The beginning
it was in 1999, two days before Thanksgiving...
Growing up in the church since little, as the fifth generation of my Christian family, I, however, went through a long soul searching journey and did not baptize as a Christian until lately. Like many rebellious young souls, I had my own thoughts and beliefs and never thought that I would be a Christian. “One day my brother, you will come back to the kingdom of God, and God has his plan to make great use of you. Believe me, that day will come”, said Pastor David Peng to me twenty years ago after our first meeting at a local Italian restaurant in Queens, NY. David was the first friend I made in the United States when I moved to New York and became a life-long friend of mine since then. He accompanied me through many memorable and important moments in my life, and I also witnessed him grow from a young pastoral intern with a lovely newborn baby to a well accomplished reverent with two brilliant college-grads.
Fast forward to the year 2020, after many spectacular ups and downs in my life, I eventually came back to HIS home and became a true Christian. David was the first name on my guest list. With all the blessing and enjoyment, he flew all the way from New Jersey to California to attend my baptism ceremony two days before the Chinese New Year when China was plagued by the coronavirus. We spent 2 days together and shared a lot of thoughts over life, belief, family, and love.
On the way to meet another good friend of mine, Pastor Joe Houser of the community church that I usually attend, David said “Sometimes even the Pastors encounter a lot of challenges, especially when people need to communicate but can’t. I am thinking about finding or building a new church to serve the community better, and probably in a different way.” Suddenly, an epiphany flashed through my mind "How about building a virtual Church through a mobile app? I have all the technology in hand to make this app available to anyone, anywhere at any time." David looked at me excitedly for a few seconds, reply solemnly: “Let’s do it.” Looking into each other's eyes, we both felt strongly a miracle revelation descend on us. Joe was immediately inspired by this revelation and said “great, I have been searching for new ways to engage with the younger generation of believers for a while. This is it.”
This is the beginning of the story about App Church.
Wallace Lynch
April, 2020
founding team
Rev. Joe Houser
Dr. Wallace Lynch
Rev. Joe Houser
Rev. Joe Houser is the president and co-founder of the App Church Global Foundation. He has served in full-time ministry for 27 years. Throughout his time in the ministry, he has pastored, developed and led global outreach programs, established church plants, orphanages, community centers, and leadership training programs in over 9 countries. He is a gifted visionary, leader, and preacher. Currently, he is a lead pastor at Connections Community Church in San Diego.
Rev. David Peng
Dr. Wallace Lynch
Rev. Joe Houser
Rev. David Peng is the earliest initiator and core team member of AppChurch Global Foundation. He had been serving God since 1996 and now serving full-time ministry at First Presbyterian Church for 20 years. He had been involved in many mission organizations in the New York Metropolitan area and globally. David had pastored, developed and led the mission team in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Nepal.
Dr. Wallace Lynch
Dr. Wallace Lynch
Dr. Wallace Lynch
Dr. Wallace Lynch is the co-founder, Executive Director, and secretary of App Church Global Foundation. He is the creator of Alpha Ecosystem and an advocate for digital democracy. He had served the U.S. Defense Language Institute as an associate professor for 10 years. He is also a seasoned media producer and news anchor on radio, TV and social media since 1999. Dr. Lynch received his doctoral degree in International and Transcultural Studies at Columbia University.