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At the age of 81 he calls himself a broken–down missionary. But Don Cole is far from broken down. And he's still a man with a mission. Since 1971 he has been the radio pastor for the Moody Broadcasting Network. For the tens of thousands who hear his warm grandfatherly voice on Open Line twice a week, he is a light–hearted soul with a keen knowledge of the Scriptures.

Don and his wife Naomi served as missionaries in Angola for 18 years when an unexpected change in the government prevented their desired return. It was at this point in the mid–1960s that Don pursued a master's degree in English at De Paul University in Chicago. At the same time, he taught missions courses at Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque, Iowa, and was in high demand as a guest preacher at churches in the Midwest.

"In 1970 I was enjoying what I was doing very much," Don admits. "But when Robert J. Little retired from his position as radio pastor at WMBI after 17 years, an invitation was extended to me to take over. It didn't take me long to say thanks but no thanks. I didn't see myself as having the theological education required."

In Don's eyes, the intellectual shoes of R. J. Little (father of popular speaker and author Paul Little) would be impossible to fill. Besides, the 47–year–old evacuated missionary still felt called to be a missionary in Africa.

But the management at Moody persisted. As far as they were concerned, the person answering callers questions on the Dial–the–Pastor program did not need to sound like a seminary professor. Rather, they wanted a winsome personality who could communicate the foundational truths of the Bible in the language of the listeners.

"When I understood that they really didn't want a carbon copy of R. J. Little, I was willing to reconsider," Don recalls. "I'd learned on the mission field how to break down difficult concepts and convey them simply. Furthermore, my wife believed this was a door the Lord had opened for me, and I take a lot of stock in what she thinks."

On August 1, 1971, as Dr. George Sweeting took over the presidency of Moody Bible Institute, Don Cole assumed the role of Moody's radio pastor. Since that day, he has sat faithfully before a studio microphone with his well–worn Bible and a genuine interest in people. It's a sincerity that is apparent to those who hear him Mondays and Thursday nights on nearly 300 stations across the nation.

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