Lester Leo Roloff (June 28, 1914 – November 2, 1982) was an American fundamentalist Independent Baptist preacher and the founder of teen homes across the American South. The operation of those teen homes (primarily his Rebekah Home for Girls) placed him in the public spotlight. Early ministry Born of German descent, Roloff was reared in Dawson in Navarro County in east-central Texas. He began preaching at the age of 18. He attended Baylor University in Waco (Roloff is reported to have brought his dairy cow with him to raise tuition funds through the sale of its milk), and later Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. After graduation, Roloff began preaching at small country churches in southern Texas before taking on pastoral duties at churches in Houston and later Corpus Christi. The Family Altar In Corpus Christi in 1944, Roloff began his radio show, The Family Altar. The show consists of recordings of his sermons, aired in both 15- and 30-minute programs. Roloff also incorporated singing into his sermons, and would occasionally break into impromptu singing of hymns and/or leading his choir to sing along. Each program has recordings of Roloff singing "When Jesus Comes (One Sat Alone Beside the Highway)" at the beginning and "The Stranger Who Sat by the Sea" (or the congregational hymn "Living by Faith") at the end, accompanied only by organ. Ministry expands In 1950, Roloff was called upon to fill in as preacher at a series of revival meetings in Corpus Christi after the scheduled speaker, B. B. Crim, died. The enthusiastic reaction to Roloff's preaching led him to resign his pastorate and pursue full-time evangelism. Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises was hence incorporated the following year. Roloff preached stridently against homosexuality, communism, television, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gluttony, and psychology. His strong stands led to disagreements with most of his Southern Baptist brethren. In 1956, after giving a speech at his alma mater Baylor University criticizing denominationalism, Roloff broke with the SBC and joined the Independent Baptist movement. In 1954, Roloff returned to pastoral ministry with the establishment of the Alameda Street Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, an Independent Baptist congregation. He remained there until 1961, when he resumed full-time evangelistic ministry. In 1967, he started another Independent Baptist church in Corpus Christi, Peoples Baptist Church, at which he remained until his death. The Roloff Homes Roloff began actively ministering to alcoholic and homeless men. His