Matt Cook

Dr. Matt Cook serves as the Director of the Center for Healthy Churches. Dr. Cook joined the Center after serving local congregations for thirty years with twenty years as Senior Pastor in churches in Texas, Arkansas, and North Carolina.

Matt is a sought-after preacher, teacher, and workshop leader across the country and in various denominational settings. In addition to his work at the Center, he has served as Interim Pastor in multiple congregations across the country.

Matt holds a bachelor’s degree from Samford University and completed both his M.Div. and Ph.D. in Church History at Baylor University. He has also taught on the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral level at Belmont University, Baylor University’s Truett Seminary, and Central Baptist Theological Seminary.

When it comes to helping congregations, Matt combines research and scholarly insight with an emphasis on strategic focus and missional awareness. He has training and experience in strategic planning, staff reorganization and leadership development. Matt also has significant experience assisting congregations in the midst of pastoral transitions.

According to Matt, “we are in the midst of the most challenging but also most dynamic period of change that congregations in North America have ever seen. We can either drown in those waves of change or we can surf them. But when a congregation decides to do the work of gaining missional clarity and creatively engaging its community, amazing things can happen.”

Matt’s is married to Allyson, and they have two children, Nathaniel, and Caroline. He is an avid cyclist, a diehard fan of OU football, and connoisseur of any and all types of barbeque. He and his family reside in Dallas, TX.

Click here for articles that Matt has written to assist congregations. If you’d like to contact Matt about assisting your congregation you can e-mail him at mattc@chchurches.org and contact him by telephone at (910) 833-2909.

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