A native of San Diego, California, Pastor Rolland E. Slade has been the husband of the love of his life the former Adrienne C. Jewell since 1981 and the proud father of Rolland “Jay”, Ryan and Alexandra.
Pastor Rolland accepted his call into the ministry in 1987 under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Timothy J. Winters at the Bayview Baptist Church, San Diego. It was there that he was baptized, licensed and later ordained to preach the Gospel. While at Bayview, he served as an associate minister, Prayer Evangelism ministry coordinator and as a senior high Sunday school teacher.
In December 1991, Pastor Rolland was called to serve as Associate Pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church, San Diego, under the pastorate of Rev. Andre Henderson. While at Highland Park, Pastor Rolland served as Minister of Missions and Church Planter for the Meadowbrook Fellowship congregation located in a large apartment complex near the church, which was originally funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Additionally, he served during that time as the Development Coordinator for the church’s community retail ministry called Stamps and Things. Pastor Rolland shepherded, qualified and secured the designation of Stamps and Things to become an authorized United States Postal Contract Station in the community.
In May 1995, Pastor Rolland and Adrienne were appointed by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to serve as missionaries for the California Baptist Convention. Pastor Rolland was assigned as the Church and Community Ministries Director for the San Diego Southern Baptist Association under the leadership of Rev. B. Wade McKinley. After five years of service in this capacity Pastor Rolland was appointed to serve as the National Missionary for Welfare to Work Evangelism Ministries for the North American Mission Board, SBC. There he was responsible for the initial development of the ministry evangelism strategy Man-to-Man (MtM). Man-to-Man’s primary goal was to train and empower Churches, Associations, State Convention within the Southern Baptist Convention in the area of mentoring for men coming out of any governmental system.
In November 2002, Pastor Rolland resigned from the North American Mission Board, and along with several colleagues founded the Faith Based Leadership Training Institute through San Diego State University’s School of Extended Studies. The Institute offered pastors, and /or key lay leaders a two-year fellowship to learn and explore opportunities related to community renewal and development. Additionally, Pastor Rolland joined the staff of The Children’s Initiative as the Faith Community Coordinator in an effort to mobilize communities of faith in the area of advocacy for children.
In January 2004 Pastor Rolland was installed as the Senior Pastor of the Meridian Baptist Church. Since that time the Meridian Church has experienced the revitalization of their membership as well as ministries. The church has become involved in several key community partnerships including the El Cajon Collaborative, San Diego County Health Human and Services Multi-System Work Group and is working to develop ministries that will help to strengthen families within the community.
In 2009 Pastor Rolland was appointed as the faith community representative by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to the San Diego County Commission on Children Youth and Families. The Commission was formed in 1986 as an advisory body to the County Board of Supervisors with the mandate of providing a leadership role in identifying and addressing the needs of children, youth and families who are at-risk or in the public charge.
Pastor Rolland is a past fellow of the California Wellness Foundation’s Violence Prevention Program, as well as a past recipient of Children’s Hospital of San Diego and the San Diego County Office of Education’s Champion for Children award and the All Congregations Together (ACT) Visionary Leader Award. Pastor Rolland additionally served as the first Faith Community Mobilization Coordinator for the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency.
In 2014 Pastor Rolland led the Meridian Baptist Church to make personal health a priority. This effort has led the church to be officially recognized by the County of San Diego HHSA as the first faith-based partner in the LIVE WELL San Diego initiative. He was also named the East Region Public Health Champion of the Year. Additionally, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention as one of three representatives from California. Currently Pastor Slade serves as an officer on the committee as the Vice Chairman after completing two years as chairman of the Cooperative Program Committee.
In 2016 Pastor Rolland was named to the fill the Faith Community seat on the San Diego Regional Continuum of Care Council. The San Diego Regional Continuum of Care Council recently (January 2017) merged with the San Diego County Regional Task Force on the Homeless in a combined effort to better serve those who are homeless in San Diego County. Pastor Rolland was asked to remain as the Faith Community Representative on the Regional Task Force
Though Pastor Rolland is a frequent presenter on the role of the Faith Community in Community Development, Violence Prevention and Community Renewal at conferences throughout the nation, his greatest passion in ministry is leading the work of the Lord at the Meridian Baptist Church.