Giving back to the school that gave them so much

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Southwestern News.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary holds a special place in the hearts of Tom (’80) and Claudia Cooksey, and for that reason, they decide to give back to an institution that has given them so much.

Both Tom and Claudia grew up on dairy and wheat farms near El Reno, Oklahoma, in Canadian County, just outside of Oklahoma City. The two were raised on farms in different corners of the county and had different church experiences as well. Tom grew up going to Trinity Baptist Church in El Reno, while Claudia attended a United Methodist church in nearby Calumet, throughout her childhood.

Tom and Claudia met each other through 4-H, a youth development program with an emphasis in agricultural learning. From getting to know each other in 4-H, the couple went on to attend college together at Southwestern State College, now known as Southwestern Oklahoma State University, only a 45-minute drive from El Reno.

“For four years, we participated in the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, it used to be the BSU, and we had a very great BSU director,” says Tom. “We had some great friends who were involved in the BSU and many of those friends were called to the ministry as well.”

Through the BSU, Tom and Claudia went on a mission experience weekend held for college students on Southwestern Seminary’s campus.

“We came down to Southwestern for a couple of days for the mission weekend and that was my first time on campus,” says Tom. “We met in the chapel area, some of the students put us up for the weekend, and that was our first experience together with the seminary that I recall.”

Tom adds that the experience on Southwestern’s campus was a positive one and that he was “most impressed” with all that the campus had to offer. “Reflecting back on that, there was a time or two after that experience where I met some seminary graduates at a missions conference or our church which helped establish that connection with the seminary,” he says.

After their four years in college, the calling Tom felt from God was confirmed and he ultimately surrendered to that calling by accepting a role as a senior pastor.

“After she graduated, Claudia was fortunate enough to be hired as a schoolteacher in a rural school, but I still needed another semester of schooling,” recalls Tom. “But immediately after I graduated, there was a small church that needed a pastor, and the Lord led us to that church.”

Tom and Claudia served at Amity Baptist Church in El Reno for approximately five-and-a-half years. “I didn’t have any seminary training during that time,” says Tom. “The only thing I knew was the Bible, my example of faithful pastors, and wonderful Sunday school teachers.”

Five years into their service at Amity Baptist Church, Southwestern Seminary began to offer satellite degree programs on different campuses by flying professors to those different cities. Tom felt God calling him to gain some seminary education while working as a pastor.

“I enrolled in a couple of courses at Southwestern being hosted at Oklahoma Baptist University,” says Tom. “It was that experience that God really opened my eyes that I needed to come to Fort Worth and come to the seminary to continue my education there.”

Claudia was offered a teaching job in Crow­ley, Texas, and Tom enrolled in classes at Southwestern Seminary full-time in 1977. During their time at Southwestern, Tom and Claudia were active members at First Baptist Church of Burleson.

“Those three years in the late 1970s at the seminary were filled with many wonderful experiences and friendships,” says Claudia. “It was a great combination of preachers and elementary teachers, and I believe that God bought us together and formed a very beautiful family friendship. All of that happened there at Southwestern.”

After leaving Southwestern when Tom graduated in 1980 with his Master of Divinity, he became the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Cherokee, Oklahoma, for seven years before he was called to pastor First Baptist Church of Sayre, Oklahoma. After nearly 18 years at First Baptist Church of Sayre, Tom and Claudia felt called to go back to First Baptist Church of Cherokee to finish his ministry as a pastor. Upon retirement, Tom and Claudia moved back to Tom’s family farm in El Reno. As a retired pastor, Tom now pastors Scott Baptist Church in Hinton, Oklahoma, and Claudia plays piano and teaches a children’s Sunday school class.

The Cooksey’s time and experiences at Southwestern are what drive them to donate to the seminary.

“I’m grateful for those who made a commitment and contributed to Southwestern in the past,” says Claudia. “That has allowed us to pray about it and think about it, and begin contributing to carry on this act of giving toward the seminary.”

Tom and Claudia feel that the seminary provided them with friendships and strong education, and this helps make giving feel like more than just a financial contribution.

“We want to be a part of someone else’s lives, the lives of others, and God has called us to do that,” says Tom. “Someone contributed and was a part of our being at Southwestern, so we just wanted to be a part of that. It is very cool that we’re able to help a little bit financially with what God is doing at Southwestern.

James Dugger (’23) is a news writer for Southwestern News.