Natives of Johnson City, Tennessee, Rev. John and Karen Rollins were married in 1973 in their hometown of East Tennessee. After honorably serving his country for eight and a half years in the U.S. Air Force, Rev. Rollins obtained his B.S. in Business in March 1984 from UT Knoxville with a concentration in Accounting.
Rev. Rollins was called into ministry in 1987 where he was ordained as a Deacon at Priest Lake Community Baptist Church, receiving his mentorship and training under the late Dr. Sid Smith, Sr. Rev. Rollins also served in the same capacity as Deacon at Simeon Baptist Church. He was licensed, ordained, and commissioned as a minister in October 2003 at Simeon Baptist Church in Antioch, Tennessee by Rev. Elgia Wells, and became Pastor in January 2012. In 2015, he received his Masters Degree from Union University in Christian Studies.
Rev. Rollins has served in various capacities in the church. He served as treasurer of Priest Lake Community Church in 1987, and as the first treasurer of Simeon Baptist Church from January 1991 to October 2007. He also oversaw the financial construction process in the building of Simeon Baptist Church.
For nearly 17 years, Rev. Rollins served as a youth teacher before becoming the Minister of Education of Simeon Baptist Church in January 2004 to November 2011. In this role, Rev. Rollins oversaw all of the LifeSchool Ministries where he conducted and led monthly meetings, as well as discovered, enlisted, and trained Sunday school leaders. He led in developing an effective Sunday school organization that facilitates spiritual transformation.
God has also allowed Rev. Rollins to facilitate various conferences from Ridgecrest, NC to Glorietta, NM, leading courses such as “Deacons as Leaders,” “Deacons: Servant Models in the Church,” “Equipping Deacons to Confront Conflict,” and “Accounting for Small Churches.”
God has blessed and allowed Rev. Rollins to minister, evangelize, and witness across the U.S. and internationally, travelling as far as Tanzania to spread and minister the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Married for over 40 years, he and his wife and best friend, the exquisite Karen Rollins, have been blessed with a beautiful daughter, Nayeka (Niki), and handsome son, John II (JR), along with five grandchildren: Jamilah, Jada, Avaya, John III (Tre’), and Joseph. One handsome son-in-law, Lamarius, and one special daughter-in-law, Nerissa.
