God called Dr. Joe Cole to become our Associate Pastor of Worship and Discipleship in May of 2019. He served in that capacity until November of 2023 when the church called him to be the Senior Pastor. He and his wife, Jenny, are natives of Bolivar county, MS and have three children: Gray (married to Lauren), Hannah (married to Mark), and Rachel (married to Reid.) Bro. Joe is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to coming to AFBC, Bro. Joe served as a Minister to Students, Minister of Music, and Senior Pastor in Mississippi and Alabama. He is an expository preacher/teacher and still loves to lead worship. Brojoe is a multi-instrumentalist, a coffee enthusiast, and is always on the lookout for out-of-the way, obscure restaurants. In his spare time, Bro. Joe enjoys playing and building a variety of instruments, cooking, hunting, fishing, whitewater, the beach, and watching sunsets off the front porch. From those porch sitting sessions God inspired him to publish His Word From the Porch, a collection of 200 devotional thoughts. Check it out on Amazon. Brojoe would love to meet you when you come for worship!