Our Story
Bishop Larry Cook
Bishop Larry Cook the Senior Pastor of Real Believers Faith Center in North Minneapolis. His mission as a pastor is to reach 5,000 men and restore the role of the man as a leader in the family as well as in the community spiritually and physically. With his acquired knowledge and past and present experience in community involvement along with being a prominent leader in the community, Bishop Cook’s background is unique for understanding and addressing the needs of the people. He is truly a Pastor of this millennium.
Bishop Cook received his barber’s license in 1995 and opened World Class Barber Shop in 1996. He has successfully run his business since the doors opened. He received his preaching license in 1992 and was ordained as Associate Pastor of his church in 1995. He along with his wife Dr. Sharon Cook founded Real Believers Faith Center in 1999. In 2010, Bishop Cook was confirmed as a bishop. In 2001, Bishop received his doctorate degree in Theology and Pastoral Care.
Bishop Cook is involved in several community-based organizations/programs:
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Board member of Les Jolies Petites School of Dance
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Co-producer of Annual Spring Recitals for Les Jolies Petites School of Dance
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Founder of 5000 Men Ministry – program to restore the identity of men and teach them to become positive influences in the community.
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Founder of Rap Time – mentoring program for boys
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Founder of Pass It On – mentoring program for young men
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Founder of Takers – guidance program to help men become leaders of their community
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Founder of New Wine – mentoring program and support group for boys ages 12 - 18
These programs are an extension of Bishop Cook’s desire to help his community and the people of the community.
Dr. Sharon Cook
Dr. Sharon Cook is an ordained Evangelist and holds a PH.D in Pastoral care. Along with these great accomplishments, she is co-pastor of Real Believers Faith Center along side her husband Sr. Pastor, Bishop Larry Cook, which was established in 1999.
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Dr. Cook is the Artistic Director of Les Jolies Petites School of Dance, which she founded in 1997. She has been dancing since the age of four. Extensive training began at Fort Hayes Vocational School in Columbus, Ohio. There, she studied ballet, modern and African dance along with anatomy and nutrition. She also taught ballet and modern dance in the afterschool program for Minneapolis Public Schools. She auditioned and was accepted at the University of Minnesota and majored in Dance.
Sharon Cook started Les Jolies Petites School of Dance by reaching out to seven young girls through providing them the best technical training in ballet, modern, lyrical, hip-hop and African dance. She taught them that their bodies were priceless regardless of their shape, size, or color. Twenty-five years later, this same training has instilled in over 2,000 young girls and boys a healthy respect for their bodies, which in turn creates the inner strength necessary to successfully address issues like teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and low self-esteem.
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​In March 2017, Les Jolies Petites School of Dance performed in Cape Town, South Africa where they also conducted clinics and workshops for the youth there. Les Jolies Petites School of Dance has been featured in several newspapers and interviewed on KARE 11 News with Roxane Battle. They’ve traveled to Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, and Las Vegas, NV where they performed for international recording artist, Canton Jones. In April of 2019, Les Jolies Petites dancers danced in both the Western and Northern Capes of South Africa. They were also invited to dance at Parliament of the Republic of South Africa as they celebrated 25 years of freedom from apartheid. In addition, Les Jolies Petites School of Dance performed at Hoersknoi Homebale High School and Waterworks Elementary located in Kimberley, South Africa.
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