Rev. Dr. Mihran G. Kupeyan was born in the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, the old city of Damascus, to an Armenian family. Both his parents, Garabed and Alice were children of survivors of the horrific Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the ruthless remnants of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. He grew up hearing personal stories, the eyewitness accounts of the Genocide, and the ethnic cleansing of the entire Armenian nation driven from their ancestral homes and millennial lands, from Great Grand mothers, Grandparents, Great uncles and aunts who had survived the Genocide.At the age of two his mother Alice accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at an evangelistic meeting. Her transformation was immediate and complete, from that day on she became a bold witness of Jesus Christ to her family and everyone she knew. Through her devotion to the Lord and her decision to raise her family in the fear and knowledge of the Lord, she had the joy of seeing her husband, her Mother, sister and all of her children accept the Lord and become followers of Christ. Her greatest joy was sharing God’s goodness which she did to the day she went to be with her beloved Lord. She is survived by pastor Mihran her only son, and daughters Maggie, Betty and Ruth, and was preceded by death by her daughter Valentine who went to be with the Lord at the very young age of 38.

The Genocide and ethnic cleansing of Armenians from their homeland caused the establishment of Armenian communities in various neighboring Arab countries and Greece, Cyprus and almost every country in Europe that welcomed the survivors including the United States. Pastor Mihran was born in the small Armenian community of Damascus, at an early age the family moved to a peaceful town called Beirut, Lebanon where he was raised. He received his elementary and secondary education in Christian schools in Lebanon. He traveled to Australia upon receiving an academic scholarship to attend the “Illawarra College of the Bible” in Katoomba, New South Wales from where he graduated with honors. Following graduation from IBC he returned to Lebanon with great hopes of serving the Lord and continuing his education. However, the unending civil war in Lebanon did not leave much choice to the Kupeyan family but to emigrate. Pastor Mihran came to United States on an invitation from a church, with the eventual goal of joining up with his family in Canada. However, God had different plans for him. .

It was in America that he met his life partner Annie, in Topeka, Kansas. They were married in Minneapolis, Minnesota and God blessed them with three children, Joel, Samuel and Aline. Together they have criss-crossed the country serving the Lord in all four corners of our land. He completed his education in California while serving the church he helped plant in Pasadena, California, with a PhD in Theology from California Graduate School of Theology. His children are his pride and joy; he calls them the ‘darlings of my heart.’ His favorite pastime is spending time with Annie, and the kids, they are his number one priority and have been his main mission field from the moment of their birth. Both Annie and he have spared no effort in the raising of their children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (ESV)

He has pastored churches in Australia, Lebanon and the United States. He is a ‘Church Planter,’ Pastor, Teacher, lecturer and historian. He is the founding member of ‘Capital District Genocide Committee,’ a non-sectarian Armenian group which coordinates commemoration events in and around the Capital of New York State, and working tirelessly towards recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He is a member of Presidential Prayer Team, and many other prayer fellowships in and around the Capital District praying for the transformation of cities.

He has served on Boards and committees of national and regional organizations. He is the former Chairman of Los Angeles Ministerium of the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, and a former member of that Board.

He is an avid sports fan, loves to play all sports, his two most favorite being soccer and cycling. His favorite hobby is reading and cars. He is a student of history. He is fluent in English, Armenian, Arabic and Turkish. Loves to read and memorize Scripture in other languages.

He is a believer that accepting the Lord, the new birth experience, being born again is equivalent to enlistment into the military, and the Church is the boot camp to equip, train and prepare warriors for Christ. “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:1-4 He is a faithful soldier of the Cross and an effective trainer. The following verse perhaps describes him well: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16 He has a burden for souls and a passion for the ministry. One of his favorite quotes is: “Jesus Christ is my chief love and Chief!”