Buddy & Charlene Cook

Moving to the USA at the age of 15, Charlene grew up in Queensland, Australia. Buddy, originally from Orlando, Florida moved to North Carolina in 1991. Buddy and Charlene met in their youth group in Concord, North Carolina. After dating for less than a year, Buddy and Charlene married in 2000 and were eager to begin spending their lives together sharing a common goal; to share the love of Jesus with children.

Buddy and Charlene have four children of their own; Nick, Eli, Dylan and Abby who range from sixth grade to kindergarten. As a family, they love spending time together and enjoying the adventure of life.

Although always feeling called to children’s ministry, it wasn’t until early 2008 that this vision became clear. After 9 years of serving roles with children’s ministry through involvement at church and Camp Courtney, Buddy and Charlene accepted the position of Children’s Pastors at New Harvest Church in Harrisburg, NC in 2009.

Buddy and Charlene share a passion to shepherd the hearts of children and teach them to let their lights shine, along with providing parents and children’s leaders with the resources to continue to “train up a child in the way they should go”. Serving as Southeast District Children’s Specialists, Buddy and Charlene are excited for the opportunity to be a resource and support to those who serve children throughout the district.

Buddy’s Favorite Place: Disney
Charlene’s Favorite Place: The Beach
Buddy’s Favorite Food: Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs (not on the “Charlene” approved list of healthy choices)
Charlene’s Favorite Food: A great burger and Dr. Pepper
Buddy’s Favorite Scripture: 2 Samuel 6:21 “I’ll become even more undignified than this.”       Charlene’s Favorite Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:7 “Impress (the Word) on the hearts of your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.