Introducing Chris Cole broadcaster, businessperson and Christian leader
Broadcaster, Chris Cole is a prominent Christian leader in the UK, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is best known for his pioneering role in Christian radio, however has also made a long-standing contribution to Christian TV, print journalism and online media.
Today Chris sits on the board of several charities. He is the co founder of Cross Rhythms Media Ministry; chairperson of CornerstoneVision; and is a trustee of GOD TV and the Christian Broadcasting Council, CBC. Chris is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, FRSA and a lead fellow at St Georges House in Windsor. He is currently completing a PhD.
Born in London in 1952, Chris grew up in Canada, the USA and UK. He started his career in Belgium working for a recruitment agency, however his love of music led him to become a DJ and open a nightclub. He became a Christian through the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship and God started to transform his life. This led to Chris moving back to Plymouth, England where he met his wife Kerry and they got married in 1982. It was the start of a long and fruitful marriage as they journeyed together to fulfil God’s calling. Their story is captured in Kerry’s book, Gotta Die To Live.
Chris Cole Broadcaster
Given his background as a DJ, Chris saw the potential for Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) to reach a mass audience and he started a radio show on Plymouth Sound entitled ‘The Solid Rock of Jesus Christ’. This was one of the first programmes in the UK to promote CCM and Gospel artists at a time when ‘Christian rock’ was not always well received among church leaders.
The popularity of this radio series led Chris and Kerry to start Cross Rhythms Radio and Media Ministry in 1983. It was named after a music magazine founded by Tony Cummings and became part of a far-reaching media vehicle of radio, print journalism and music festivals in the South West of England.
In the 1990s Cross Rhythms moved to Stoke on Trent where its headquarters is now based. This came about through a partnership with UCB where Chris acted as Executive Director and Trustee from 1996 to 2002. He was the first Christian broadcaster to obtain a community radio licence from the British government in 2001.
While he was in Stoke on Trent Chris became a regular host of GOD TV’s series, ‘Dream on TV’. In 2005 he was appointed as GOD TV’s Regional Director for the UK & Ireland. He served in this position until 2012. He was appointed a trustee of the Angel Foundation in 2015, GOD TV’s charity in the UK.
Chris presents ‘The Art of Living’ on Cross Rhythms which features Interviews with Christian leaders about their lives and ministry.
Chris Cole Businessperson, Trustee and Pastor
Chris Cole and his wife Kerry also started Cornerstone House Advertising and Marketing in Plymouth in 1985 to help finance their media venture. Cornerstone House published newspapers for the Church of England and other denominations and later became Cornerstone Vision Limited. Today it publishes the Plymouth Chronicle
In 1991 Chris was appointed to the board of Gilead Foundations, a drug rehabilitation charity in Okehampton where he served for several years. He was also a trustee of For Mission Theological College.
Chris and Kerry Cole have three adult daughters. Their autobiography Gotta Die to Live was published in 2020. Together with Kerry, Chris pastors a house group, Cornerstone Fellowship in Plymouth, which is part of the Church of the Nations.