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Dr. Brenton Cox is Head Pastor of First Baptist Church. Both were named Manchester’s Finest, will retire after 29 years of service.

 “I started [the retirement] process about five years ago just with our deacons. I shared with them that I was moving in the direction and some goals so we had a plan. We’ve accomplished a lot of those goals,” Dr. Cox said.

Dr. Cox grew up in a Christian home and was called to ministry in high school. He shares, “My mom and my dad were involved in church and both Christian, so I had that benefit. That’s such a great benefit.”

He continued, “So being in the church all the time, I became a Christian fairly early at 9-years-old at Vacation Bible School. The Pastor shared about how to become a Christian and I accepted Christ. I was a real shy child, so it was hard for me to go up in front of people, but I did and I was baptized.”

“When I was 15, I was a junior in high school. It was the 70s and the Jesus movement was sweeping across America. There’s a new movie Jesus Revolution out if anyone wants to see it. That’s a pretty good depiction of that time and that era.”

“I grew up in Georgia and the movement started in California, so it took a while to get to where I live. But [when it came], our high school really saw some kids who had been druggies get saved and radically changed, and church kids get changed, and a lot of people get saved. There was a lot of excitement about following Christ. Kids were bringing their Bibles to school every day and reading their Bible in study hall.”

“During that experience, I felt like God was calling me to ministry to be a preacher and that’s what I did with my life. That was when I was 15, so I started preaching then some Youth Revivals and things like that.”

After feeling called to ministry in high school, Dr. Cox attended Shorter University and majored in Religion. While in college though Dr. Cox was offered a unique experience, “I actually pastored a church at 18-years-old.”

He shared this story, “I was a freshman in college and this little church asked me to fill in. They had about 20-25 people. Just a real small country church. So I preached for them and again after that. After about a month, they asked, “Would you be our pastor?’ And I was like ‘Woah, you want an 18-year-old to be your pastor?’ But they were desperate and whatever, so I did. That gave me great experience throughout college.”

After graduating college, Dr. Cox continued into seminary. He tells, “When I graduated college, I went to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. At the time, it was the largest seminary in the world. It was one of the more conservative, missions minded and evangelistic, so that’s why I went there. I had a great experience. From there I have Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees.” 

From seminary, Dr. Cox went into his Pastoral career again, “I came [to First Baptist Church] in 1994. I’ve been here 29 years. After I graduated seminary, I was a Pastor in Cleveland, TN for 14 years and then in ‘94 I came here” 

After 29 years, Dr. Cox will retire in the coming fall. He shares, “I started [the retirement] process about five years ago just with our deacons. I shared with them that I was moving in the direction and some goals so we had a plan. We’ve accomplished a lot of those goals.”

He continues, “I shared this with the congregation about 2 years ago. One of the purposes of doing that 2 years ahead was the idea that we could go ahead and start the process of looking for a Lead Pastor while I’m still here which is not the normal process, but after a long term pastorate, we wanted to have a good transition. We elected a search team about a year and a half ago and they’ve been working” 

“You never retire from ministry, you never retire from Jesus. I’m still going to do ministry, but I won’t be a Head Pastor. I’ll do missions, fill in, those kind of things. I am grateful to the community of Manchester and to First Baptist church to serve here and serve God here.” 

Dr. Cox’s wife, Cyndi Cox, has already retired from First Baptist Church in recent years. Dr. Cox says, “My wife Cyndi has been a great partner in ministry to me for 43 years of marriage.  Cyndi also felt called to ministry before we ever met. She also graduated from Southwestern Seminary with a degree in Childhood education. She served on our church staff with me at FBC for 20 years as our Director of Christian Education.” 

Dr. Cox tells, “I have been in ministry for almost 50 years. Next year will be the 50th Anniversary to when I was ordained. I am just grateful that God called me to be a Pastor. It has been a blessing to my life.”

He continues, “So I have been a Pastor for 47 years and I am just grateful for the opportunity. I believe God calls you and you just don’t decide to do that. I believe God called me to do that. It has just been a joy in my life to serve as a Pastor and it’s been a joy to serve in Manchester.”

“When I came to Manchester 29 years ago, I had never been to Manchester before and knew no one in Coffee County. This was totally new, but we had two kids when Cyndi and I moved here. Our kids grew up here and it’s been a great place for us to live and to raise our kids. We plan to stay here after I retire and still live in Manchester. We love this community.”

“FBC has in common with all Christians the basic beliefs that there’s the Trinity, that Jesus is God’s Son, and that Jesus is the only way to salvation through his death, resurrection, and faith in him.” 

“We’re a Baptist Church which means we have unique beliefs about baptism. We only baptize believers, not infants, and we only baptize by immersion. That’s putting you all the way under to symbolize the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which means they’re the group we cooperate with to send missionaries.”

First Baptist Church houses many ministries with Senior, Adult, Young Adult, Student and Children Ministries. Throughout the week, activities for these groups are offered alongside “traditional” church events. 

First Baptist Church has three Sunday morning Worship Services at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00. The first two services are Contemporary Worship while the 11:00 service is a Blended service. 

Connection Groups, like Sunday School, are offered at each time. In the church, visit the Welcome Center to find your group or visit their website. 

On Wednesday night, First Baptist Church offers a variety of options. Children are invited to the church’s children’s ministry at 6:00. The Adult Prayer Meeting and Student Worship service also begin at 6:00. 

Adult Christian Discipleship Pathway Courses are offered at 6:30. These classes rotate subjects and leaders while their way through Bible studies, topical classes and Books of the Bible. 

Throughout the year, First Baptist Church offers time-relative events like Vacation Bible School for children in June or Candlelight Christmas Eve Services. 

First Baptist Church invites you to join them anytime to learn about God’s grace and everlasting love, find community and realize our need for salvation.