The Story

A life shapedby worship.

David leading worship

David G. Cook has spent more than thirty-five years with a guitar in his hands and a song in his heart. Born and raised in Southern California, his earliest memories are of music — first as a listener, then as a player, and eventually as a worshiper standing before the church with a guitar in hand and a prayer on his lips.

For nearly 35 years, David has shared life and ministry with his loving wife, Peggy. Their marriage has been a steady place of encouragement, faith, and partnership — a quiet anchor beneath every season of worship, songwriting, and service. Together, they have walked through celebration and storm, learning again and again that Christ is the Rock who cannot be moved.

Over the decades, David has led worship in various churches, conferences, retreats, and ministry gatherings throughout the region. But his deepest joy has never been the big rooms — it has always been the quiet, faithful rhythm of serving his home church week after week. He currently leads worship at Grove Church in Sunland, California, where he serves alongside a community committed to grace, truth, discipleship, and making God visible.

David's songwriting is rooted in Scripture and shaped by a long pursuit of Christ. His contemporary worship songs are written for the local church — singable, prayerful, unhurried. He believes worship is less about the stage and more about the soil — that holy ground is not a place but a Person, and that Person is Jesus. Every melody, every lyric, every moment of ministry begins and ends with Him.

As a worship leader, songwriter, guitarist, and ministry musician, David brings together decades of experience with a heart shaped by both joy and hardship. Through seasons of abundance and seasons of breaking, he has learned to plant his feet firmly on Christ — the foundation, strength, and peace beneath every step.

At Grove Church, David continues to serve through music, discipleship, and creative expression — weaving together worship leadership, songwriting, technology, and pastoral care. His ministry centers on grace and truth, on becoming more rooted in Christ, and on helping others encounter the presence of God in both the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Holy Ground, for David, is not merely a location — it is the nearness of Jesus. Every step of ministry, every song written, every worship moment shared is anchored in the presence of the One who makes the ground beneath us sacred.

Whether he is leading a congregation, mentoring a young musician, or writing a song that may only ever be sung in a living room, David's prayer remains the same: that hearts would encounter the living God and become deeply rooted in Christ.

"Worship is not performance. It is the posture of a heart that has come home."

— David G. Cook

What I carry

01

Grace before craft

Skill matters, but only when it is surrendered. Excellence serves the Spirit; it never replaces Him. The song is never the point — Jesus is.

02

Scripture as the source

Every lyric is weighed against the Word. The Bible is the well I draw from, the tuning fork for my heart, and the place where every song begins.

03

The local church

Worship is forged in the slow, ordinary rhythm of a congregation that knows your name. Real formation happens in the same room, with the same people, over a long obedience in the same direction.

04

Discipleship

Investing in the next generation of worshipers is the most lasting work I get to do. Songs may fade, but people shaped by Christ will bear fruit long after the music stops.