Meet the Pastor

"A warm and friendly welcome awaits you when you come to worship the Lord with us."

Esper Ajaj (pastorabcdc.org) was born in Deirattieh, Syria, to Greek Orthodox parents. During his boyhood he suffered discrimination because he was not a Muslim. Through Christian relatives in the United States, he came to Northeastern Bible College where he graduated in 1958, and went on to study for a year at the University of Wisconsin. Later he earned a B.A. degree in Christian Education at the Washington Bible College. He was named Northeastern's Alumnus of the Year in 1982.

In 1959, he married Jean Leivonen of Newark, New Jersey, whom he had met at Northeastern. They have two daughters and a son. The eldest, Lila, also attended Northeastern and met her husband, Jeff Ross, there.

Pastor Ajaj had intended to return to Syria as a missionary, but God showed him that his mission field was the Arabic people of Washington, D.C. Pastor Ajaj and his wife were accepted by the Evangelical Baptist Mission Board to be their first missionaries to the Arabic-speaking people of the United States. They established the Arabic Baptist Church of Washington D.C. in 1967. Since, Pastor Ajaj has established many outreach ministries targeting the Arabic speaking people in the United States, including: the Arabic magazine Al-Mashal, Bible Conferences, TV & Radio ministries, and cassettes & video tape distribution. He has authored many books and pamphlets to provide training for Arabic speaking people in their native language on key Biblical principles of salvation, baptism and apologetics.

"Our purpose as a church is to preach and teach the infallible Word of God and share the Gospel of Christ. Our radio & tv broadcasts, the Arabic magazine ("Al-Mashal"), church-sponsored conferences, cassettes, and video tapes allow us to reach out for the cause of Christ."