Edwin Louis Cole

Edwin Louis Cole, also known as Ed Cole, was an American religious leader whose work centered on Christian men, fathers, and the responsibilities of faith. Born in Dallas in 1922, he spent his earliest years in Texas with his mother, Florence. When he was four, a severe case of scarlet fever changed the course of his childhood. After being told that sea air and sun were needed for his survival, Florence moved with young Edwin to Los Angeles, California.

Los Angeles became the setting for much of Cole’s formation. He was educated at Belmont High School in Downtown Los Angeles, and he became active at Angelus Temple, the church associated with Aimee Semple McPherson. There he often took part in illustrated sermons. He also played trumpet with street-corner witnessing teams on Los Angeles’s skid row, an early sign of the public, direct style of ministry that would mark much of his life.

During World War II, Cole enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. While serving, he met Nancy Corbett, who was also a Coast Guard member and later became his wife. After the war years, Cole returned to street witnessing. Within two years he accepted the pastorate of a church in northern California. He was later ordained in the Assemblies of God and received a doctorate as a correspondence student from New Covenant International University in New Zealand.

Cole eventually became a full-time district men’s minister. Over the next two decades, he took part in mission trips, evangelizing, Christian television stations, and other religious work. In 1977, he founded the Christian Men’s Network, an American religious organization devoted to helping Christian men and fathers. At that time, he was still serving on two Christian television networks, acting as chancellor of a ministry school, and helping to establish a radio ministry. In April 1984, he resigned from those roles to focus fully on the men’s ministry, which began slowly and grew during the 1980s and 1990s.

Cole published many books and preached numerous sermons on men and religion. His sayings, often called “Coleisms,” reflected his emphasis on choice, responsibility, faith, and recovery after failure. One of the best known is, “You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” It fits the plain urgency of his message: falling was not the final issue, but refusing to rise could become one.

In 1993, Cole and Nancy moved back to Texas to continue ministering. Nancy died of cancer in 2000. In 2002, while being treated for a broken back, Cole was diagnosed with cancer. He collapsed on August 25 of that year and was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. He died on August 27, 2002, and was buried at a private ceremony in Newport Beach, California. His words still resonate with readers who look to faith as a call to action, discipline, and renewed purpose.