WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (BP) – Although Michael Cooper and his wife Devon moved to West Valley City, Utah, in 2015 to work with the North American Mission Board as the Utah Church Planting Catalyst, the Coopers never anticipated that they would be the ones to plant a church in this area.
“We didn’t move here with the intention of planting a church here,” Cooper said. “We thought this would be a temporary assignment. West Valley is the only city in Utah that is less than 50 percent Anglo, so there’s a lot of diversity.”
However, as the Coopers lived in West Valley City and saw the spiritual needs of a state dominated by the Latter-day Saints church, their family realized that this was more than a temporary assignment – this was home.
“Around 2019-2020, the Lord started impressing on our hearts that West Valley is home for our two daughters and it is where they have grown up,” Cooper said. “It’s where all of their memories are. If you were to ask them where their home is, this is the place they would say.”
That’s when the Coopers sensed God’s purpose for leading them to this area was greater than they ever could have imagined.
“It opened our eyes to the need and that we could be the ones to answer what God had been laying on our hearts,” Cooper said. “Everything God provided for us was in this area and all pointing to us staying here.
“In that season, we started changing our focus and I became the Lead Church Planting Catalyst for both Utah and Idaho. God started to impress on us the mission field in our community. It’s one thing to know the statistics, it’s another thing to own them.”
Cooper acknowledged that while West Valley City is the second-largest city in Utah and is considered Utah’s most diverse city, ValleyLight Church is the only English-speaking Southern Baptist church in the city. Cooper helped start a Spanish-speaking church in the area seven years ago, and there are two other Baptist churches.
“ValleyLight isn’t the only success story in our Salt Lake City Metro,” Cooper said. “There’s so much hunger. There’s a need and an opportunity for the Gospel to go forward, but we also recognize there’s a short window. We want to offer a biblical response that Jesus loves you, and it’s not about works. It’s been very reaffirming. This harvest season that we are in is really amazing.”
ValleyLight currently has 150-200 people attending on Sunday mornings in the school gym of Ascent Academy West Valley. Cooper said that of the eight baptisms the church has had recently, six of the people had been previously baptized as Latter-day Saints.
In addition to small community groups and a thriving kids ministry, ValleyLight also has a Polynesian ministry reaching about 80 people.
“I’ve been praying for years about opportunities to reach the Polynesians, because our community is so diverse and wanted our church to reflect that diversity as well,” Cooper said. “That’s when the Lord led me to meet David Sturgeon, whose wife is Samoan. We have outreach events and nights of worship and prayer. They are hungry for healthy, Christian community and questioning what they had been previously taught and hungry for the Bible.”
Cooper said that door hangers and social media have been helpful ways to assist in spreading the word about the church plant.
“We lived here eight years and never received an invitation to a church,” he said. “For some people, just receiving a personal invitation to church is all it took to get them here, letting them know that they are welcome and invited.
“Social media also has a tremendous impact on people who are searching for a church in the area. They google ‘church near me,’ and ValleyLight pops up in their search. We are reaching people in our little pocket of the community. We hear that others are curious and are googling, ‘Christian church near me.’ One of the first questions they ask us is, ‘Is it OK for me to be here?’”
Cooper said he would love for other Southern Baptist churches to partner with ValleyLight and take short-term mission trips to the area. He said they also have a need for other ministers, pastors and young people to serve in this region so new believers can see the influence of other Christians, hear their testimonies and see the church in action.
“There is a lack of evangelical churches in Utah and more so in West Valley and Magna,” Cooper noted. “Our area is so dark because of the lack of Christ, but I’ve learned that we don’t need to have a very big light to shine. I’ve learned that our greatest challenge is our greatest opportunity. We want to make Jesus unignorable on the west side.”
Another significant way ValleyLight has helped get the word out about the church plant is by participating in the annual community event called WestFest, a three-day carnival recognizing the various cultures represented throughout the city.
“The first year we partnered with WestFest, we had 35 people come out and take a short-term mission trip to volunteer and help with the event,” Cooper said. “The second year, we had 75 people come out and help with the hospitality tent, booths, assisting vendors, cleaning up after the event, providing snacks and water, and overall, creating a better atmosphere with huge improvements for the event. This year, we had 100 people come out, and it was just beautiful how engaging people were with our city. People think ValleyLight Church has always been here because we are so engaged with the area.”
As Cooper is praying for more ministers to feel called to this area, he is greatly encouraged by the development of the Salt Lake School of Theology. Cooper received his Doctorate of Ministry from Gateway Seminary in California and holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
“We recently started the Salt Lake School of Theology, which partners with Gateway Seminary,” Cooper said. “It’s the first accredited Christian theological school in Utah. We purposely don’t call it a seminary. The majority of our mission field is in our backyard, and it’s never been reached well. Three point five million people live in Utah, and we have 97 Southern Baptist churches with 8,000 members. God is using us. Today, we have more evangelical churches in Utah than ever before. There’s a special window we are in, and the influence of the LDS church is shrinking. People are not getting their questions answered, and they are searching for the truth of Jesus and want the true Gospel.”
Related posts:
Gift to GGBTS: church planting scholarships N.Y. mayor renews pledge to churches 
Easter marks 40 years of changed lives at Saddleback Church Lack of Senate vote ‘disgrace,’ says Moore 
Child’s suffering adds power to planter’s ministry 
Church planter, led to Christ in his native China, now leads growing Dallas church 
WEEK OF PRAYER: Texas roots now planted in South Dakota 
Measuring church planting success
