TERRY AND LESLIE COOK
Pastor Terry and Leslie Cook arrived in King City a little more than a month ago and the time since has been spent trying to get settled into their home and learn a whole bunch of names of their new parishioners. The Cooks have come to King City to pastor the Hammer Me-morial and Star Chapel United Methodist Churches, with his first Sunday preaching to the congregation being June 29. The couple has spent the last two years in Chillicothe, where he pastored  charge much like the one here, serving Liberty and Pleasant Grove Churches.
Both, Terry and Leslie, grew up in Hamilton and came out of the United Methodist Church there, where he served as Youth Director and Associate Pastor, before starting seminary. “I am working on my last year of seminary at St. Paul’s School of Theology in Kansas City, where I will graduate in May of 2009,” Cook explained.
Their family consists of three grown daughters, Amber and her husband, Kevin Veach, reside in Lawson, along with the only Cook grandchild, Ryan, who is three and a half years old. Their second daughter, Jan, was mar-ried last May to Nathan Adams and they reside in Liberty. The youngest daughter, Hollie, is a sophomore, majoring in Nurs-ing, at Mo. Western State Uni-versity in St. Joseph, where she resides.
Terry and Leslie feel very positive about their move to King City. “The people have all been so friendly and helpful and that makes the adjustment so much easier,” she added. “We have had to adjust to meeting lots of new people, since we knew most of the people before in our other churches. We ask people to be patient with us until we are able to put all the names and faces together.”
Terry remarked that it had been very interesting learning about the various connections with people he already knew and King City people. “It seems like King City people have some sort-of connection with almost everyone,” he added, with a chuckle. The couple have finally gotten moved into the recently renovated parsonage on Queen street and are slowly getting boxes unpacked.
“The King City church is ob-viously an active and growing church,” Rev. Cook commented. “When any church has just fin-ished a building project and is already out of room, that says something positive about that church. I would like very much to start some small group minis-tries and also some activities with young families in an effort to keep them connected in ways other than just on Sunday morn-ing. Also children’s ministry will hopefully be a big thing, since we have so many chil-dren.”
Rev. Cook plans to be very active in the local Ministerial Alliance and already has some ideas for that group this fall. “I also enjoy working with com-munity projects and hope to be involved with the groups and organizations which promote that effort,” he said. “Both my churches seem to work well together and that’s always a good thing.”
Terry and Leslie worked as mentors for junior high age youngsters with a program in Chillicothe and were very active in “Habitat for Humanity.” They also worked with a Christian ecumenical group doring retreats to help raise up church leaders. The couple has also served on many mission trips within the United States. “We have served on mission trips to Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina and other places,” he recalled. “I hope to get a mission team started here as well.” Both, Terry and Leslie are graduates of Missouri Western in St. Joseph. Leslie has been a teacher for 15 years, giving up her profession last year to assist Terry with his ministry. “The last five years I taught at a paro-chial school in Kansas City and I truly enjoyed it, but I also felt it was time for Terry and I to become partners in his ministry and so we are now moving in that direction,” she explained.
Other hobbies enjoyed by the couple include running, for Terry. “I’m an avid runner,” he remarked, which he also proved by taking second place, in his age division, at the July 4th run in Stanberry. The couple both enjoy fishing and Terry also likes to hunt. Leslie enjoys flowers and gardening and loves to cook. “I feel one of my main goals and purposes for my Hammer Memorial and Star Chapel lead-ership will be to empower the laity to do the work of ministry in the church and community,” Terry concluded. “That was Christ’s mission and I truly feel it should be our’s as well.”
Rev. Cook reminded that he was going to make an effort to keep regular office hours. “I plan to be in the church office each morning from 9:00 – noon, if anyone needs to get in touch with me or just wants to drop by for a visit; that’s where I’ll be, at least most of the time.”