From a Living Room on NW 167th Street to a Miami Gardens Landmark
Upper Room Ministries of Miami Gardens sits at 3800 NW 199th Street, just west of the city line that separates Miami Gardens from the surrounding neighborhoods. The address has been the congregation's home since 1978, when the membership moved in, leased the property for two years, and finally secured it with a down payment in 1980. The building that worshippers fill today is a sanctuary completed in the spring of 2002 under the leadership of the founder's son. It replaced an earlier fellowship hall and stands as the visible result of more than fifty years of growth that began in much smaller rooms.
The story starts on a warm Miami Tuesday evening in February 1970. The late Elder Lenwood Cooper, encouraged by his wife, the late Mildred Cooper, gathered sixteen believers in the living room of their home for the first service of what would become Cooper Temple Church of God in Christ. The first Sunday worship service followed on March 1, 1970, with Sunday school at 9:00 a.m., morning worship at 11:00 a.m., and evening worship at 7:30 p.m. Within a month, the congregation had raised enough money to rent a storefront at NW 167th Street and 42nd Avenue, where a powerful revival drew souls into the church and filled the membership with new believers.
Two years later, the Coopers and their growing flock moved to a building at NW 46 Avenue and 213 Street. To keep the ministry sustainable, Elder Cooper opened the COGIC Day School in 1975. That school drew families into the church and helped fund the work during the six years the congregation remained at that location. In 1978, Cooper Temple moved to the present 199th Street site. The congregation worshipped there for two more years under a lease before purchasing the building outright in 1980.
Three Pastors, One Family
The leadership of Upper Room Ministries has passed through three members of the Cooper family. Elder Lenwood Cooper pastored the church from its founding in 1970 until January 1997, when he passed away. His wife, Mother Mildred Cooper, was appointed pastor and led the church through a season in which new ministries were birthed and refined. She instituted morning prayer for the elders, ministers, and missionaries, and she oversaw the growth of the Tuesday night Bible study class and the Young People Willing Workers ministry. When she was called home in January 1998, the mantle passed to her son, Elder Marc Cooper, who had been serving as assistant pastor.
Under Pastor Marc Cooper, the membership grew rapidly. He expanded the vision from a new fellowship hall to a new sanctuary, and he added the name Upper Room Ministries to the congregation's identity. The name is taken from the biblical upper room where the early disciples gathered, and it is meant as an open invitation for individuals to experience what is described in the book of Acts. On June 23, 2021, Pastor Cooper was consecrated and elevated to the office of Auxiliary Bishop in the Church of God in Christ, becoming Bishop Marc A. Cooper. In August 2022 he organized the Florida Southeast Ecclesiastical Fellowship, a network of more than twenty-eight churches spanning from South Miami to Saint Augustine. He continues to serve as the church's pastor and as District Superintendent of the South Region Fellowship District, with administrative duties in the Florida Central Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction under Bishop Edward Robinson Sr.
At his side stands Evangelist Joy Cooper, the church's First Lady. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Miami and a master's degree in Counseling from St. Thomas University, and she has served as a counselor in the Broward County School System for over thirty-two years. She received her national evangelist license from the Church of God in Christ in 1999 and travels widely speaking and ministering. Together, the Coopers have three adult children and two granddaughters.
Sunday Mornings at the Upper Room
The Sunday rhythm at Upper Room Ministries is straightforward and welcoming. Sunday School opens the day at 9:30 a.m., with classes for every age group. Morning Worship follows at 10:50 a.m. and is the gathering the church considers its main weekly celebration. The service is livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person, and recordings remain available afterward. A weekly devotional, drawn from the previous Sunday's sermon, is also posted so worshippers can carry the message into the rest of the week.
Music has always been central to the life of this congregation. Before he accepted his call to the ministry in 1995, Bishop Marc Cooper served as minister of music at Cooper Temple and built a career in song writing, music production, and choir direction. He led groups including the Stellar nominated Marc Cooper and Friends and the Stellar Award winning and Grammy nominated Miami Mass Choir. Evangelist Joy Cooper contributed to that work as well, co-writing songs for nationally signed artists on Malaco and Savoy records. Her hit song, What God Has for Me, It is for Me, won a Stellar Award in 1998 with the Miami Mass Choir. That musical heritage still shapes the worship style, which carries the warmth of gospel music and the spontaneous energy of Pentecostal praise.
Tuesday Night Bible Study and the Prayer Call Line
Midweek, the church gathers for its long-running Tuesday Night Bible Study at 7:30 p.m. This service grew under Mother Mildred Cooper's leadership and has remained one of the congregation's anchor ministries. Believers come prepared to dig into the Word together, with teaching that follows the Church of God in Christ tradition.
For mornings and moments when members cannot be in the building, the Upper Room Prayer Call line has been available since October 2014. Launched as an audio prayer line for those who want to begin the day in intercession, it has drawn countless testimonies of encouragement from participants near and far. The line, combined with the in-person Bible study and the weekly devotional, gives the church a continuous rhythm of teaching and prayer throughout the week.
The Upper Room Children's Academy
Children and families are a central part of Upper Room Ministries. In 2013, the church opened the Upper Room Children's Academy Childcare Center on the same campus, serving children ages three through five. The Academy has its own building and is operated as an extension of the church's reach into the surrounding community. For many local families, the Academy is the first doorway into the life of the congregation, and several church members came to know Upper Room through its classrooms. Sunday School on Sunday mornings and the nursery during worship provide age-appropriate care and teaching for the youngest worshippers.
EnCourage-Her and the Women's Ministry
The URM Department of Women leads EnCourage-Her, an annual brunch that celebrates survivors and warriors of breast cancer and raises awareness of prevention. Held on the church's Miami Gardens campus, the gathering brings sisters together in pink for a meal, fellowship, and a shared commitment to health. The brunch has become a highlight of the women's ministry calendar and reflects the broader pastoral heart of the Coopers, who emphasize both spiritual and practical care for those they serve.
A Church of God in Christ Congregation
Upper Room Ministries is a member congregation of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), one of the historic Pentecostal-Holiness bodies in the United States. COGIC teaches that the word of God is to be preached, the ordinances of the church administered, and the doctrine of holiness or sanctification emphasized as essential to salvation. The denomination is recognized as Pentecostal in nature because of the importance it places on the events of the Day of Pentecost, and it is part of the larger Protestant tradition, though it did not directly emerge from the European or English Reformation. Its founder, Elder Charles Harrison Mason, organized the denomination in 1907 after a transformative visit to the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, and COGIC became the first legally chartered Pentecostal body in the United States.
Upper Room Ministries' mission is drawn from Acts 2:42-47: to bring the unbeliever into God's family, to offer worship that lifts up God, ministry that heals, and instruction in Christian living. The congregation describes itself as a unified people with a unified purpose to reach the lost, develop them, and equip them for ministry in the church and the world, demonstrating God's love through service.
Giving and Staying Connected
Upper Room Ministries supports its work through tithes, offerings, and designated special projects. Giving is available in person during services by check, debit, or credit, and online by card. Members and supporters may also give through Zelle using the church's email address, through CashApp at the cashtag $URM3800, and through Givelify by searching for Upper Room Ministries of Miami Gardens. Donations may be designated to tithes, special projects, or jurisdictional assessments for the Florida Southeast Ecclesiastical Fellowship.
First-time guests and those considering membership can complete dedicated forms online. The church responds to inquiries within 24 to 48 hours, whether someone is filling out a first-time guest card, joining as a member, or simply asking a question. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and the building is open on Sundays for Sunday School and Morning Worship and on Tuesday evenings for Bible Study. Throughout the week, the prayer call line, the livestreamed services, and the weekly devotional keep the congregation connected across Miami Gardens, South Florida, and beyond.