Lester Roloff

I never met Bro. Roloff personally, although I have heard several recorded sermons. I personally know some men who were trained by him, and they are top-notch men who have a sincere burden for their ministry. The problem comes in with the nature of their ministries. These kids are real handfuls, and they know how to work "the system." They know that all they have to do to get the police into these ministries is to circulate rumors about "abuse." The next thing you know, the feds are parked outside the home, hauling everyone away, placing them into "state" custody, and destroying the reputation of good, honest, hard-working folks based on the allegation of a troubled teenager.
Roloff was a good man. The ones I know who are still working in the same ministry are good men also. If you have never been around these types of ministries, it is difficult for you to understand the nature of it, and the source of all the allegations.

In Christ,

Back in 1977 while on active duty in the US Navy and stationed on the USS Inchon (LPH-12) through the Grace and Providence of God I began attending the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Virginia Beach, VA. TBC had a Local Church Christian Servicemen's Center and it was at that Center I got saved on November 7,th 1977. Before that took place and In the Spring of 1977 I attended a Saturday Meeting at the Servicemen's Center and a Wednesday Evening Servce. Sometime after that we deployed to the Med for a six month cruise returning in the Fall of 77'. After I was saved I began atttending the Center and Church on a regular basis (as regular as I could depending on my military schedule). Well now to Brother Roloff...The Wednesday Evening that I attended in the Spring that I mentioned above the church had Brother Roloff and the Rebecka Home for Girls there that evening. I guess Brother Roloff preahced and the Girls Sang and gave testimony (that was 32 years ago)...well the van that took them to the airport was the same van that took us back to the base after the service. I don't remember talking to him I do remember us being in a hurry because Brother Roloff was concerned about making a the airport before they closed. He flew his own plane to the service. Here is one thing I do remember. They were giving away a Roloff edition Bible which was a KJV Bible with ministry pictures and information in the back. You could get one of these Bibles and give a donation. Well I got a Bible but no donation probably never thought about it. Well six months later after I got saved what do you suppose was one of the first things I did? You guessed it I sent the Roloff Ministries a donation for the Bible. I used to get a newsletter but have not in years...Well that is my Roloff story!

Can I give you one more testimony about my Salvation? There was a guy on our ship somehow he was the human link for us getting to TBC. The question I had was how did he know about TBC? Well after not having any contact with him for a couple of decades I just learned this year that he heard about TBC from a Flyer. I don't know if someone gave it to him or he saw it on a bulletin board but a flyer in deed. I would like to share with you all that tonight there is a Pastor in Travelers Rest, SC, a Pastor in Hillsdale, MI, a Pastor in Chespeake, VA and a Pastor in Connersville, IN, a Brother working at a Bible College in MI and we all came from that ship around the same time frame or another! May we all keep on keeping on.
Hey lets go give out a flyer!

One of my favorites is the one he preached at someone's ordination-I've seen it under different titles, but the one I remember it under is "I May Lose Some Friends With This Sermon". It can be found on various audio sermon sites, including Sermon Audio, Sermons From The Past, the "Jesus Is Saviour" site (the audio sermon section), goodpreachin.com, and trumpetoftruthonline.org, amongst others.

Oh, it was also called "What Every Young Preacher Should Know". I especially appreciate the part where he cautions new preachers to not get caught up in the back-and-forth of their people, and to keep himself apart from foolishness that will suck away the energy which should be devoted to more profitable endeavors. I believe that I can see where Brother Roloff abided by that principle in his own life. Even with all his energy, he could never have accomplished all he did if he got bogged down in petty church politics or taking sides when fellow preachers had disagreements. He seemed to keep himself to himself in that regard, and I think it made him the big man who stayed above pettiness that he was. It seems a few of the preachers of yesteryear had that quality, and it certainly added to their stature, along with their other good qualities.