Rev. Nguyễn Tấn Dương was a student at the Hue University of Education, English department. In April 1975 he came to the United States with other Vietnamese refugees. His studies were interrupted for a year, but he continued in the U.S., finished his bachelor's degree in 1979, and began ministry training in Florida.
In 1980 in St. Petersburg, Florida, after founding a Vietnamese Baptist mission, he received his Certificate of License to preach. After completing his seminary studies in 1983, he was ordained at First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, Florida, where he served as Director of Asian Ministries.
He received a B.A. from Mississippi Christian University in 1979, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1984, and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri, in 1995.
During his studies he also served American Baptist churches in Clearwater, Florida (1979-1980); the Vietnamese Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, FL (1980-1982); the Vietnamese Baptist Church of East Bank, New Orleans, LA (1982-1984); and the Vietnamese Baptist Church of Tulsa, OK (1984-1991). From 1991 until July 2015 he was senior pastor of the Vietnamese Baptist Church of Garland (Dallas), Texas.
From September 2015 to September 2017 he worked with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in Dallas. From September 2017 to December 2018 he served with a Baptist church in Plano, Texas, and since January 1, 2019 he has served at Redeemer Baptist Church of Plano, Texas.
He has been president of the Texas Vietnamese Baptist Fellowship since 1993, was president of the Vietnamese Baptist Fellowship in the U.S. from 2008 to 2012, and has taught at the Dallas Ministry Training Center — renamed the Vietnamese Baptist Theological Seminary in 2001 — since 1993.
He is married to Nguyễn Hồ Rutơ; they have two daughters, a son-in-law and a grandchild.