After the church was planted the first order of business was to find a meeting place. Pastor Yohannes with the help of other Ethiopians started looking for a place of worship on a Thursday for the Sunday meeting. But what happened next could only be described as a divine intervention. After choosing the area that would be more accessible to most Ethiopians living in Dallas, the first place they called was the Highland Baptist Church. The person who answered the phone was none other than the pastor himself, Pastor Aubrey Patterson. Dr. Patterson, mentioning that it was an answer to his prayers, asked them to come to the church right away. That was how this church was founded, as a mission of the Highland Baptist Church.

Soon after the establishment of the church, the leader, Pastor Yohannes, and his family had to move away from Dallas for personal reasons. That left the church without a leader. Lack of leadership impeded the church's growth and its very existence was in question. There were some Sundays where only four people were in attendance. There were suggestions to stop the meetings. However with the help of Pastor Patterson and his staff, some key members of the church kept the meetings going and started looking for a leader.

Pastor Zeleke Alemu, who lived in Sweden at the time, was contacted and an invitation was extended to him by Highland Baptist Church to come and lead the Ethiopian Church. Under Pastor Alemu’s leadership and guidance the church got its first organizational structure and experienced substantial growth in the number of members and services conducted. Several revival meetings were conducted every year to reach out to the unsaved. And a few house Bible study sessions and prayer meetings were started to serve the members. The most notable of these services was the weekend retreats that were held at the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment. These retreats were made possible by the coordination and involvement of Ms. Patty Lane of BGCT.

In May 1988, Highland Baptist Church, which has now a new leadership, told the Ethiopian Church to find another place of worship. The facility that was used by the Ethiopian group was needed for another program. After a long and exhaustive search the Lord led the group to Lake Side Baptist Church. It was here with the guidance of the pastor and his capable staff the church experienced a tremendous growth. In 1989 Pastor Zeleke and his family after leading the church for six years had to move on to another ministry.

The congregation called Pastor Seifu Kebede to take the leadership. It was Pastor Seifu’s visionary leadership, organizational skills and dedication to the work of the Lord that put the church on the right direction to accomplish what we are here to celebrate today. It was him who mobilized the congregation to purchase this building, which is probably the highlight of his, many achievements as the pastor of this church.

In Feb. 1997 when Pastor Seifu resigned from the pastorate, the church called his young assistant, Pastor Bedilu T. Yirga to be the pastor. The Lord is using the current pastor and his staff to accomplish a wonderful work. Currently the church is enjoying the highest number of membership, and a victorious spiritual growth.

As of October 3, 2004 we have moved to a new location in the city of Garland. Refer to "Contact" page to see address and map.

Praise the Lord!