Early Beginnings….
February 1950
March 31, 1954
1955
PABC purchased the adjoining lot on the corner of 30th and Pennsylvania Avenue from the Seventh Day Adventists.
April 29, 1956
The groundbreaking ceremony for the chapel, the first unit of the church, was held. A humble and thankful people entered a new place of worship the following year on Sunday, June 16, 1957. By this time, the church membership had grown to 265, and the Sunday School to an enrollment of 235. A motto had been adopted by the members of the church, “Building Together for God,” which was printed on all church bulletins, signs, and literature. The dedication service for the chapel was held on June 30, 1957.
PASTORS

Milestones….
- During the spring of 1998, the fellowship hall was named Harvey Hall in memory of charter member and Deacon, William “Bill” Harvey who worked tirelessly to maintain the church’s property.
- In 1988, the Maise-Inman Scholarship was established to support high school students in their pursuit of a college education. The scholarship was named after Deacon Fred Maise and Bess Inman. Deacon Maise was head of the National Boy Scouts for many years and Ms. Inman was a DC Public School teacher. They were committed to providing financial, academic, and social support to youth.
- The church’s prayer room was dedicated in honor of Deacon Emma Nixon, a prayer warrior who believed men and women ought always to pray and led the effort to establish a room specifically dedicated to prayer.
- In 2001, Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Haggray became the first African-American pastor of PABC. In keeping with the original vision of the charter members who were “Building Together for God,” Dr. Haggray led the church to purchase the property adjacent to the church.
- Shortly after arriving at PABC, Dr. Haggray was called to serve as the Executive Secretary of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, the first African-American to head the organization. Rev. I. Benni Singleton, an Associate Minister at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church served as PABC’s Interim Pastor while the church searched for a new pastor.
- In 2003, Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry was called to pastor PABC. Under his leadership, the church undertook a major infrastructure project and within three years of his arrival, the church transformed its entire parking lot.
- Curry transformed the church’s ministries, as well, aligning them with a five-fold ministry concept to support the building of the Kingdom.
- In 2018, Rev. Curry celebrated 15 years of pastoring PABC. He is the longest serving Pastor in PABC’s history.
- In 2020, in response to the world-wide pandemic of COVID-19, Pastor Curry held PABC’s first completely online worship and moved all ministry offerings to video or audio conference. Through technology, persons from far and near tuned in to “Grow with us — Transform the world.”
Future….
Our prophetic future includes everything from permanently incorporating online and outdoor worship services, to building senior and affordable housing, grocery and retail establishments, medical services, restaurants, and more right here on our property! Our prophetic future envisions PABC as the heartbeat and hub of the community — a wellspring of spiritual, emotional, physical, and economic growth where children and teens can have a personal encounter with Christ, obtain their first jobs, and their parents and grandparents can live, shop, play and pray right here, in one location in their own neighborhood. This vision is affectionately known as “the City of Transformation.”
In 2020, is the “Year of Divine Establishment,” and God had empowered us to establish our online presence and began laying the groundwork for establishing our future growth. Our vision for the “City of Transformation” is a God-sized vision—it’s much bigger than us. We welcome your prayers and your participation if you feel God is calling you to be part of His vision for transforming our church, our community, our city, and the world through the love of Jesus Christ.



