Roloff Homes

Programs it has run

7 on record.

• Anchor Home for Boys Zapata, Texas | 1967-2000 | Closed
• Bethesda Home for Girls Forrest County, Mississippi | Closed
• Lighthouse for Boys Near Corpus Christi, Texas | Closed
• Marvelous Grace Girls Academy Pace, Florida | 2008-2022 | Closed
• Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy Patterson, Missouri | 1987-2004 | Closed
• New Beginnings Girls Academy La Russell, Missouri | 2001-2015 | Closed
• Rebekah Home for Girls Corpus Christi, Texas | 1967-2001 | Closed

News coverage

• ALL IN THE NAME OF GOD: THE MULTIBILLION DOLLAR TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY AND THE CHRISTIANS WHO PROFIT FROM IT (2022-03-21) Killing the Buddha | Mar 21, 2022 | expose About one of its programs

  The article reports on allegations of physical, spiritual, and sexual abuse in several faith‑based residential programs for troubled teens. It cites survivor testimonies describing forced silence, beatings, and conversion therapy practices. The piece highlights legal challenges that have allowed some facilities to operate with limited oversight.

• ‘A big day’ for victims of reform school abuse as Parson signs Missouri oversight bill The Kansas City Star | Jul 15, 2021 | event About one of its programs

  Governor Mike Parson signed House Bill 557, granting the state authority to register and inspect unlicensed Christian boarding schools in Missouri. The legislation requires health and safety inspections, background checks, and reporting of student information, aiming to address reported physical restraint and sexual abuse at facilities such as Circle of Hope and Agape Boarding School.

• The History of Lester Roloff's Faith-Based Youth Homes and State Oversight Battles Texas Monthly | Dec 1, 2001 | expose About one of its programs

  The article documents the history of the Rebekah Home for Girls, a faith‑based residential facility founded by evangelist Lester Roloff, and describes disciplinary practices such as corporal punishment, isolation, and restraints. It includes survivor accounts of physical and spiritual abuse and outlines the facility’s legal battles over state licensing and oversight.

Deaths on record

Young people who died at, or after being in, one of its programs.

• Connie Munson age 14 | Bethesda Home for Girls | August 1, 1980 | Died during escape attempt