Our Personal Information
My name is David Cox, and I am 54 years old. I grew up in Charleston, SC, and attended Ferndale Baptist Church for most of my youth and before. My parents were active members of that church until their death, my dad serving as a deacon at times, a school board member, and teaching an adult Sunday School class. I was saved at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina in 1974. I attended Bob Jones University for 7 years after high school.
Tule, my wife, is a native Mexican, and she was born in Tacubaya Mexico, and she was Catholic for most of her life until she was an adult. She accepted the Lord in a local church here in Mexico. A friend of Tule’s invited her to come visit our church, and she did. She was baptized in our church in 1992, and shortly after that we started dating. (I was working with another missionary family in our church, and even so, I was the pastor.) Tule and I married in 1993. We have two children Kelsie and Russell.
My Educational Background
All of my basic education (elementary school through high school) was in public schools, the Christian school movement was still just starting in the 1960s and 1970s. Our church had a Christian school, but they were adding a grade each year, and I was too old to get into that movement.
I attended Bob Jones Unversity in Greenville, SC and graduated from there in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in Christian Missions, and a Greek minor. I continued my studies, taking some graduate courses even before finishing my undergraduate degree. In 1980-1981 I continued working on a Masters in Bible, with additional Greek and Hebrew classes at Bob Jones graduating in 81 with that Masters degree. In 1981-1982, I again graduated from Bob Jones with a Masters in Educational Administration and Supervision degree from the educational department of Bob Jones. My plan was to continue with a doctoral degree, but the Lord changed those plans.
Church Experience
Having graduated with a B.A. in Christian Missions, I applied to Gospel Fellowship Association Missions (a mission board associated with BJU), and the interview committee recommended to me that I get additional work in a local church instead of accepting me for missionary service.
Heartbroken, I returned to Charleston to live with my parents, and began looking for a church with some kind of opening. I joined Harvest Baptist Church in Charleston, and became assistant pastor in charge of Children Ministries. I also had duties in the counting committee, head of and liason between Harvest’s mission committee (giving recommendations to the pastor on potential missionary candidates), and College and Career assistant teacher. During this time I also helped the church start an in-house bookstore, and set up a Church Bible Institute for them.
After two years of this experience, I felt the direction of the church (the pastor was a Jerry Falwell graduate, and we differed on many things which he assured me we wouldn’t when I entered), and I also felt very strongly that I was getting sidetracked from my life’s calling, to be a missionary. I began deputation services again (without a mission board), and wrote GFAM and they accepted me this time (1983).
After several years of deputation, I left for Mexico City in 1985 (Christmas). I arrived on the field in 1986. My plans were to study for 1 year in a recommended language school in downtown Mexico City, and thereafter be an evangelist in the countryside of Mexico. After language school, I couldn’t make contact with the missionary contact that I had in Mexico, and the Lord burdened my heart for Mexico, so I started a local church here in Mexico City.
I didn’t want to be pastor of that church being single, and another missionary family came to labor beside me in this church plant.
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