Abundant Life Church was founded in 1948 by Eld. Gabriel Tompkins as Tompkins Chapel.

Eld. Gabriel Tompkins was ordained in 1939 at the age of 12. He was an exciting young preacher. He led many young people to Christ.  He began a fellowship of young Christians that traveled all over the state of Maddocha running Revivals.    The young people were from the neighboring cities of Edenburg and Bluff Dale. The group consisted of musicians, choirs, and other students who supported the ministry. The young people even held services when they were not in Revival. Many young people, adults, and other attended the services. The young people were very committed.

They formed a youth church under the guidance of Eld. Nathan Bookman.  Eld. Bookman allowed the young people to use his sanctuary, Bookman Chapel as a meeting place. The young people's service was known as the Bookman Chapel Youth Church.  Eld Gabriel Tompkins (Eld. Gabriel as he was called) was appointed as the youth pastor at the age of 13.  The services continued to grow. Eld. Gabriel resigned as youth pastor in 1943 to become a full-time evangelist.  Eld. Gabriel traveled all over the country proclaiming the Gospel to young people.  Whenever he ran a Revival at a church, he made it a point to request that the youth of the church be in the services. He would canvas the area schools, neighborhoods, and hangouts, talking to the young people. Young people would crowd out the church because of Eld. Gabriel's efforts.

In 1947, while Eld. Gabriel was running a Revival in the city of Freling, a young lady by the name of Ruth Esther Jones caught Eld. Gabriel's eye. Ruth Esther sung "Amazing Grace" with an anointing that set the whole church on fire.  After service, Eld. Gabriel asked Ruth Esther to sing the song for the rest of the Revival. She did, each night with the same results. Eld. Gabriel as Ruth Esther began keeping company.  They were married on December 14, 1947. Eld. Gabriel and his wife moved to the City of Precious Mountain shortly after they were married.

Eld. Gabriel was led by the Lord to begin a church in 1948.  The church was named Tompkins Chapel. Once the young people in the area heard about the church, the church began to grow.  Young people from all over the area began to join the church.  The oldest member of Tompkins Chapel was 38, Sis. Hattie Jackson. A young person handled every position, and all auxiliaries.  Tompkins Chapel was a place where a young person could be an effective Christian and do a work for the Lord.  This was the main attraction of the youth to the church.

Eld. Gabriel's methods were given to him by God and with the help of his wife. She was only 17 when the church was started and she was still attending school.  She prayed and asked God how to talk to her husband about how long the services were being held.  God gave her how to talk to her husband.  After their talk, some changes were made at Tompkins Chapel. Eld. Gabriel made sure that each new member went to classes to learn about Christ and how to live a Christian life. Eld. Gabriel also did not hold service past 9:30 PM to ensure that the students in school would not be out so late.

As the church began to grow, Eld. Gabriel began to meet with opposition from area pastors because young people were leaving their churches to attend Tompkins Chapel. Several pastors tried to get the area pastors together to force Eld. Gabriel to close his church down. Eld. Gabriel asked all of his members to go on a fast, believing that God would work everything out.  Everything worked out for the best when Eld. Nathan Bookman came to see about Eld. Gabriel. Eld. Bookman talked to the pastors.  After Eld. Nathan Bookman talked to the pastors, the pastors left Tompkins Chapel alone.

The church grew steadily under Eld. Gabriel's leadership.  A number of young men and women were ordained as elders, ministers, missionaries, and evangelists. These elders, ministers, missionaries, and evangelists went on to establish their own ministries.

In 1978, Eld. Gabriel began to mentor a young man by the name of Sanford Graye.  Sanford was 11 years old at the time. Sanford had voiced to Eld. Gabriel that he felt he had been called into the ministry. Eld. Gabriel began to work with Sanford. The Lord had told Eld. Gabriel that Sanford would be his successor. Sanford became Eld. Gabriel's armour bearer, going everywhere with Eld. Gabriel. Sanford was ordained in 1982 at the age of 15.

Tompkins Chapel had been without an assistant pastor for two years, since the previous assistant had left to start his own ministry. In 1983, Eld. Gabriel appointed Eld. Sanford Graye as assistant pastor.

Eld. Gabriel Tompkins retired as pastor of Tompkins Chapel in 1986.  Eld. Graye took over in 1987.

With the permission of Eld. Gabriel, Eld. Graye changed the name of Tompkins Chapel to Abundant Life Church in 1988.  The name served to represent the number of lives that had been touched by the church and the lives that would be touched.

In 1990, Eld. Graye felt the leading of the Lord to begin looking for a new location for the church. The church began to pray.  After a few months, a building was found.  A company in the city was bidding on the building.  The church began to feel down and discouraged because they thought that they would lose the property. The company out bid the church and they lost the building.  Everyone but Eld. Graye was discouraged.  The church began to complain that Eld. Graye, then 23 years old, was too young to be the pastor. Several members left the church. Eld. Graye did not get discouraged.  He knew he had heard the voice of the Lord.

Eld. Graye continued preaching and telling the church that a building someone else owned belonged to them. Everyday and his armour bearer, Min. Charles Black would drive by the building and say, "It's ours, for the work of the ministry!" After awhile, the members of the church began to believe, along with the pastor, that the property was theirs.

Eld. Graye received a call from the company that had bought the property that Eld. Graye had tried to purchase before. The person on the other end of the phone told Eld. Graye that he could purchase the property for $900,000, they price that the company had paid. Eld. Graye told him no and that they could only pay $125,000. The man on the phone rejected the offer.

Eld. Graye received another call from the man, this time the price was $700,000.  Eld. Graye again refused and told him that the church could only pay $125,000.

A third time the man called quoting a price of $500,000. Eld. Graye said no and then told him that the church could only pay $95,000 for the property. The man got angry with Eld. Graye and told him that the church would never get the property.

Eld Graye began to minister to the man on the phone. After about 30 minutes, the man had given his life to Christ and had joined the church over the phone. The man's first donation to the church was the property. A year later, the man died.  He left the church a large sum of money in his will.

Abundant Life Church has the largest youth ministry in the state.  Their youth pastor is Eld. George Fiffe, a 17 year-old young man.

Abundant Life joined the Maddocha Fellowship of Pentecostal Churches in 1990.

The church continues to grow, producing young people of all ages that are workers for the Lord.

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