It's been a winding road for the Rev. E. Don Cox. A former Virginia railroad worker, Cox is a born-again Christian who studied for the ministry at an age when many had completed their training.
But during the 20 years he has served as pastor of Bethel Assembly of God, Cox tripled the Savage church's membership to about 300 and, with his wife, Rose Marie, founded Bethel's thriving day school.
In recognition of their work, the 73-year-old church will honor the couple at its worship service and dinner program Sunday. It also will present the Coxes with a surprise gift.
"They are committed and dedicated, and just want to see the work get done," said Associate Pastor John Green. "Pastor Cox is a spirited, revved-up preacher. He involves the congregation in his message. They deserve more than a gold watch."
The dinner and program will reflect his energy. Pupils from Bethel Christian Academy will perform a skit, and congregants will "roast" the couple. "It will be a time of laughter," said Green, program coordinator. "Everything is fair game."
Cox, who was born in Newport News, Va., said he was not called to the ministry until 1963. Like his late father, Ernest, he worked in the railroad.
"From 17 to 25, I sowed my wild oats," said Cox, 65, who lives in Columbia. "At 25, I was miraculously saved and my life was totally changed. I was dead spiritually and I was awakened, born again spiritually. The person that I was died, and I became a new person."
At 27, Cox enrolled at Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in Lakeland, Fla., and earned a degree in pastoral counseling five years later. "I think God is after people," Cox said. "I think there is a vacuum in the heart of man that can't be satisfied without God. He revealed himself to me and I surrendered myself to Jesus, and life has never been the same, never been better."
The Coxes married in 1967 and have two children - Philip, a missionary who recently returned from China, and Christina Overton, assistant academy comptroller and mother of two.
After graduating in 1969, Cox served several Assembly of God churches in central Florida. In 1982, a friend told him Bethel was looking for a new pastor. "I just sensed that God was directing me in another way," Cox said. "I certainly wasn't interested in leaving for the cold North. I just felt that was what God wanted me to do."
Cox contacted the Bethel leadership and was hired.
"The pastor is a real leader," said Dorothy Frazier, a Bethel member for 50 years with her husband, Edward.
Dorothy Frazier said of Cox, "He is always there for everyone. The school is a miracle. The church is growing."
Bethel was founded in 1929 by the Rev. Bennie M. Slye in the upstairs room of a Savage shop. Special meetings were conducted under a tent on Washington Street. In 1932, Bethel purchased a lot on Baltimore Street and a church building in Fulton that was taken apart and reconstructed at the lot. Three decades later, a brick building was constructed on a hill on Woodward Street. In 1999, Bethel built a more spacious facility for about $3.5 million on nearby Vollmerhausen Road.
When the former Savage Elementary School on Guilford Road was put up for auction in 1984, the Coxes decided to establish a day school there. "This is something we wanted to do in Florida," Rose Marie Cox said. "We feel like it was a vision the Lord has given us."
The church purchased the building for $57,500 and renovated the run-down facility. That fall, Bethel Christian Academy opened with 27 pupils. Rose Marie Cox served as principal for 12 years at the academy, which has an enrollment of more than 300 in preschool through eighth grade.
She also is director of Bethel's women's ministries and has taught Bible study, Sunday school and a marriage enrichment course at the church. "I feel like we've made an impact on many lives," she said. "We feel like we've exceeded many expectations we had."
The pastor also serves as chairman of the Savage Association of Churches, a group of five churches that will sponsor its annual Thanksgiving service at 6 p.m. Nov. 24 at Bethel, and on the board of OneVoice, a group of Howard County Evangelical churches.
After two decades leading Bethel, Don Cox has no intentions of slowing down. "I see the church's future growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord, and in preparing people to live purposeful lives."
Bethel Assembly of God
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Leadership: Senior Pastor E. Don Cox and Associate Pastor John Green
Size: 300 people
Location: 9001 Vollmerhausen Road, Savage
Date founded: 1929
Phone: 410-792-8334 or 301-498-3344
Web site: www.bethelassembly.org
Worship services: 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays
Family and youth night: 7 p.m. Wednesdays