Summerhill

Rescue Atlanta Ministries (2003)

Nov 28, 2006

Mel and Teresa Rolls arrived in the great city of Atlanta in April of 1989. After serving on the Executive Staff of Mount Paran Church of God for 6 months, they launched out to pioneer Rescue Atlanta.
During their time at Mount Paran Church of God they had established a relationship in a troubled inner city neighborhood called Vine City. This was their passion; to reach hurting and desperate people.

In the Spring of 1990, Mel would go into the heart of the city and sit among the homeless in Woodruff Park. He was obeying what the Lord spoke to his heart in EZEKIEL 3:15 "Then I came to the captives ?…. and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them ?…." Sitting there he heard their cries of help. It was then that many of them came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

After many of them made Jesus the Lord of their lives, Mel would try to find them a church to attend so they could be discipled and grow in the Lord. Time after time the men and women would return saying that they were not allowed in the churches because of their appearance.

It was then in prayer that Mel asked the Lord "What should I do with these precious people?" It was then that the Lord replied, "You take them!" To be completely honest I then told the Lord, "But I don't want them!" Immediately Mel's heart sank, because he realized that he was as guilty as the churches that were turning them away.

It was also at that time that the Lord gave a word to Rescue Atlanta, "Reach the people that nobody else wants!"

In the Fall of 1990 Mel began to not only reach out to the Homeless, but went into one of the worst housing Projects in the city, Techwood Homes. He knew God had sent him there to meet a need. After meeting with neighborhood leaders, he asked them "What is the greatest need in Techwood?" They replied "We need someone to Coach our youth football team." Without thinking Mel replied "You got your Coach right here!"

Coaching inner city football was in itself an incredible challenge, but doors for ministry began to open everywhere. So many lives were being changed, and the need for a church became evident. We began meeting with a handful of people under a tree because we didn't have a building. The people were hungry for God!

In the Winter of 1990 we moved into the Techwood Community Center to hold services because it was getting cold outside. There were a few rules that we had to obey because of using a Government Center, so it became necessary for us to find our own place.

In the Spring of 1991 we moved into the display room of a Florist by Piedmont Park. The name of the place was the "Flora Dora Floral Warehouse". We met early on Sunday mornings. We were able to set up 40 chairs in this tiny place. Flowers were everywhere, and standing behind me every week when I preached was a Greek goddess statue with her hands raised in the air! We used to say "Come on everybody, praise the Lord like my sister here!"

In the Fall of 1992 we were forced to leave the "Flora Dora" because they were going to begin opening for business on Sundays. We needed a new place to meet for worship. God then opened the doors for us to meet in the aerobics room of a Fitness Center called "The RAW IMAGE Fitness Center". This was a drastic change from the "Flora Dora". It smelled different, and instead of flowers and Greek Godess, we had mirrored walls, metal chairs, and used a step for our pulpit. We didn't have Air Conditioning, so the summers were blistering. But the amazing thing was, people continued to come!

In the Fall of 1994 our Feeding Ministry and Bus Ministry began to take off. We couldn't cook or serve meals at the "Raw Image", so we would prepare meals at our homes, fill up 5 gallon igloo coolers with soups, or stews and head to the vacant buildings, or under bridges to find the hungry. Our services began to fill up quickly after that! We were now at capacity at the "Raw Image" so we needed to find another location in which to meet.

In the Winter of 1994 the doors opened for us to use the "Steelworkers Union Hall". This place seemed HUGE to us at first. It would seat about 250 in chairs, and 200 around tables. The church began to grow and we had to add additional nights of ministry. The feeding ministry exploded here! Within a short amount of time we were over capacity! We were running 5 School Buses at this time to pick up the Homeless and Inner City Families.

In the Spring of 1995 along with meeting at the "Steelworkers Union Hall" we also began to conduct a Bible Study in another part of the city. We met in a little room that would seat 75 people called "The Cup". We would minister in praise and worship, the preaching of the Word of God, and serve a bowl of soup after the services. We were quickly becoming known for having the BEST FOOD IN TOWN!

In Summer of 1996 we ran out of room. At the same time, the city of Atlanta was hosting the Centennial Olympic Games. We had 850 Soulwinners from around the world come into work the streets with us. It was one of the most exciting times in the history of Rescue Atlanta.

Immediately following the Olympics when we returned to the Steelworkers Union Hall, the Union had elected new Leadership, and they gave us a 2-week notice to move out of the facility. Their reason was that the building was supposed to be a "Meeting Hall" not a "Feeding Hall". So we needed a miracle in two weeks or less!

Being that we serve a Miracle Working God, we got just that! The Lord opened the doors for us to move into an old Baptist Church, in Summerhill, just two blocks from the Olympic Stadium. In the Fall of 1996, Rescue Atlanta now made Summerhill it's new home. We had never been in a neighborhood before, so this proved to be a new challenge for us.

Summerhill was a very troubled neighborhood. Crack Houses, Drug Dealers, High Crime, Prostitution, Gangs, and Guns! To be honest, what a great place to have a church. We soon found out that Summerhill statistically was the #2 most crime ridden neighborhood of the city. And on top of that Atlanta had ranked #1 in crime in the nation since 1990!

God helped us overcome these obstacles and the church began to grow. The feeding ministry continued to blossom as well. Perhaps the greatest thing that happened in Summerhill is that we now had space for Sunday School for all ages! More families began to attend, which presented a whole new set of ministry opportunities. This was the time that our Food Distribution and Clothing Ministries began to take off. The need was HUGE!!

It wasn't long before we were to capacity in the building. We were also receiving a lot of pressure from the church that owned the building. They really didn't like us reaching the people nobody else wants. It became very apparent we needed a place we could call our own, and not have to rent!

In the Fall of 1998 we located a building 1-mile from our Summerhill location. It was a 28,000 square foot warehouse. We began to believe God for the finances, and God made a way! In the Summer of 1999 we purchased our present building at 410 Englewood Avenue SE. As the Lord provided the finances, the remodeling began. We were turning a warehouse into a Ministry Center. On February 13, 2000 we moved into our new Ministry Center.

The building was not complete at the time we held our first Worship Service, but we had church anyway! We are now directly across the street from one of the largest Housing Projects in Atlanta, Englewood Manor, and we are on a City Bus Line as well. We continue to bus in the Homeless, and the families from the inner city neighborhoods that we have been working in since 1989. The feeding ministry, clothing ministry, Bus Ministry, Outreaches, Youth Ministry, Children's Ministry, Bible Studies, Worship Services and Sunday School has continue to grow.

We have almost completed PHASE 1 of the building and hope soon to begin PHASE 2 of the building, which will be the Sanctuary. Presently we are having to use the Dining Room as a multi purpose meeting facility. This demands a lot of work, but it's worth it to see so many lives changed on a weekly basis. We are able to seat 600 for services and 340 around tables for our feeding ministry. Best of all, it is the place we call home, and we're not renting any longer.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Source: http://www.rescueatlanta.com/html/contact1.html