Zabaneh to lead BGCT's Church Starting Center
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
_
__Abe Zabaneh is the new director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Church Starting Center.
___Zabaneh comes to the position after more than 17 years of church-starting experience. He has been a consultant with the Church Starting Center in the Gulf Coast region since June 2000.
___A continuing commitment to church starting is a key part of the current BGCT strategic plan, according to E.B. Brooks, coordinator for the church missions and evangelism section.
___The Church Starting Center helped Texas Baptist churches begin more than 200 congregations from October 2000 through September 2001.
___Zabaneh grew up in a Greek Orthodox family in Lebanon. He made his personal commitment to faith in Christ while attending a revival service at LeTourneau University in Longview, where he was pursuing a degree in electrical engineering.
___After completing his undergraduate work, he earned master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
___While attending seminary, he became founding mission pastor of Arlington Arabic Baptist Church, a mission of Hillcrest Park Baptist Church. "That began a lifelong passion for starting new churches," Zabaneh said.
___Before joining the BGCT Church Starting Center staff as a consultant, he was minister of missions for 14 years at churches in Tyler and Arlington, helping start 33 church-type missions and more than 50 apartment Bible studies.
___He and his wife, Geneva, have a 12-year-old daughter, Miranda.
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