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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Counter-Cultural is Still Cultural

For the last several months, I have watched a new church building being built on the road to my house. Recently, the builders installed the church’s new sign, and I was a bit surprised. Perhaps the better word for my reaction was underwhelmed. In ...

Love the Church that Is

In a job like mine, you hear stories about the church. A student serving in their first church explains to me the conflict threatening to split his church. Of course, none of this was disclosed during the search and candidate process. A consultant...

The Art of the Personal Testimony

I recently stumbled across an article at The Gospel Coalition that caught my attention. The article, titled “The Increasing Value of Christian Testimonies”, resonated. In fact, I make similar claims in my Christian missions courses at the seminary...

Five Local Church Benefits from Creating a Global Missions Partnership

Sending global missionaries is one of my favorite topics of conversation with pastors and church leaders. Having been an international missionary myself, it always does my heart good when a pastor or church leader starts asking questions about how...

Seven Missionary Biographies and Why You Should Read One Now

I initially pulled this book list together during the pandemic a few years ago. Back then, all kinds of posts were appearing that recommended book lists for people to consider during our global shut-in. I even wrote one suggesting you use this ...

Introducing Charles Ezra Cook

The Cook family has some big news to share! We want to announce to you Charles Ezra Cook, our second child and first son. We are presently on day six and mug 58 of coffee, but thankful to God for our newest addition to the family. The Details...

United We Stand - The Great Commission

A sermon preached at Neartown Church in Houston during COVID lockdown. The text is Matthew 28:16-20.

Four Questions to Guide Creating a Global Missions Partnership

In my last article, I covered several important benefits for a local church entering into a global missions partnership with a missionary team overseas. Feel free to start there if you’d like. To be honest, when I first arrived in Houston, I quic...

Five Local Church Benefits from Creating a Global Missions Partnership

Sending global missionaries is one of my favorite topics of conversation with pastors and church leaders. Having been an international missionary myself, it always does my heart good when a pastor or church leader starts asking questions about how...

A Promise Made, A Promise Broken

A sermon preached at Neartown Church in Houston during COVID lockdown. The text is Psalm 89.

Transformative Discipleship

A sermon preached at Neartown Church in Houston during COVID lockdown. The text is Mark 8:27-38.

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