A Tribute to Dr. Arnold Cook

The Rev. Dr. Arnold Lorne Cook, president of the Alliance World Fellowship from 2000 to 2004, passed peacefully into God’s presence surrounded by family and friends on January 23, 2020 at the age of 87.

Dr. Cook was a beloved Alliance leader with a deep hunger for revival and a great passion for missions. Rev. Arie Verduijn, former president of AWF from 2004 to 2016, recollects in his memories: “He was gentle, wise and passionate about the Lord Jesus. He would always call for revival of our relationship with Him. Among the things I learned from Dr. Arnold Cook was one that deeply impressed me: when celebrating the Lord’s Supper, he would urge all present to remember those for whom the table had not yet been set. To share God’s love with the nations was his zeal. He passed on that passion to the international Alliance family and to me personally.”

Dr. Cook was also a prophetic voice and a deep thinker. He had a clear vision about the present and the future of the Christian and Missionary Alliance movement. Through his book “Historical Drift, Must My Church Die?” and numerous articles and academic papers, he laid out the foundational path for the Alliance, a 19th century missionary movement, to be faithful to its calling in the 21st century.

Dr. Cook was born in Chesley, Ontario, Canada, on August 28, 1932 and graduated from Canadian Bible College, Canadian Theological College, and Fuller Theological Seminary, where he earned a Doctor of Missiology degree. He served as a pastor in Canada; a missionary in Colombia, Argentina and Peru; as a faculty member at Canadian Bible College and Canadian Theological Seminary; as Vice President for Personnel and Missions; and as President of the C&MA in Canada from 1992 to 2000.

Dr. Cook is survived by his wife, Mary-Lou (Catto); his children Charles (Darla), Tim (Sandy), Mike (Sandy), John (Beth), and Beth-Ann (Walter), as well as eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Let us earnestly pray that the Lord may bring comfort, peace and strength to Dr. Cook’s family as they navigate through fond memories and indescribable emotions.

Updated information about the details regarding Dr. Cook’s funeral can be found on the following website: https://www.cmacan.org/in-memory-of-dr-arnold-cook/