Barry Cosper smiles when he remembers the day his sermon got interrupted at Canaan Baptist Church in Bessemer.
“I had led a couple in their 50s to the Lord, and they said they’d like to join the church and be baptized that night,” he said. “I told them, ‘At the end of the service when I’m standing in front, just come down to make your decision public,’ and they said, ‘What if we can’t wait until the end of the service?’”
Cosper told them to just walk down the aisle anytime they felt like they needed to.
So they did.
“Halfway through the service, they got out of their seat and walked down the aisle,” Cosper said. “And I prayed, ‘Oh, God, I’m not through with this sermon.’ And the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, ‘Oh yes, you are.’”
‘Miracle after miracle’
In that season, Canaan Baptist was baptizing people all the time. When Cosper answered the church’s call to serve as pastor in 2000, they were running around 200 in worship services. By the time he left in 2005 to serve as director of missions for Tallapoosa Baptist Association, they were up around 430.
“The last three years I was there, we baptized 50-plus each year. The most we baptized in one year was 72,” he said. “Those were all miracles.”
Cosper said he’s been amazed to watch God work miracle after miracle along the way ever since his call into pastoral ministry as a teenager.
“I became a Christian when I was 9, and God called me to preach when I was 14,” he said. “I did not make that public until I was 19.”
Serving churches in ‘difficult times’
That was at Shiloh Baptist Church in Graham, but he didn’t preach his first sermon there — he preached it at nearby Gold Ridge Baptist Church, the home church of Cathy Gibbs, whom he would meet and marry not long after.
The next 50-plus years would be an adventure of serving a long list of Alabama Baptist churches — his home church and Gold Ridge, Antioch Baptist in Newell, Bethlehem East Baptist in Tallassee, First Baptist Ashland, Coosa Valley Baptist in Rainbow City, Woodland Hill Baptist in Huntsville and twice at Trinity Baptist in Roanoke.
Cosper loved serving — especially those churches that might need a little help getting going again.
“The type of ministry I was called to do was go to churches that could be excellent churches but had gone through some difficult times,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed helping churches get to a place where they’re reaching their community, and every church I’ve served has impacted my life.”
‘Visionary’ leadership
Part of his strategy at each church was to help them be effective disciple makers. He modeled evangelism, taught evangelism and even took it on the road — he traveled 20 times to preach revivals and crusades in Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Australia and Cuba.
He also helped churches walk through restoration when needed and published a book called “The Heart of the Matter: A Ministry of Restoration.”
Canaan was Cosper’s last church to serve as pastor before he started a 17-year season as an associational director of missions. He stayed eight years at Tallapoosa Association, then in 2013 moved to Bessemer Baptist Association and led them through the process of uniting with Birmingham Baptist Association to become Birmingham Metro Baptist Association.
Chris Crain, executive director of BMBA, called Cosper’s leadership “visionary” and said he guided churches “with wisdom, dedication, and a commitment to unity.”
Planning to continue ministry
“There are individuals whose faithful dedication and profound impact are recognized by pastors, church leaders, and laity alike. Dr. Barry Cosper is undeniably one such leader,” Crain said as he recognized Cosper at a recent BMBA Missionary Appreciation Banquet. “We celebrate you — a beacon of light, a servant leader and a testament to the transformative power of a life dedicated to the gospel. May your journey inspire generations to come, and may your legacy continue to shine brightly in the hearts and minds of those touched by your ministry.”
Cosper recently retired from his role as Bessemer regional director with BMBA, but he said he doesn’t plan to quit serving. He’s available for interim pastorates, evangelism and restoration ministry.
“My heart overflows with what God has done,” he said. “Retirement is not real — as a Christian, you never fully retire.”
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