Bio & Resume

Rev. Melissa Cooper

Rev. Melissa Cooper is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. She currently serves as the Minister of Worship & Arts at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Orlando, FL. She is also an Associate with Vibrant Faith, providing ministry coaching services in the area of intergenerational ministry, cross-generational communication and camp & retreat ministry.

Melissa previously served in the Florida Annual Conference as Program Coordinator for the Life Enrichment Center and Warren Willis Camp. She is originally from Tennessee, but began her full-time ministry in the North Carolina Annual Conference at Camp Don Lee, where she served as the Faith Formation and Retreat Ministries Coordinator. 

From 2011-2017, Melissa built a ground-up program ministry at the Life Enrichment Center, at which she was the first program staff member. Building on her previous experience with intergenerational camps and retreats, she founded LECFamily, the intergenerational program ministry of the LEC. Beginning with camps and retreats like Grandparents and Me, Family Camp, Mom and Me Weekend and Dad and Me Weekend, LECFamily has grown into a program and resource ministry serving hundreds of families each year. 

In addition to the on-site events, Melissa provided resources, training and consulting to congregations all over the US in building better relationships between generations and developing intergenerational congregational systems, structures and programs. In 2014, she began #pictureAdvent and #pictureLent, an intergenerational liturgical resource for individuals and churches that since has served more than 3,000 people in nearly every state in the US and at least 6 countries. 

In 2017, Melissa served on the board and as a speaker for Intergenerate, a new ecumenical conference focusing on the intergenerational church and cross-generational faith formation. Melissa has spoken at various regional and national gatherings for the UMC, the UCC and the ELCA on the topic of intergenerational ministry and cross-generational communication. Since 2010, she has written youth and children’s curriculum for sparkhouse, an ecumenical publishing house. 

In the Florida Conference, Melissa has served on the Board of Ordained Ministry, as a Multicultural Resource Facilitator for Cross-Cultural Communication, as a reserve delegate to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, and as co-chair of the Children’s Ministry Table. 

Melissa is married to Will, and they are the parents to the cutest poodle you’ll ever meet.