Michael A. Cox was born in an orphanage in Athens, Greece, in 1959 to an unwed mother of Greek ancestry. Immediately placed in the care of the orphanage, he was adopted at the age of three months by a Navy serviceman and his wife, Thomas and Faye Cox, both from Porter, Oklahoma, stationed in Morocco at the time. Michael was soon brought to the United States and naturalized as a citizen. Most of his early years growing up were spent in Norfolk, Virginia, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Muskogee, Oklahoma. He gave his life to Christ just before his eighth birthday in January 1967 in Tulsa.

Licensed to preach in 1983 and ordained in 1984, he became Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pryor in May 2008. Dr. Cox came to First Baptist Church of Pryor from West Lynchburg Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he served from 2003 to 2008. He has also served as Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Inola, Oklahoma, Lakeview Southern Baptist Church in Skiatook, Oklahoma, First Baptist Church of Boynton, Oklahoma, Oak Street Baptist Church in Cushing, Oklahoma, and Trinity Baptist Church in Keefeton, Oklahoma. Moreover, he has preached an evangelistic crusade in Dominica, West Indies, under the auspices of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as a number of Bible conferences and revivals in Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Texas.

In addition to his pastoral duties, he has served as an Adjunct Professor of Evangelism for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Tulsa extension and as a Doctor of Ministry Field Supervisor for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also served as President of the Pryor Church Softball League; as Moderator and Vice-Moderator of the Craig-Mayes Baptist Association; as a member of the Southern Baptist Convention Committee on Committees; as Moderator and Vice-Moderator of the Lynchburg Baptist Association; as Co-President of the Pastors’ Conference, Resolutions Committee member, and Personnel Committee member of the Tulsa Metro Baptist Association; and as President of the Inola Ministerial Alliance.

He is  a graduate of Muskogee High School (1977) in Muskogee, Oklahoma, of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana, earning an Associate of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry degree (1986), of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies (1986), and of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where he earned both Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages (1989) and Doctor of Ministry (2000) degrees, with an emphasis in his doctoral work on biblical hermeneutics, especially as applied to New Testament interpretation, ethics, and Christian apologetics, done under the faculty supervision of the late Southern Baptist theologian and philosopher John P. Newport.

Dr. Cox’s preaching focuses on competent biblical exposition utilizing the grammatical-historical hermeneutic taught by Southern Baptist seminaries and universities and is built upon sound exegesis. His sermons are a blend of preaching and teaching, routinely stressing evangelism, discipleship, repentance, and stewardship. He is committed both to Old and New Testament Bible-book exposition, with particular emphasis on the New Testament, having preached, exegeted, and translated through twenty-four New Testament books and having preached through twenty-two Old Testament books. He also addresses important topics such as why there are so many different denominations, worldviews, just war theory, the creation-evolution debate, alcohol and drug prevention, anti-gambling, the sanctity of human life, the virgin birth of Christ, the virtuous woman, spiritual discernment, spiritual gifts, the Christian perspective on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, and the inspiration and authority of Scripture.

His writing accomplishments include one book, Not One Little Child: A Biblical Critique of Calvinism, published by WestBow Press, his copyrighted Doctor of Ministry Professional Project, “A Pastoral Ministry Approach for Developing a Biblical Response to Channeling and Its Principal Tenets,” as well as articles posted on the website of the North American Mission Board, and others published by the Pryor Daily Times, The Baptist Messenger (the Oklahoma Baptist state paper), WordSlingers (the Oklahoma Baptist blog), Religious Herald (the Virginia Baptist state paper), The Message (the Louisiana Baptist blog). Additionally, he has a number of other articles posted on the First Baptist Church website at www.pryorfbc.org and his own website at drmichaelacox.wordpress.com, as well as an unpublished manuscript entitled, “A Practical and Homiletical Examination of the Book of Zephaniah.

He married his high school sweetheart, Joyce McConnell, December 16, 1977. She has been very active in women’s and children’s ministries as well as adult choir.

Mike and Joyce have two sons, Michael, Jr. and Matthew. Michael, Jr., a Broadcast Journalism graduate of Oklahoma State University, lives in Owasso, Oklahoma, with his wife Kassi (Lea) Cox, who is also a graduate of Oklahoma State University. They have two daughters, Blakeley and Saylor, and one son, Boston. Michael, Jr. and Kassi are members of the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where Michael is a deacon and drummer in their praise bands.

Matthew, too, is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he was a University Studies major with an emphasis on wildlife management, range management, and communications. He and his wife, Tiffany (Epps) Cox, a graduate of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, live in Owasso, Oklahoma, and have one daughter, Landrey, and one son, Nash. They attend The Church.at where Matthew plays lead guitar in the praise band.

Dr. Mike's recreational passion is whitetail deer hunting, especially with a bow and arrow (he shoots a Mathews Halon for those of you who care!), which his dad introduced to him when he was nine. His favorite color is camouflage! He also enjoys bass and crappie fishing. Additionally, he coached the First Baptist Church of Pryor’s men’s softball team from 2010-2015. The men’s team won the USSSA Oklahoma Church League State Tournament in 2013 and was NSA Oklahoma Church League State Tournament runner-up in 2014.