About Cory

I had a lot of fun being raised all over Texas by a mom and dad that love Jesus. My parents were career educators at the elementary, high school and collegiate levels. I have one brother, Dr. Brad Butler, who lives with his beautiful family in Abilene, Tx. God called me into ministry at the age of 18, and I started working at a church the following year. I graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in 2000, then completed a masters in divinity and a masters in counseling from Baylor. My wife, Meredith, and I met in 2005 and were married in 2007. We have three ridiculously cool kids: Liam, Noralee and Jude. From 2015 to 2018 we lived as missionaries in York, England. During our last year in York, God led us to Citizens Church. Our closest friends, who are covenant members, suggested I apply for the student ministry position. After that, the Lord saw fit to make Citizens Church our home.

Like a lot of kids in Texas, I was raised going to church. My father was a deacon and my mother was a Sunday school teacher. Although we were always in church, I had little to no understanding of the gospel. As I grew up, I came to the massively incorrect conclusion that being a Christian meant maintaining my own goodness and staying away from nefarious activities and sexual immorality. My subconscious goal was to achieve a level of righteous living that made me look good before my parents and the people around me. I was dying from rampant people pleasing and narcissism. I didn’t know real life until God rescued me at a student summer camp my sophomore year of high school. A few years later, God called me to full-time student ministry. After wrestling with it for almost a year, God used a small group of older college students at HSU to challenge me to heed the Spirit’s call on my life. Since 1997, I’ve been ministering to students in the States and overseas.  

My Hope for Citizens Church

My hope for Citizens Church is that we would be a thriving family who love God and people incredibly well while we model and proclaim the truth of the gospel in the Plano area. I pray that we would continually make disciples who make more disciples anywhere our feet may fall.