Bio of Founding Pastor William Rolland, Emeritus

 Pastor Rolland

 grew up in a  small town  near  Tuscaloosa, AL  where he  attended        Tuscaloosa County Training School.  At the age of seventeen Pastor Rolland

 enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served four years, and received an Honorable  Discharge in December 1956.   After leaving the Navy to be home with his wife and  children, he continued his education in mechanical drawings, on the GI Bill, while  working as a mechanic at Boeing Aircraft Company.   Due to the instability of the  aircraft industry in the late fifties, Pastor Rolland resigned and took a job as a bus  driver with the Seattle Transit System. 

 After Pastor Rolland relocated to California in 1964, he worked for San Francisco  MUNI, as a driver; until going into the dry cleaning business in 1968.   Pastor Rolland  operated a successful cleaning plant for 30 years in Oakland, California.  It was also  the year he met and married his wife Barbara Rolland.   They were married for 20  years before her passing in 2007. 

 That year was a big turning point in Pastor Rolland’s life, which led to the start of a  labor in the Lord's vineyard that continues to grow each day.  In 1988 Pastor Rolland  was led by a strong desire to really know Christ. This led to his enrolling in Golden  Gate Seminary where he would study for the next five years, graduating in 1993. 

 In  late 1992, Pastor Rolland realized the Lord was calling him to preach.  He  accepted the call in February of 1993.  For the next few years Pastor Rolland served  as an Associate Minister under the tutorial leadership of Pastor Charles Bennett at  Palma Ceia Baptist Church in Hayward, California.

 In late 1995, the Lord led him to organize a church in the Tracy area where Pastor  Rolland and wife moved in 1990.  People of Christ was initially organized by

 starting a bible study in the home with a few friends.  In April of 1996, the

 People of Christ Baptist Church was formally organized with seven (7) members. 

 God has opened up the windows of heaven and poured out blessing after blessing.

 He is still blessing us each day. The People of Christ church has grown steadily over  the years to a membership now of over two hundred.  Pastor Rolland is an active  servant in the community.  God has blessed him to serve in many capacities. He  served two terms as moderator of the Delta Valley Southern Baptist Association and  he still serves on their executive board, he has served as Vice-President of Tracy  Interfaith Ministries, is currently a member on the board of GWF Enterprises  Scholarship Foundation, and a committee member of City of Tracy's Community  Diversity committee.