After his birth in Dallas, Cole lived with his mother in Texas until the age of four, when he became ill with a severe case of scarlet fever.
After being told that he would not survive without sea air and sun, his mother Florence moved to Los Angeles, California, with young Edwin.
He spent the next two decades undertaking a number of religious endeavors, including mission trips, evangelizing, and Christian TV stations.
In April 1984 Cole resigned from these positions to focus exclusively on his men's ministry, which started slowly but grew in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Dr. Cole was ordained in the Assemblies of God and received his doctorate as a correspondence student from the New Covenant International University in New Zealand.