The online home for the writings of Keelan Cook. A website for those who love the church and its mission.
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
This week, I received an email I wanted to share concerning ESL ministries in local churches. The email was in response to an article I wrote a while back entitled Turn Your ESL Ministry into a Church Planting Machine. For their part, a local chur...
The Brookings Institute recently ran an article titled, “These are the groups most likely to stop participating in the US census,” in which they parse out some of the significant consequences of a recent ruling concerning the upcoming 2020 US cens...
“Church planter, you need a vision in order to successfully start your church.” “Pastor, if you want your church to be healthy again, your church needs a fresh vision.” You’ve heard those words. I’ve said those words. For the most part, th...
The following is an excerpt from a free local church resource. The resource is a quick reference for carefully examining your local church in its missions context. You can download the resource at the end of the post. “The gospel never fits prope...
Do you have any good websites I can visit for demographic data on my neighborhood? If I’ve been asked that question once, I’ve received it a dozen times. And for what it is worth, it’s a good question. Nowadays, many pastors and church leaders un...
Life has been full of changes for us in the last year and lately I’ve been reflecting on the Lord’s faithfulness in our lives: helping us feel at home in Houston, giving us a church and friends, and simply helping us to like where we are and what ...
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.
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