Pastor Khanh Hoa Nguyen was officially installed as the new pastor of the Vietnamese Rockdale Alliance Church in Conyers on Dec. 4.

The Vietnamese Rockdale Alliance Church lost their previous pastor, the Rev. Vinh Tuong Do, two years ago in a tragic car accident near the Ga. International Horse Park in August 2009. Do was also a bus driver with Rockdale County Public Schools and was expecting his first son, who is now nearly 2 years old.

Since then, various pastors from local Vietnamese churches stepped in to help lead the Sunday services. Membership peaked after the death as people came together to grieve but waned as time passed. The congregation's prayers were answered a few months ago when Nguyen accepted the position as Senior Pastor.

Church Secretary Thiep Huynh said, "We thank God for sending us someone and hopefully this will be a new beginning for the growth of our church."

Thanh To, the church Treasurer added, "We are very excited to finally have a shepherd to lead our church. We are looking forward to seeing what God has planned for us and we are prepared to support our new pastor in every way to spread God's love and plant seeds in the Vietnamese community of Conyers."

Nguyen was originally from Long Thanh Dong Nai, Vietnam where his father was the senior pastor, of their church, and Nguyen served as the associate pastor under his father. In November 2006, Nguyen and his family moved to the United States and lived in Kennesaw. After Pastor Nguyen accepted the position at the Vietnamese Rockdale Alliance church, he and his family moved to Conyers in August.

Nguyen said, "My plans for the upcoming new year are to make some adjustments to the current programs of the groups within our church. I want to improve upon the way our youth as well as our adults conduct their activities and Sunday school classes. I want to revisit some of the projects and plans that were started but never finished. I also want to have more people involved in E.E. (evangelism explosion) and train members of the church to spread God's word."

This will be Pastor Nguyen's first time serving and officiating as a Senior Pastor in his long career. His family includes his wife Hong, daughter Thaian, and son Huy.