In Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, just 30 minutes east of Nashville, Cook's United Methodist Church is a family-oriented congregation whose story reaches back more than two centuries. Its identity is built around a clear purpose: “To make followers of Jesus Christ who love and serve others.” The church is known for the contrast at its center. The 1890s sanctuary still anchors its earliest Sunday worship, while Sunday School, small groups and the contemporary worship service called The Well extend its ministry to people of every age. Cook's also takes an active role in Wilson County through winter lodging for people experiencing homelessness, home and emergency assistance, and weekly food boxes for older neighbors.
From Cook's Campground to the Historic Sanctuary
The story begins in the early 1800s, when a Methodist circuit rider traveling a dusty wagon trail stopped to rest beneath a great oak tree at the crest of a hill. He sensed that the place would become a place of worship, knelt, and prayed for help to build a church on that spot.
About 1819, the Cook family gave a plot of land for what became Cook's Campground. Men and women first gathered there for worship under a brush arbor. A one-room sanctuary was built in the mid-1840s, and that simple building gave way to a larger sanctuary in the 1890s. The larger structure remains in use, with its interior most recently renovated in the fall of 2017.
The sequence of outdoor worship, a modest meetinghouse and a lasting sanctuary gives Cook's a history that stretches beyond two centuries. The old sanctuary stands on the hill where the congregation first assembled, so the physical building remains closely tied to the church's continuing work. Cook's still schedules its 8:45 a.m. traditional service in that room, places children and adults in classes at 10:00 a.m., and then gathers for contemporary worship at The Well at 11:00 a.m. The sequence of the morning makes the building part of an active rhythm of worship and formation rather than a museum piece.
Cook's is part of the Cumberland River District of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church. That connection places a historic local congregation within a much wider United Methodist structure, while its daily work remains centered on worship, discipleship and service in Mt. Juliet and Wilson County.
Vital Worship, Selfless Mission, Genuine Care, and Growth
Four values shape the life of Cook's: vital worship, selfless mission, genuine care and growth in discipleship. Vital worship is the hinge pin of congregational life, the moments when everyone comes together in one place for one purpose, to honor and glorify God. Music, prayers, silences, teaching, sacraments and other holy moments all belong to that shared act of worship, whether a person joins in the room or online.
Selfless mission is “other-driven” attention directed toward neighbors. Being on mission with God means having no ulterior motive in outreach, serving neighbors while honoring God and setting aside personal preferences and ideals. This definition keeps service connected to the reason the church reaches outward rather than treating mission as an unrelated activity.
Genuine care describes attention within the church body: noticing others, staying with people through difficult seasons, helping carry burdens and also joining in celebration. Genuine care is not limited to pleasant moments. It seeks to help people carry what is difficult and help them celebrate what is good, creating the kind of companionship Pastor Sandra Clay describes as essential to the Christian life together.
Growth in discipleship is a lifelong process. Cook's compares discipleship to an apprentice who learns by watching and doing what the master has done, emphasizing constant learning as a disciple follows the way of Christ. Its ministries for children, youth, adults, families, choirs and groups give that principle different expressions throughout the week. The goal is not simply attendance in an activity, but maturity in love and a willingness to let faith reshape life.
Sunday at Cook's: Sanctuary, Classes, and The Well
The Sunday pattern gives worshipers three distinct ways to gather, beginning in the historic sanctuary and ending in the more contemporary setting of The Well.
- 8:45 a.m., Traditional Sanctuary Worship: The Chancel Choir leads worship, accompanied by organ and piano. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month.
- 10:00 a.m., Sunday School and Small Groups: Children and adults gather in classes during the middle of the Sunday morning.
- 11:00 a.m., The Well: Contemporary worship takes place in Friendship Hall and can be joined in person or through Facebook Live.
The schedule makes room for both the congregation's long-standing worship tradition and a more modern style. The 8:45 service is led by the Chancel Choir and accompanied by organ and piano. Communion is celebrated there on the first Sunday of each month. The 11:00 service takes place in Friendship Hall and can be joined in person or through Facebook Live. The Well and the sanctuary service together give regular worshipers a choice of styles without removing either from the rhythm of the church.
Online participation is supported as well. The Well can be watched through Facebook Live, and previous worship services and devotionals remain available in a sermon archive. Reflections by Pastor Sandra and guest writers explore the transformative love of Christ. These resources extend the church's emphasis on worship, teaching and spiritual companionship beyond a single morning and allow people to return to the same material as they continue learning.
Families can find age-specific care and formation close to the worship schedule. A fully equipped nursery serves infants and children through Pre-K. Cook's Kids Ministry is intended for Kindergarten through fifth grade, while Cook's Youth Ministry serves sixth through twelfth grade students. Adults who want a place in the church's music or service life can also join the band or choir and take part in outreach projects.
Cook's is at 7919 Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee 37122. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the office telephone number is 615-449-2573. The church welcomes gifts of time and talent; volunteers can call the office, and giving and tithing can also be completed online.
Every Stage Has a Place at Cook's
Children Through Youth
Cook's describes its age-group ministries as a progression that can move with people rather than ask them to fit a single mold. Cook's Kids is a fun and safe environment for children from birth through fifth grade, with the nursery caring for infants through Pre-K and the elementary-age ministry serving Kindergarten through fifth grade. Cook's Youth Ministry continues that progression for students in sixth through twelfth grade. The youth ministry also maintains an Instagram presence under the name Cook's Youth, giving that generation its own visible connection to the church.
Adult Formation and Fellowship
Adult formation includes Sunday School classes, small groups and a Monday Bible study beginning at 9:30 a.m. Sunday School and small groups meet at 10:00 a.m., creating a regular middle point in the Sunday rhythm between the two worship services. United Methodist Men gather for breakfast at 8:15 a.m. on the third Sunday of each month, combining fellowship with the church's wider life of service. These gatherings show discipleship as a rhythm of learning, friendship and shared responsibility rather than a single formal session.
The Common Table adds another small-group rhythm. Meeting twice each month, once in the morning and once around an early supper, it is built around fellowship, shared food and conversation rather than a formal agenda. Participants bring questions, celebrations, tensions and burdens, and the gathering creates room for people to meet new friends and be known as they share the common bond they have in Jesus. The meal is a practical expression of the church's belief that Christian fellowship includes laughter, listening and the sharing of food.
For adults who want to participate in worship as well as study, Cook's offers places in the band and choir as well as roles in outreach and community service projects. Music and mission are not separate from discipleship here; they are among the ways people grow, belong and serve. The church's many opportunities for involvement make room for different schedules and interests while keeping the same purpose in view.
Choir, Organ, Piano, and Contemporary Praise
Music occupies a central place in Cook's worship, with established choral groups and contemporary praise connected to the same Sunday rhythm. The Chancel Choir sings and leads worship each Sunday at 8:45 a.m. Its repertoire includes a wide range of musical styles and choral arrangements for SATB voices, with familiar hymns among that repertoire. The choir rehearses every Wednesday from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., preparing not simply to perform but to lead the congregation in song.
The Women's Ensemble sings on the last Sunday of each month during the 8:45 service. Its arrangements use two- and three-part writing for soprano and alto voices, again drawing from a variety of musical styles and favorite hymns. Ensemble members practice on the last two Tuesdays of each month from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Together, the two groups preserve space for choral music and hymn singing within a congregation that also worships in a contemporary style.
Eric Coomer directs contemporary worship and serves as media specialist. A singer and songwriter who has performed since the age of twelve, he also grew up in a household where music and ministry were closely connected, with a United Methodist pastor father and an elementary music teacher mother. His work joins the creative role of leading praise with the media work that helps the church communicate and share worship. The Well gives that contemporary ministry a regular place in the Sunday schedule.
Ammon Bratt serves as organist and pianist. His career includes performances across the United States and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, Lviv Philharmonic Hall, Teatro Orione in Sicily and the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando. He earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where he studied piano with André Watts and Arthur Greene. His international concert experience, church background and work as a nationally certified music teacher add a broad musical dimension to Cook's traditional worship.
Other-Driven Service in Wilson County
Cook's carries its mission into the community through three ongoing outreach ministries. Their purposes are practical: provide lodging, keep homes functioning and help older neighbors receive food. Each also gives children, youth and adults opportunities to serve together.
- Compassionate Hands provides overnight lodging for people experiencing homelessness during winter months.
- Helping Hands offers home-maintenance and emergency ministry.
- SALT Ministry provides weekly food boxes to seniors in need in Wilson County.
These ministries put the church's idea of selfless mission into concrete form. Compassionate Hands responds to a lack of safe overnight lodging during winter months. Helping Hands brings practical repair and emergency support to homes. SALT Ministry places food in the hands of older neighbors in Wilson County every week. Their regularity matters because these are continuing commitments rather than isolated projects, and they make service a shared part of church life.
The wider community work has also included local home-building work with Habitat for Humanity and meal packing to address hunger. In each undertaking, the emphasis is not only on the task but on giving people of different ages a concrete way to work together in service of people beyond the church family. Outreach projects across the calendar have offered adults, young people and children different ways to participate while keeping their attention on neighbors.
The Common Table and other gatherings extend the same outward-facing emphasis into conversation and relationship. People who come to a Bible study, meal or service event encounter one another, share stories and learn to recognize the needs around them. That combination of companionship and action is central to Cook's identity: care is shown both by noticing a neighbor and by doing something that improves the neighbor's circumstances.
Pastoral Leadership Across Rural, Suburban, and Conference Settings
Reverend Sandra Clay has served as Cook's pastor and brings more than three decades of pastoral ministry to the role. A lifelong United Methodist, she was raised in the Parkway Village community in Memphis and in a small rural West Tennessee congregation. Her ministry has included rural, suburban and county-seat settings, giving her a broad understanding of the different needs found in congregations and the importance of learning how to listen and adapt.
Clay also served on the legacy Memphis Annual Conference Cabinet with watch-care responsibilities for nearly 100 congregations, ministries and mission churches in the Memphis area and for their pastors. That experience is reflected in her emphasis on discipleship as an active, shared way of life. She describes faith as a work in progress that requires discipline to remain close to God and to connect authentically with God and with other people.
Her welcome to newcomers is equally direct. People may be new to faith, new to the Christian Church or new to Cook's, and the church does not assume that everyone arrives with the same experience. Her approach is to offer companionship as people seek to grow in love, show mercy and live graciously as individuals and as a church family. When one person has a difficult day or season, another can offer encouragement, while questions and challenges can be shared with people who have walked similar roads. That emphasis creates room for established believers and those still finding their way.
What the Mission Looks Like in Practice
The phrase “followers of Jesus Christ who love and serve others” is visible in the church's priorities. Becoming a follower is expressed through worship, teaching, prayer and the continuing work of discipleship. Love appears through genuine care, shared meals, music and the encouragement offered within the church family. Service appears in hands-on work for people who need lodging, home help or food. The three parts of the mission are not three separate departments; they shape one another.
That pattern also explains why ministries range from nursery care and youth groups to adult Bible study, men's breakfast, choir rehearsal, contemporary praise and neighborhood outreach. Each setting places people within a relationship and gives that relationship a task. Children and adults worship together, study together and serve together, while the church continues to make room for conversation, celebration and the everyday work of learning how to live as disciples of Jesus.
A Congregation Shaped by Purpose
Cook's United Methodist Church is held together by a concise mission and four working values. Its purpose is to make followers of Jesus Christ who love and serve others. Its worship joins prayer, teaching, silence, sacraments, familiar hymns, choral music and contemporary praise. Its discipleship continues through Sunday School, small groups, Bible study and multigenerational ministries. Its service reaches neighbors through Compassionate Hands, Helping Hands and SALT Ministry.
The history at Cook's is unusually visible. A circuit rider's prayer beneath an oak tree, a brush arbor on Cook's Campground, a one-room sanctuary in the 1840s and the enduring 1890s sanctuary form a continuous story. The same hill that holds the old building also holds a church shaped by worship, discipleship and service. At its center, Cook's remains a family-oriented United Methodist congregation in Mt. Juliet, seeking to know Christ and make Christ known through the life of the church and the good it does for its neighbors.