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SERVICE TIMES |
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| Sunday | Sunday School | 10am |
| Morning Service | 11am |
| Evening Service | 6pm |
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| Wednesday | Bible Study | 7pm |
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King James Bible Search
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Dr. Lester Roloff
Lester L. Roloff was born on June 28, 1914 in Dawson, Texas. He grew
up there on a cotton farm. At the age of 12, he was saved, and at the age of
18, he surrendered to the Lord’s call to preach. Acting upon this sacred
calling, he entered Baylor University. While he was there, he paid for his room
and board by milking a Jersey cow he had brought from his parents’ farm.
He graduated from Baylor and attended Southwestern Seminary for nearly three
years. During this time, he pastored two part-time churches. He then pastored
four full-time churchess before the Lord called him, in 1951, to be a full-time
evangelist. He conducted evangelistic campaigns across the nation in giant
specially made tents, in churches and in city auditoriums. He began the
Family Altar Program on May 8, 1944, which at one
time was heard on more than 140 radio stations across America.
Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises, Inc.
(“Enterprises”), was founded by Brother Roloff in June, 1951, as a
Texas non-profit tax-exempt corporation, to coordinate all the Roloff
ministries. As a result of the vast radio ministries and Brother Roloff’s
extensive travels in evangelistic meetings, combined with his love for people
and concern for their hurts and problems, he started homes for them. These were
homes for individuals who were experiencing problems because of alcohol and
drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, rebellious teenagers, many of whom were not
wanted by their parents, and people in trouble with the law. Many of these
people were sent to the Homes by the courts and/or brought by their probation
officers.
Since the beginning of the first home, the City of Refuge, in 1956,
thousands of men, women and teenage boys and girls have come to a personal
relationship with Christ and have been delivered from drugs, alcohol and sin
habits of all descriptions. The Homes started by Brother Roloff include:
The City of Refuge (for men),
the Jubilee Home
(for women),
the Lighthouse (for younger men),
the Rebekah Home (for
teenage girls),
the Anchor Home (for teenage boys),
the Bethesda Home
(for teenage girls),
and the Peaceful Valley Home (for retired
Christians).
The last work he helped to start was a mission work with
American Indians, called Regeneration Reservation, which is located at Fort
Thomas, Arizona.
Beginning in the early 1970’s and continuing into
the early 1980’s, the State of Texas Department of Human Services
attempted to regulate the Homes and require licensing by the State. Brother
Roloff believed strongly that the State should not regulate any Church or its
ministries in any fashion. To agree to allow the State to regulate the Homes
would have meant that the residents could not legally be required to attend
church services, among other things. Since the mission of the Homes was to help
those in need by instructing them in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, this was
an unacceptable situation. Consequently, a long court battle was waged. This
included hearings in the District Court, the Texas Supreme Court, the Federal
Court, and the Texas Appeals Court. Although some victories were won, some of
the judges, commenting that the Homes were being well run, ruled that the State
did have a right to regulate the Homes which were serving the younger boys and
girls. Later, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear the case,
which allowed the lower court’s ruling to stand. This forced the closing
of the two children’s homes, Rebekah and Anchor. This move broke Brother
Roloff’s heart.
During the litigation, on advice of Christian legal
counsel, the ownership and operation of the Homes in Corpus Christi was
transferred from The Enterprises to the Corpus Christi People’s Baptist
Church, which had been founded by Brother Roloff.
While on his way to a week of
evangelistic services in various states,
Brother Roloff was killed in an
airplane crash on November 2, 1982.
Later, Brother and Mrs. Raymond Palmer became
superintendents of a new home for young girls in Corpus Christi, but because of
State interference, moved the operation to Mississippi where they presently
operate Happiness Hill Home For Girls. Their
daughter, Cheryl, was one of the four girls who lost their lives along with
Brother Roloff when his plane crashed.
Under the direction of Brother Scott Murphy, the
Regeneration Reservation continues to minister to
the American Indians in Arizona.
Another work, the Lighthouse Prison
Ministry, was started in 1997 by Brother John Downs, a graduate of the
Roloff Homes in Corpus Christi. He has regular services in the Harris Country
Jail and in prisons near Houston, Texas, including inmates on Death Row.
Because of their Christian
quality and excellent track record,
these ministries are a major part of
our financial outreach.
The Enterprises continues the mission established by
Brother Roloff by broadcasting the “Good News” of Jesus Christ
through the Family Altar Program, using Brother Roloff’s recorded
messages. We feel it is important to keep Brother Roloff’s pulpit ministry
before the people in a day when many pulpits have become weak. This nation
needs a strong consistent message that stands for truth and right. We still
believe like Brother Roloff and we are committed to getting out the Gospel he
preached and that was the basis for the entire ministry.
On February 16, 1993, the National Religious Broadcasters
posthumously inducted Brother Roloff into their Hall of Fame. This award is
presented to an individual who, “for a significant period of time, has
made an outstanding contribution in the field of Christian broadcasting with
the highest of standards and faithfulness to Christ, of whom it can be
testified or who can testify... ‘I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith’”. This Hall of Fame Award
is the National Religious Broadcasters’ highest honor. During the
ceremony, Brother Roloff was described as “a man with a backbone of steel
and a heart of gold.”
Information on the ministry is available in the quarterly
publication of The Family Altar News. If you do not receive this
publication, please request it by writing to the address below or contact us on
the internet at www.roloff.org. Be sure to tune in regularly to the
Family Altar Program if it can be heard in your
area. You can also hear it on the internet at
http://www.ksky.com/ - Mon-Fri 1pm CST
http://www.good-news.org/ - Mon-Fri 8:30am EST, Sun 3pm
http://www.bju.edu/wmuu - Mon-Fri 4:15am & 11:15pm / Sat - 8:45am & 1:32pm EST
http://www.clis.com/fbn - Mon-Fri 5:30am & 10:30am / Sun 5am & 10am EST,
Brother Roloff often said, “Pray for us once a day and write us once a month.”
Please continue to do so. Gifts to the ministry of Roloff Evangelistic
Enterprises, Inc. are tax-deductible.
http://www.roloff.org
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