Elder Lawrence E. Rials is originally from Jackson, Mississippi. He has been a Center of Praise Ministries member for over 22 years, serving in the Armor Bearer, Security, Deaconate Team, and Ministerial Team Ministries. He is currently serving as Co-Elder of the Senior Care Ministry with his wife of 19 years, Elder La Quinta Rials. Elder Rials received his Bachelor of Science in Religion from Liberty University in 2015. In 2017 he received his License to Preach the Gospel from the Center of Praise Ministries.

Elder Rials received numerous decorations and awards during his tour of duty in the United States Air Force as a Security Specialist. Upon separating from the military, he worked with the U S Department of Justice and U S Department of Defense. In 1994 Elder Rials became the first African American Union Plumbing Contractor in the Sacramento and Yolo County area. Additionally, Rials Plumbing Inc. was responsible for the Plumbing upgrades to the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in 1995. In 2001 he worked as an Engineer for the Kiewit Corporation, one of North America’s largest and most respected construction organizations. Elder Rials retired in 2020 from the University of California Davis Facilities Management Department and the Plumbers, Pipefitters/Steamfitters Union Local 447.

The life and work experiences God has graced Elder Rials with are evident in his character, love, and commitment to serving others, particularly the Sages. In 2020, Bishop Parnell M. Lovelace Jr., D.Min., Ph.D., Founding and Senior Pastor of Center of Praise Ministries, charged Elder Rials with the development and implementation of the Fathers’ Board Ministry, specifically designed to embrace the needs of senior men 55+. The ministry is healthy and growing. “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green” (Psalm 92:12-14, ESV).