Pastor Todd R. Cook

Pastor Todd R. Cook and wife Susie

   When I was a child, I learned that I must have faith in Jesus Christ, who died for my sin, in order to go to heaven. At that time, I determined to believe. Even though I knew this truth, I did not have an opportunity to grow in my faith.

   When I attended the University of Wisconsin, I got involved in a Christian group on campus. Through reading the Bible I realized that my heart was not totally devoted to God. I read from Matt. 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.” From this verse I realized I could trust my heavenly Father with every aspect of my life. I then surrendered my life to Him in prayer. That was in January 1975. That was the greatest moment of my life.

   As I began to grow in my faith through Bible reading and Bible study, God began to change my life by giving me a desire to do what is right and by giving me joy, peace, and purpose in my life. When God started changing my life for the better, I realized that the best way to help people is to reconcile them to

God. Then they can have their sins forgiven and have God change their lives too.

   Pastor Todd R. Cook graduated from Spurgeon Baptist Bible College which has since merged with Piedmont Baptist Bible College and graduated from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been a pastor since 1985. He started Community Baptist Church in Kenosha, WI. He has authored Hope for the Brokenhearted: Biblical solutions for Survivors of Abuse and Rape and coauthored Hope for a New Day. More information on these books is at www.hopebooks.info. He has published many Bible studies on the web that can be found at www.biblestudies4u.info.

Susan B. Cook

   I became a Christian sometime in the fall of 1973, as a result of the Lord’s persistent knocking for a number of years. I didn’t go to Sunday School until I was in sixth grade, so before then I didn't know anything about who Jesus was or anything the Bible teaches. I learned fast and soon knew about Jesus intellectually, but that’s as far as I was willing to go. One of my Sunday School teachers told me that all I needed to do was ask Jesus in and let Him make me the kind of person He wanted me to be. I thought about it and decided I would invite Him in just before I died and in the meantime I would run my own life.

   I didn’t do too bad of a job. I was an “A” student and active in school and church functions. I had friends and a nice family and was pretty comfortable except for the fact that I had no purpose or direction in my life and an aching void in my heart. My sophomore year in high school I went to training on how

to share Christ with others. The day I was supposed to actually go out and witness, I had to baby sit.

   The next year I went to training to be a counselor for a citywide evangelistic campaign, but again I had a steady babysitting job that kept me from being a counselor. I did attend one night of the meetings and was convicted, but didn’t go forward to be saved.

   At home, I finally gave in because I realized I couldn’t make it on my own. Here I was a senior in high school, a 4.0 student and yet I had no purpose. When asked what I would do with my life, I told people I wanted to be a cleaning lady because then I would see the fruits of my labor. (I still enjoy cleaning.) Inside I knew I had greater potential than that and I also knew that I wasn’t clean inside and I couldn’t get clean by myself. So one night I went home and dug out the tract I had learned to witness with and confessed my sin to God and told Him I believed that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I opened the door of my heart to Jesus Christ and gave Him control of my life.

   I then began reading the Bible. I went to college to be a civil engineer. The first few weeks of school were very lonely for me. I was the only girl in most of my classes. The guys thought girls in engineering were either out to get their job or them as a husband. I spent most of my free time sitting in the student union studying. One day two women approached me with a tract explaining salvation. I told them I already was a Christian. They invited me to get into a Bible study. I did and learned the how to’s of the Christian life.

  The Lord has brought me a long way. There have been trials, tribulations, joys and sorrows, but through it all I have learned that I can trust in Him. It is in Him that I am complete. No person, place or job is going to make me complete. Only Jesus can do that. He is everything to me.

   Susan graduated from UW-Milwaukee with an early childhood education degree. She has taken courses at Spurgeon Baptist Bible College and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. She is co-author of Hope for a New Day and teaches English as a second language to preschoolers.

Children

Philip – He graduated from Northland International University, is a paramedic, and is going for further schooling.

Amy – She graduated from Northland International University and is in graduate school at Kent University in England.

You may email Pastor Todd R. Cook 

Pastor Arthur Williams- Assistant Pastor

 

Pastor Art and Joanne Williams

 

Pastor Art has served in the ministry at Calvary Baptist Church for almost 20 years.  He now serves in various bible studies related to the church. He teaches a class at Bridgeway of Bensenville every 2^nd and 4^th Thursday at 10 am.  He also teaches a study at Castle towers of Bensenville every 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday at 6pm.  In addition he teaches the Sunday night Bible study at Calvary Baptist Church.

Pastor Art became a Christian as a young boy, but it was not until later in life he was called to enter the ministry.  In 1994 he graduated from Baptist Bible College and seminary in Grand Rapids Michigan which has since changed to Cornerstone University.   He and his wife, Joanne, joined Continental Baptist Missions in 1995 and were soon sent to Calvary Baptist Church in Bensenville. 

Joanne also came to know the Lord at a young age.  She has dedicated many years of her life to service to the Lord.  After graduating from high school, Joanne went to school to become a nurse.  Since moving to Bensenville to serve, Joanne has taught various Women’s Bible studies, and also has experience teaching children’s church, Sunday school, and vacation bible school classes for Children.

 

Pastor Art and Joanne have been married for 42 years and have two children: Daniel, who lives in Michigan with his wife and two daughters, and Charity, who live in Illinois with her husband and son.

 

 

 

Pastor Matthew Bothwell –Youth Pastor

 

Pastor Matthew, Charity and son Amanuel

 

Pastor Matt has been the Youth Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church for 14 years.  As a young boy, he accepted Christ as his Savior.  At the time he was attending a Catholic church with his family.  By the time he was entering his teenage years, his family had decided to switch to Bloomingdale Bible church in Bloomingdale, MI. He was extremely involved in the youth program there.  After high school, Pastor Matt attended Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he met his wife Charity.  There, he studied digital media for two years until he decided to switch his major to Youth Ministry.  It was at this time he decided to transfer to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois.  While attending Moody, Pastor Matt became the intern youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church where he established a youth program, and was later hired after graduating from Moody in 2006.  His secular job is a warehouse logistics manager at Pirch.  Pastor Matt enjoys teaching youth and children and firmly believes in investing time into the lives of teenagers in order to make an impact on their relationship with Christ.

 

Charity has been a Christian since the age seven when she accepted Christ in a Sunday school class.  As a teenager she decided to dedicate her life to serve the Lord in any way he directed.  After college, she attended Grace Bible College and received an associated degree.  She has worked alongside Matt for many years as the organization behind the scenes for his Youth work.  She also works full time as a Special education paraprofessional for Marklund Day School.  She has many years of experience working with children on the Autism spectrum and other special needs. 

 

Pastor Matt and Charity have been married for 13 years and have a four year old son named Amanuel.