• Rev. Dr. James Cook

    St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church — Winston-Salem, NC

    A native of Selma, Alabama, Pastor Cook has lived in a covenant relationship with his wife, Erica, since 1991. Their union has been graced with three blessed gifts: two wonderful sons, Davonta and Jamarre, and one lovely daughter, Jaden.


    Pastor Cook received his primary and secondary education in Selma and Dallas County, Alabama. After graduating from high school, he served faithfully and honorably in the United States Air Force.


    Pastor Cook holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Virginia University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, Virginia, a Master of Divinity from Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia and is presently completing his thesis for the Doctor of Ministry Degree in Transformative Leadership with a concentration in Prophetic Preaching at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York. He also completed the Engle Institute of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary, which focused on strengthening the craft of preaching.


    Pastor Cook faithfully served as Pastor of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia for 10 years. He served in the Valley Baptist Association of the Roanoke Valley and served as President of the Social Justice Department in the Virginia Baptist State Convention. Pastor Cook has held the position of Co-President of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology Alumni Association at Virginia Union University.


    Pastor Cook serves on the Ecclesiastical Council of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Atrium Wake Forest Baptist School of Medicine. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.


    On October 1, 2007 Pastor Cook became the fifth Senior Pastor of the St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Since that time, Pastor Cook has led the congregation in positively impacting the community through incarnational missions. During his first year at St. Stephen, Pastor Cook was selected to participate in Wake Forest University’s Pastoral Renewal Program, a two-year peer support and continuing education program that included a trip to the Holy Land. He was also a participant in Project Rising Sun, a two-year leadership program for gifted young

    pastoral leaders, sponsored by an initiative of the Fund for Theological Education.


    Under Pastor Cook’s leadership, St. Stephen continues focusing on ministering in a spirit of grace and excellence as the church fulfills its mission—Winning Souls and Maturing Disciples.

  • Rev. Dr. Robert C. Scott

    St. Paul Baptist Church — Charlotte, NC

    A Visionary, Pastor, Preacher, and sought after speaker, the Reverend Dr. Robert Charles Scott is a native of Monticello, MS and a resident of Charlotte, NC. He is married to Pier Charisse Scott, and they are the parents of Charis Jordyn Scott. He became the Senior Pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC in October, 2016. St. Paul Baptist church is a historically significant congregation with over 5000 disciples serving in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg County region since 1900. He is the fifth pastor in

    St. Paul’s history. Under his pastoral leadership, St. Paul has built an eighteen million dollar ($18,000,000.00)/112 units housing development for seniors and affordable income as a completion

    of the vision of his predecessor, Dr. Gregory K. Moss. St. Paul has experienced increase spiritually, numerically, and financially since his arrival. He preached his initial sermon at the age of 11; licensed at the age of 12; and ordained at the age of 18 at the Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church (Monticello, MS). He is the son of Mrs. Dorothy Newsome (formerly Scott) and the late Mr. Robert Funches.


    Dr. Scott is a 1986 honor graduate of Monticello High School. He attended Jackson State University in Jackson, MS where he served his peers as president of the Student Government Association. In May 1991, he graduated with honors from JSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Pre-law. He pursued his seminary education at Duke University Divinity School, Durham, NC and graduated in 1994 with a Master of Divinity. He earned his doctoral degree (at the age of 29) from United Theological Seminary (Dayton, OH) in December 1997 under the mentorship of the Reverend Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker. He did his doctoral dissertation on The Dialectical Method of Preaching as Pastoral Care in the African American Church and graduated with high distinction and was the youngest person in his group.