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Brandon Cox

Brandon Cox

Writer

Oct 2, 2025

About

Brandon Cox, and along with his wife Angie,are planting Grace Hills Church in Bentonville, Arkansas. Angie and I have talked in hypothetical terms about church planting for nearly a decade, but when we joined the staff of Saddleback Church in southern California, almost immediately God began to make His calling on our lives a concrete reality. By the fall of 2010, we knew that God wanted us to plant a new church in northwest Arkansas. We talked with the leadership of Saddleback, who were not only supportive of this calling, but have sent us out on this mission with their support and blessing.

You can read a little more about what we’re doing in a few articles I’ve written here. Particularly check out our initial announcement that we would be planting a new church in northwest Arkansas and our appeal for supporting partners for Grace Hills. Or you can visit Grace Hills Church’s web site or our Facebook page (and click the “like” button at the top) or follow @GraceHillsNWA on Twitter.

I also oversee the content and online community of Pastors.com and Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox. This was the role to which I was called in the summer of 2010 and I now continue this ministry remotely while planting Grace Hills. I have a passion for connecting with and encouraging Pastors, so to assist Pastor Rick Warren in doing so is an awesome responsibility!

I was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I graduated from Warren Central High School in 1995, then Central Baptist College and Western Kentucky University for college. I’m currently serving on the Board of Directors for Central Baptist College and have previously served on the Advisory Committee of the BMA of America’s Department of Missions.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and formerly served as Editor of Fuel Your Blogging. My writing has been featured in various publications including Leadership Journal, Ministry Today, Outreach, and The Church Executive. My first book, Rewired, is set to release in the winter of 2014.

I enjoy reading, starting with the Bible, but also books about theology, leadership, and the Christian life. I like to hike, drive in the country, and write about anything that happens to be on my mind. I think Andy Griffith is history’s greatest show, George Washington is history’s greatest president, and Reese’s Pieces is the best food group. Oh, and I’m also a self-proclaimed brand evangelist for Chick-fil-A.

Posts (14)

Apr 11, 2022 ∙ 5 min

On Being a Christian in an Election Year

I write about politics very little, so this is rare for me. I read everything from Drudge Report on the right to Huffington Post on the left daily and almost too obsessively. So it isn’t that I’m uninformed. I just don’t think, at the end of the day, that any politician will save America. At least not in the ways we really need saving. I’ve never endorsed a candidate, and I’m not starting now. This isn’t a post about a single candidate. Rather, I wanted to address our general lack of...

Jan 29, 2020 ∙ 4 min

How Did Jesus Preach?

Jesus was more than a mere prophet – he was the sinless Son of God, the human-divine sacrifice for our sins. But he is a prophet nonetheless, and the greatest prophet the world has ever known. We like to think of Jesus in any kind of role except that of preacher and prophet, but preaching was a primary component of his earthly ministry. He was a truth-teller and herald of the good news and eternal truth of God. Mark, who was first to write an inspired biography of Jesus, jumps right into...

Sep 16, 2019 ∙ 3 min

Nine Breakthrough Prayers to Pray for Your Church

Brandon Cox shares the prayers his church prayed for revival. You can pray them, too! “There were nine particular prayers we’ve prayed, repeatedly, and that we’re going to continue to pray over our church family. I want to invite believers everywhere to pray these prayers over your church family as well… 1. God, Give Us a Breakthrough in Evangelism! God, remove the blinders from the eyes of unbelievers so that the gospel we are sharing will connect with their minds, hearts, and wills. Empower...

May 11, 2019 ∙ 4 min

Spiritual Warfare and the Lives of Church Leaders

Author and pastor Brandon Cox shares his personal insights on the fight to spiritual victory for those who lead men and women to Christ. Here are his valuable observations: “The struggle is real.” When you drop the phrase spiritual warfare into a casual conversations, you often get mixed reactions. On the one hand, a lot of people are skeptics when it comes to anything invisible or supernatural. In fact, many people will believe in heaven and angels but choose not to believe in hell or...

Mar 1, 2019 ∙ 5 min

What Does Revival Look Like?

Most Christians I know want the church to experience revival. We just don’t all agree on what revival looks like. Back in the “olden days” (the mid-1990’s) I preached a few times at a small church (averaging 12 each Sunday) in eastern Arkansas. They had a rotation system that determined who would take the visiting speaker home for lunch, and one day my lot fell to two elderly ladies who made awesome roast beef! As I sat in their living room visiting after lunch, they brought out some photo...

Jul 15, 2018 ∙ 5 min

7 Keys to End the Crime of Boring Preaching

If you think the gathering of biblical facts and standing up with a Bible in your hand will automatically equip you to communicate well, you are desperately mistaken. It will not. You must work at being interesting. Boredom is a gross violation, being dull is a grave offense, and irrelevance is a disgrace to the gospel. Too often these three crimes go unpunished and we preachers are the criminals. ~ Charles Swindoll In a previous pastorate, I began preaching through the entire Bible. I almost...

Jan 19, 2017 ∙ 3 min

Remember This Christmas: You Can Always Hope!

‘Tis the season of Advent – the celebration of the coming, the appearing of Jesus Christ. Advent consists of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, and Christmas Day. Traditionally, the Christian church has used the first two Sundays of Advent to anticipate the second coming of Christ and the last two Sundays to celebrate his first coming, as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. Different church traditions approach Advent in different ways, but I favor the approach of focusing on the four key...

Jan 6, 2017 ∙ 4 min

Who Is Sabotaging My Church?

Do you wonder why your church is not growing? Have you ever read Acts 15? It’s right between Acts 14 and Acts 16! Many people find themselves skipping the chapter, or at best, lazily dozing their way through it to get to the excitement of chapter 16 where Paul received his great “Macedonian Call.” But there are thousands of churches in America that need to hear the message of Acts 15. It’s written for grumpy people. Or more accurately, it’s written about some grumpy people. They were more...

Jun 30, 2016 ∙ 3 min

How to Pray Spirit-Filled Prayers

Do you wonder if your prayers hit the ceiling? Is God listening? How can you know that prayer makes any difference? Absolutely! And prayer makes a difference because the living God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside the one praying. Further, when God’s people get together and pray as a community, amazing things happen! I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of those before-and-after photos advertising the latest weight loss and fitness program. The Bible gives us a pretty neat before-and-after picture of...

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