ALLEN & PATRICIA COOKE: Faith, Hope & Love Story by Cindy Reid
ministry throughout their married life. Worship music is what brought them together, but they also spent many years in youth ministry before specializing in marriage counseling. Patricia says, “No matter what ministry we were involved in, we always did it together.”
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We offer hope, help, and healing. Healing can take place in individual’s lives, and lives and marriages can be saved.
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llen and Patricia Cooke are the co-founders of Paraclete, Inc, a nonprofit ministry begun out of a passion for helping hurting people and struggling couples. Paraclete provides counseling and mentoring services and shares the gospel with everyone who chooses them for counseling no matter if they have been a Christian for years, are a pastor, a missionary, or never claimed a relationship with Christ. Their services are completely free of charge and are offered as a ministry to their community of faith. Allen and Patricia have called Effingham County home for decades, in fact they met when Patricia was a high school junior. Allen smiles and says, “I knew that I would marry her the first time I saw her. She took a little convincing, but I won her over and we were married in 1981.” They recently celebrated 40 years of marriage and they have been involved in
Allen is currently the worship leader at Centerpoint Community Church, where Patricia is an active member of the Women’s Ministry Team as well as the worship/praise team.
50 August/September 2021 | www.EFFINGHAMMAGAZINE.com
Allen holds a Master of Arts degree in Human Services Counseling with a concentration in Marriage and Family Counseling. He says, “I felt I needed to study something that fed my soul instead of feeding my career. Being a religion major taught me so much about the Bible and ‘Who God is’ that I feel that it makes me a much better worship leader.” Patricia holds a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Counseling. They are both ordained, licensed ministers through American Fellowship Church. They are qualified to offer pre-marriage counseling which meets the fulfillment qualifications for Georgia State Marriage Licenses, and they are able to perform marriage ceremonies. They are also certified Christian Counselors through AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) and are Board Certified Christian Counselors through AACC as well. Patricia says, “We have always had a heart for ministry as it relates to people
