Rick Cole

Rick Cole is the Senior Pastor of Capital Christian Center in Sacramento, California. He succeeded his father, Glen D. Cole, on September 17, 1995. He’s the 10th pastor of Capital Christian Center, and leading the constituents into the 101st year of its existence.

Rick attended Northwest College from 1975 through 1978. He graduated from Bethany Bible College in 1979. He earned a Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership from Southeastern University in 2006. Rick married Cathy Carlton Stanphill (daughter of Ira and Gloria Stanphill) on August 10, 1979. They have three children: Nate, Laine, and Travis and five grandchildren: Judah, Ella, Ireland, Brooklyn, and Jude.

The responsibilities as Pastor of Capital Christian Center include overseeing a church of over 4,000 people, a pastoral staff of 14, a Christian school of approximately 1,100 students, and 300 church and school employees.

Rick co-wrote two books Souldesign, A Roadmap for Personal Growth and Souldesign, Living a Life of Love.

Rick’s community involvements include having served on a committee at CARES to provide awareness regarding AIDS and work to eliminate new infections in Sacramento in the near future.  He also served on the board of Sacramento Steps Forward, a public/private partnership to address the needs of the homeless in the Sacramento region.

He has been involved in developing programs to assist the local community through Character Combine and Evening of Dreams. Rick commissioned a program to assist underserved schools with practical needs beyond the classroom to close the achievement gap.

Because of Cole’s passion for sports and seeing first-hand the effect coaches have on players, in 2005 Cole invited Joe Ehrmann (Most Impacting Coach in America, Parade Magazine) to speak to a small group of Sacramento area high school coaches to learn how to increase sportsmanship.  The event called Character Combine gained traction and launched into an annual event where more than 1,000 coaches and athletes gather to learn how to “make increased character the priority on and off the field.”  Because of demand, Character Combine has also hosted events in Hawaii and Southern California.

After hearing of a need within the special needs community and the challenges they face, Rick paved the way for, Evening of Dreams, a prom that reaches the special needs community in a tangible way. The event brings inclusion to teens and young adults with disabilities. The guests are escorted by area high school and college students complete with formal pictures, hair styling, make-up, music, and a night of dinner and dancing.  The event is not only a first-class evening for the special guests, but volunteers often use their experience to make a difference in their school or community.

In 2012, Cole had the privilege of leading the way in providing Winter Sanctuary for the homeless during the winter months. Capital provided dinner and lodging for over 100 persons each night with the help of about 30 other churches. In 2014, Cole spent two weeks on the streets of Sacramento living homeless to raise awareness and funds for Winter Sanctuary.