Thomas Cook

A Brief Sketch of the Life of Thomas Cook

Much to the surprise of just about everyone (except his Heavenly Father), Evangelist Thomas Cook died in 1913 at age 53, in the prime of his life and ministry. Condolences and eulogies and testimonies poured in from all corners of the British Empire; and no wonder, for his had been a remarkably Christlike life and exceedingly fruitful ministry. It is no exaggeration to state that myriads of adults were converted under Cook’s preaching, and tens of thousands testified to that experience of receiving a pure, sin-free heart by faith.

Thomas Cook was born in the iron-foundry city of Middlesbrough, England on August 20, 1859. His father seems to have been indifferent to spiritual things for much of his life, but his mother was a godly, praying Methodist woman. Thomas made a commitment to follow Jesus in 1875 at age 16. His conversion was quiet and unremarkable from outward appearances; but the reality of Christ’s saving work made such an impression on the teenager that he and a friend were soon of their own volition preaching on street corners to all who would hear about their life-giving Saviour.

The new convert

Such were the changes of his life, the influence of the young man’s preaching, and the fruit of the Spirit in his life that he was made a Methodist lay circuit preacher by age 18. His earnest, loving, Spirit-inspired, and passionate (not to say bombastic; he was British, after all, and of the Victorian era at that!) preaching and plain speaking moved the hearts of men and women of all social strata wherever he went. His ministry was much in demand, not only in his own denomination, but also among the Primitive Methodists, the Wesleyan Reformers, and the Salvation Army. In his twenty-second year alone, over 5,000 conversions were recorded!

Cook’s ministry grew in depth and fruitfulness, and God opened up doors for him to minister—sometimes for more than a year at a time—in Norway and in spiritually hungry, far-flung corners of the Empire like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). God always did far more through Cook than his hosts ever believed possible.

Cook had no post-secondary education, so it was with some surprise in his denomination that he was called upon to become the first principal of a newly-instituted evangelical school for the training of lay ministers. How would “a mere evangelist” succeed in launching and managing this new ministry of Cliff College in Calver (near Sheffield), England? Very well, thank you very much! The same Lord Whom he had passionately served in his Gospel-preaching ministry was honored by Cook’s devotion and fruitfulness in his new post. Starting in 1903, he served the school faithfully and ably until his death in 1913. (Cliff College celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003. More information on the school can be found here. This author had the privilege to attend a summer Bible conference held on the campus of Cliff College back in 1983.)

Taken from Evangelist Thomas Cook and His Book New Testament Holiness