What if one encounter with the Lord could rewrite your future and open doors for you that you had always assumed to be closed? What if your leap of faith brought your family into relationship with Him as well? What if you really allowed yourself to be defined, not by what the world says, but by what the God of the universe says is true about you? Brett Cooper’s salvation story begins with just such an encounter, and he and his family are forever changed.
Cooper grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, an only child to parents who grew apart as time went on; by the age of five, his parents were divorced. His mom, a well-known psychologist in the Tallahassee area, married a well-respected psychiatrist, and his father remarried also. Cooper, struggling with learning differences amid a very scholarly family, was very young when he determined that school just wasn’t for him. He completed high school but had no plans for higher education.
At age 20, Cooper committed his life to Christ at a “Fire in the Rockies” conference. In this place, he was challenged to name the “Goliath” in his life; the obstacle in his life that was so big that it stood in the way of his dreams. He knew that education was his personal Goliath and gave it to the Lord. He returned home, entered a community college, and discovered that the Lord had done a mighty work in his life. He maintained a straight A average and then transferred to Emmanuel University in Franklin Springs, Georgia, completing a bachelor’s degree before attaining a master’s from Southwestern Christian University. Blessings were plentiful in these learning seasons, and in 1998, while studying at Emmanuel University, Cooper met and married his wife, Deborah.
Cooper’s conversion at 20 years of age sparked big changes within his family. His father came to the Lord pretty quickly after him, and in 2003, after years of witnessing to his mother, her hand shot up at an altar call. Cooper was, playfully, a little peeved that she answered a call from one of his good friends, instead of him! He explains, “One man plants, one waters, but God makes it grow.” God’s timing is always perfect. In 2007, while spending time at the beach, Cooper’s analytical stepfather, who had spent years reading about and thinking through a relationship with God, also came to know Christ. Cooper’s heart was full.
In 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, Cooper saw that the church was struggling and wouldn’t be able to maintain the salaries for those employed there. He took a 50% pay cut and started a construction business, bringing his son, only 12 at the time, alongside to help him. It was in these next few years that Cooper saw his son flourish. Working together, the Cooper men supported their family through the difficult season.
Cooper baptizing a member from Way Church in Virginia
A couple of years ago, Cooper got a call from his mother that his stepfather’s health was declining rapidly; dementia was taking its toll. The Coopers, who were living in Virginia at the time, sold their construction business and relocated back to Tallahassee, Florida, where they helped to care for his aging stepfather. During this time, Cooper was reminded that love often looks like sacrifice. Cooper, Deborah, and their two children, Isaac and Isabella, settled into a new church where he took a background role of associate pastor, knowing that time and responsibilities would not allow him to devote himself to the position of head pastor. Ten months after their return, Cooper’s stepfather passed away. The family was filled with grief, but also thankfulness that they were able to be so close and care for him and his mother during this time.
Cooper has gained a lot of wisdom in his more than 25 years of ministry. One of the greatest things he has discovered is that the sabbath is not an extra; it is a necessity. Cooper shares that the key to keeping your ministry fresh and your relationship with Christ and your family at the forefront is to set aside time daily and throughout the week to rest and step away from the responsibilities. Cooper also has a heart to disciple young ministers in training and views this as another necessity as a pastor. He is a firm believer in “training people up in the work of the Lord and sending them out.” In fact, it was one of those he had trained who was preaching the night of his mother’s conversion.
Cooper is intentional about sowing into the lives of young people
Looking to the future, Cooper, now the head pastor at Grace Chapel, wants to reach the City of Deland with the gospel of Christ. For him, every local church’s mission is the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). There is no greater calling than this.
Grace Chapel in Deland, FL
Cooper is a well-educated, compassionate pastor in a city with lots of opportunities to share the love of Christ. He is so thankful for the encounter with Christ that changed the trajectory of his and his family’s lives. He may be at what he describes as the “half-time” of his life, but he knows that God isn’t finished with him or the City of Deland yet.
