Him We Proclaim

The online home for the writings of Keelan Cook. A website for those who love the church and its mission.

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Go Deep: Moving Beyond the Surface in Evangelism

I recently spoke to several hundred students at a conference on the importance of evangelism. During my time with those students, I asked them all a simple question: Has there ever been a time when you felt like you should tell someone about Jesus...

The Invisible Battle: Living as Citizens in a Kingdom at War

Our world is not as it seems. We go through our days, worrying about the present circumstances, one eye on our social feed and the day’s news cycle. Inevitably, there is another political controversy. Someone of notoriety that you’ve vaguely heard...

The End of Church in America?

“Is this the end of the church in America?” You have heard the question. Perhaps you have wondered yourself. I am sure you have read the articles like I have. It seems every few months something in the news cycle (or on the news cycle’s demented ...

Next Gen Goes to Church

It’s been called a “quiet revival,” or the “revival generation.”1 Perhaps we now have numerical evidence to back up that experience. It appears Next Gen is showing up for church. More than that, they’re now showing up more than their older counte...

Curious, Crystals, or Combative: Navigating the Nones

Few terms have captivated the missional imagination of the church in North America like the Nones. The term None became our shorthand for the nonreligious, or those who would not select any particular relgion on surveys about faith. This was a cha...

Church, Stop Measuring Yourself by Past Success

You think back to that time often. Maybe it was a decade ago, maybe a generation ago, or maybe it was just a few years ago. It was an exciting time in the life of your church. The sanctuary was full on a Sunday morning, children were running aroun...

How to Map Your Members in Google for Local Outreach

Last week, I shared a simple method for using Google’s free services for neighborhood discovery. Today, I want to extend that idea to the next level. Many churches never consider mapping out their own membership, but they should. Our homes are st...

Chiming In: 99% of Immigrants Feel More Welcome After a Dinner

It is an interesting time when the Huffington Post beats many churches to principles of Christian hospitality, but that is precisely what has happened in a recent article they published called, “99% of Immigrants Feel More Welcome After a Dinner.”...

How to Use Google Forms, Sheets, & Maps to Survey Your Community (For Free)

Every church needs to know the community around them. Many churches today knew their community at one time, but things change. When it comes to communities here in the US, that transition has happened quickly and everywhere. Many (I would guess m...

Good Ministry to Internationals in One, Short Video

I am always excited to pass on good resources, and the following video is just that. It is a short testimony of a couple realizing their responsibility to share the gospel with unreached people groups here in the States. The video briefly walks th...

Church is Not a Spectator Sport

College football season is once again upon us. This week, I am traveling to do some missionary training and last night, I found myself laying in a hotel bed, listening to my team play their opening game on the radio. The Tennessee Volunteers, a to...

Hello, I’m Keelan.

I serve as the George Liele Director of the Center for Great Commission Studies and as a professor of Christian Missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

I also serve as Assistant Professor of Christian Missions at the seminary. Previously, I served as the Associate Director for the Union Baptist Association in Houston, TX.

My areas of focus cover both North American and International missions. I teach and write on church renewal and replanting as well as developing healthy sending culture in churches. I have a passion for mobilizing the church to the nations, and a love for missions history.

I lead the Peoples Next Door project, which is an initiative to equip local churches in North America to engage in cross-cultural missions among the least-reached peoples that now live in our communities. I’ve been a church planter in West Africa with the IMB and facilitated ethnographic research in Washington, DC with NAMB.

More about me