After forty‐five years of dedicated service to ministry, Bishop Donald R. Cook Sr. of Harvest Tabernacle Bible Church, 1746 E. 55th St. in Los Angeles will officially retire during the church’s upcoming 40th anniversary celebration on Sunday, October 16, at 3 p.m.
His successor, son Dr. Donald R. Cook II, will be installed as senior pastor during the Installation Service set for Sunday, November 13, at 4 p.m., at 88th Street Temple Church of God In Christ, 8825 S. Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles.
“This is such an exciting time in the history of Harvest,” said Minister Michelle Neely, a longtime member.
Bishop Cook, a graduate and valedictorian of the Los Angeles Police Department Technical Reserve Police Officer Program, served as Los Angeles County Sherriff’s first black, full‐time jail Protestant Chaplain.
A graduate of John C. Fremont High School in South L.A., Bishop Cook received his ministerial license from the Church of God in Christ. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Psychology at Pepperdine University and both his Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies and a Ph.D. in Counseling at Eula Wesley University in Ruston, Louisiana.
In addition, Bishop Cook was conferred honorary Doctorate of Divinity degrees from the Los Angeles Bible College and Seminary and the Bible Believers College and Seminary in Hawthorne.
Harvest Tabernacle Bible Church, Incorporated was established in 1976 by Bishop Cook. For the last 40 years, Harvest has established multiple ministries that benefit the immediate community, made financial contributions to several institutions around the world in support of members’ educational endeavors, as well as established foreign ministries around the globe.
For information, call Michelle Wilson at (310) 413-6018.