Cookeville Now / Highlands Insider Thumbs Up Award Honors Dave and Diane Roland

For many people who arrive at Next Step for Life, hope can feel like a distant memory.

Some come broken by addiction. Others carry the weight of past mistakes, fractured relationships, or years of struggle.

But for Dave and Diane Roland, every person who walks through the doors of the faith-based recovery ministry represents something powerful — a life worth restoring and a future worth fighting for.

Because of their decades of commitment to helping individuals rebuild their lives, the couple was recently honored with the Cookeville Now / Highlands Insider Thumbs Up Award, recognizing individuals whose work uplifts the community and empowers others to find a new beginning.

The idea for the recognition grew out of a personal experience for the owners of Highlands Insider, who nearly a year ago attended a Next Step for Life banquet where students and graduates shared powerful testimonies about how the ministry had helped them overcome addiction, rebuild relationships, and rediscover purpose.

Hearing those stories firsthand revealed the depth of the program’s impact on individuals and families across the Upper Cumberland.

In the months that followed, conversations with the Rolands’ son, Davy Roland, helped bring the recognition together for the couple whose vision helped launch the ministry.

For the Roland family, the mission of Next Step is deeply personal.

Davy Roland himself once struggled with drug addiction for nearly a decade. Today he openly shares how his life was transformed through faith.

“To make a long story short, I met Jesus and He gave me a brand new life,” Davy said in a statement when he joined the Next Step board of directors. “He gave me a purpose, a family, and most importantly, a seat at His table.”

In many ways, Davy’s journey helped shape the vision for Next Step — a ministry built on the desire to help others escape addiction and experience the same kind of freedom.

Those who serve alongside Dave and Diane say the couple’s leadership is rooted in compassion, faith, and a belief that every person deserves another chance.

“To know them is to love them,” said Elijah Willis. “They do not define you by your past, sin, or fear. They lead you to your identity in Jesus. They adopt you as their own. They show you your rights and inheritance as children of God. They show love with no condition or expectation. In that love is a family, care, protection, and security. To know them is to know Jesus.”

Jennifer Willis, who helps lead the ministry and works closely with women in the program, said the Rolands’ influence reaches far beyond the workplace.

“Dave and Diane are not just employers to me, they are spiritual parents,” Willis said. “Their love and compassion for others reflects Jesus in every way. They make me feel loved, protected and admired. They value me and give me freedom and trust to lead, which I appreciate so much. I watch them die to self and give to others on a daily basis. They live to serve the King! They are bold warriors and I am so very blessed to be in ministry with them.”

Staff members say the couple’s example of service is something they witness every day.

“Mr. Dave and Mrs. Diane are the most selfless people,” said Tenley Gray, a staff member at Next Step. “They reflect Jesus in all that they do. Jesus was first a servant, not to be served, but to serve. They truly will hear the words ‘good and faithful servant.’”

For many who enter the program, the first moment of acceptance they receive leaves a lasting impression.

“My favorite thing about Mr. Dave and Mrs. Diane was the genuine look of love and acceptance on their faces when they first saw me as a student in the program,” said Jamie Bullard. “No hesitation, just open arms.”

The ministry’s impact is perhaps best seen in the lives of the students themselves.

“I was broken and I was lost,” said Athena, a participant in the program. “Since coming to Next Step I feel fulfilled and whole. I am not the same person.”

Charlie shared a similar transformation.

“I was addicted and living as a thief,” he said. “Since coming to Next Step I am free from addiction. I am learning to forgive and I have hope for my future.”

Christian said the program helped him understand his identity in faith.

“The mistakes that I have made and the darkness that I once lived in no longer define me,” he said. “I know who I am in Christ, and I have truly experienced God’s love and mercy at Next Step.”

Todd described finding a sense of peace he had never known before.

“Next Step is teaching me that the things of this world are not true. They will never last and will always fade away,” he said. “I am gaining such peace in my life through salvation and obedience to God. I am free.”

Planning the recognition took time.

Scheduling conflicts delayed the presentation for several months, but the moment eventually came together after a conversation with Next Step director Jennifer Willis, who helped organize the recognition.

When the award was finally presented, an unexpected detail made the moment even more meaningful.

During his remarks, Dave Roland noted that the week of the presentation coincided with the anniversary of the March 3, 2020 tornado that tore through Cookeville and damaged the Next Step women’s home.

Everyone inside the home that morning safely made it to the basement before the storm struck, and no one was injured, but the building sustained significant damage.

Looking back at that moment and the rebuilding that followed, Roland reflected on the ministry’s early days and the growth that has taken place since.

“In the early days we talked about world changers,” Roland told those gathered. “Some people said, ‘Dave, what are you talking about? We didn’t have any world changers.’”

“But it was a little seed,” he continued. “Once you saw the house in shambles… look around today at what the Lord has done.”

The women’s home was eventually rebuilt and expanded with the help of volunteers and disaster relief teams, including members of Weaverland Disaster Services from Pennsylvania.

Today the rebuilt home includes additional space for classrooms and prayer.

For Diane Roland, the ministry’s mission has always been rooted in faith and watching lives transformed through Jesus Christ. She said one of the greatest joys is seeing students take what they have learned and share that message beyond the program itself.

“You guys are proof that it is better,” Diane told students and supporters during the event. “And I believe He is being glorified, because you guys are spreading the gospel outside of here. I hear it all the time.”

Dave Roland also took time to thank the many people who help make the ministry possible.

“Thank you all for this,” he said. “We are thankful for our volunteers and our staff.”

Those volunteers, staff members, and graduates continue to carry the ministry’s mission forward — helping individuals rebuild their lives and discover a new future through faith.

For Dave and Diane Roland, the work has never been about recognition.

It has always been about restoration.

And through Next Step for Life, that work continues every day.