, the church's first worship service at the Firman location was held.
The Growing, Learning and Sharing
In July 1993, AABC was able to purchase its present site on Campbell Road from the Town North Presbyterian Church. God's fingerprints were found everywhere on the building project. Finally, on August 1, 1994, AABC was able to move into its present home.
In March 2006, Pastor Arnold Wong resigned as the senior pastor after many years of service. AABC found the next three years to be a challenging but also pivotal time of relearning what it means to be a local body of Christ. Many members showed their commitment to Christ and were not deterred from the mission of the church.
In January 2010, God provided the church with a new senior pastor, Rev. Benjamin Wong. He has been with AABC since 1998 and was on its pastoral staff since 1999. He was an associate pastor serving in the areas of young adults, worship, administration and pastoral care before going through the journey of prayer and the candidacy process for this position as senior pastor.
With God's help and infinite grace and mercy, AABC endeavors to fulfill the mission of glorifying the Lord, building His kingdom until He comes, and sharing the truth and grace of His Son Jesus with all those in their ecosystems.
