Olney Christian Community Center/Refuge Welcomes Jacqueline Gober
The Olney Christian Community Center— also known as the Refuge—hired Elbert native Jacqueline Gober to assist with implementing its children’s programs.
Directors Rodney and Kristy Nantz said they are excited to have Jacqueline serve with them.
“We are super excited to have Jacqueline serving alongside us at the Refuge. She has already been a huge blessing. She has a heart and desire to love and teach children about Jesus,” Rodney and Kristy Nantz said.
Gober graduated from Throckmorton ISD in 2013 and became affiliated with the Baptist Student Ministry when she began college at Midwestern State University (MSU). While there, she engaged in mission work.
“While at [MSU and Fairway Baptist Church, I truly learned what it meant to be a follower of Christ and what it looked like to live out the Great Commission—to be on mission daily. Your mission field is where God has placed you,” Gober said before elaborating about her initial missions.
“My first mission trip was to Arlington [where] I worked with lower-income families or families that were homeless. I also helped in the apartment churches, mainly working with children. It was there that I learned that I have a heart for children, so I changed my major to special education.
My second mission trip was to Waco, and I worked at the World Hunger Relief farm. It was there that I learned about food deserts and how hard it truly is to get fresh produce at reasonable prices in lower-income neighborhoods. I fell in love with all things that had to do with gardening—it is my hope to one day have a wonderful garden. It is also where God taught me how to love His people because I was surrounded by people who were not like me at all. Loving people the way God does is a hard thing to do, but absolutely amazing when we fully submit to that love.
My third mission trip was to South Africa, and I lived there for three months. I was an education intern at Restoring Hope Village, a children’s home. There I made relationships with the children and the community. I helped start a garden and volunteered at many of the schools. During my time there, I learned that not only do I have a heart for children, special needs, families of lower-income, but also children in foster care/[Child Protective Services] CPS,” Gober said.
The Refuge directors believe experience is critical, stating, “[Jacqueline’s] experience at CrashWorks and working in different mission fields will strengthen our children’s programs. We thank the Lord for allowing us to continue to work in a community that is so supportive.”
“In the fall of 2018, I got the amazing opportunity to work at CrashWorks STEAM Studio & Makerspace! It was there that I learned the wonders of STEAM, and now I wish that CrashWorks had been around when I was a kid. I worked there for a little over two years. I am so incredibly grateful to have been a part of an amazing organization. I worked with children daily, and it was always the best when they came in with an idea and saw that idea become a plan which then turned into something tangible - that they made,” Gober explained.
Gober is matriculating online to earn a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry at Trevecca Nazarene University. She said God opened the door for her to work at the Refuge.
“I have prayed for years to be able to work with children, build relationships with them, and share Jesus with them. One of my favorite speakers, Josh Shipp, said, ‘Every kid is ONE caring adult away from being a success story.’ If I can be that one caring adult to just one kid, then it will all have been worth it. I pray that during my time at The Refuge, I can glorify the Lord in all I do and that I follow His will,” Gober concluded.