Pastor

Rev. Dr. Crystal Robertson-Cooper, MD  was born and raised in Philadelphia, graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls, and went on to attend the prestigious Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1983. In 1989, she earned her medical degree from the Hahnemann School of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Reading Hospital, maintaining a successful private practice until 2000. Realizing God had always called her to minister to both the spiritual and physical needs of people, she was licensed to preach in 2003 by her childhood pastor, Rev. James S. Hall Jr. of Triumph Baptist Church, and earned her Master of Divinity in 2004 from Biblical Theological Seminary. Married to Rev. Mark A. Cooper, the two are active in ministry and passionate about reaching youth and young adults. Her ministry has included programs like “Woman’s Healing Day,” teaching Bible study for women, young adults, and congregations, and preaching at numerous Women’s Days and Church Anniversaries. She is passionate about supporting fellow pastors in need of sabbaticals, and on April 26, 2009, she was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel at Crossroads Fellowship Church in Royersford, PA, following an ordination council led by Rev. William Balls. Pastor Cooper has led the Women’s Fellowship at Triumph Baptist Church, organizing the Children’s Christmas Angel Outreach and Handbags of Hope for women in shelters. Her unique organizational vision was key in the renovation of the Bible Baptist Church of Christ, bringing together ideas and contractors to create a warm, inviting worship space. Rev. Cooper is blessed to be the proud aunt of many young people—some by blood, others through the spirit. 

 Pastor Mark Cooper, the second child of Jesse and Rebekah Cooper, was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, where he attended The Light of The World Chapel under Pastor Thomas Ridley. Taught to read the Bible at a young age, the evangelism and prayers of his mother and Aunt Josephine Smith proved fruitful. At five, he accepted Christ at a youth rally in Philadelphia and was baptized at age seven by Pastor John Green Jr. at Christ Baptist Church, where he later became a deacon in 1985, was licensed as a minister in 1991, and ordained in 1996. At 15, he dedicated his life to serve God at Camp Streamside and the next year accepted a call to missions, joining his first trip to Macon, Georgia, serving at Crossroads Bible Camp. He attended Northeastern Christian Jr. College and graduated from Geneva College with a B.A. in Communication Arts. His first short-term mission trip abroad was to Ivory Coast in 1985, returning in 1996 with Pastor Green to minister in village regions. He launched Solid Rock Outreach Ministry, restoring a 48-acre camp in Lake Lure, NC, for inner-city youth. A composer and author of Dear Father: Letters to Frederick Douglass from His Children, he married Dr. Crystal Robertson Cooper in 2002. Together they planted Crossroads Fellowship Church in Royersford, PA, in 2009 and later founded The Simon Fellowship, a monthly men’s Bible study group started in 2013, focused on spiritual growth and impact.