From police officer to church trumpet player to volunteer fire department chaplain to mother of six children, Danielle Cook, a member of Enville Baptist Church, does it all.
Cook, who is originally from Iowa, moved to Tennessee with her family in 2011. She worked in child care until her youngest child began school.
Then, she began working at the prison in Clifton, but she quickly realized that the prison environment was not for her, she said.
Her supervisor suggested she become a police officer. For the past three years, she’s been an officer with the Henderson Police Department.
Cook said that while police officers often “get a bad rap” for their more unpleasant duties like writing tickets, she’s also had opportunities to minister.
Once, she pulled over a young woman for speeding. When Cook talked with her, she realized that the woman’s uncle was just involved in a serious car accident, and the woman was going to get her mom to take her to the hospital.
“Instead of writing her a ticket for reckless driving because of her speed, we sat, and we prayed, and I was able to minister to her and then send her on her way,” Cook said.
Cook was also ordained recently by Enville Baptist as a chaplain to the volunteer fire department in Henderson because the department wanted a female chaplain to minister to the wives, mothers and sisters who were going through hard times.
Family of servants
Danielle and her husband, Jay, have six children, all under the age of 10. While Jay serves as music director at Enville Baptist, Danielle and her daughters sing in church. Danielle also is on the church security team and plays in the orchestra, along with one of their sons.
Danielle said that in all of her roles, as a Christian, her highest calling is to be a servant.
“We’re called to be servants, and in all of these jobs I get to serve the people in my community,” she said.
Although she grew up in a nonreligious family, Danielle said she prayed as a child, but only in order to take communion. She accepted Christ at age 18.
“I just said words, but they had no meaning,” she said.
However, in a revival service, she realized that she wasn’t saved and went forward to get saved.
Danielle’s pastor, Ron Davidson, said that he’s known the Cook family for the four years he’s been at Enville Baptist.
“She’s faithful to the church, she’s a good servant in the community and she helps a lot of people,” he said.
How does Danielle do it all?
“One task at a time,” she said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Ashley Perham’s story originally was published in the Baptist & Reflector.
