NAOBC For Life Spotlight – Jennifer Patterson

When you are a member at NAOBC, no matter where God takes you, the love for NAOBC remains. It’s part of your DNA. Periodically we’ll spotlight women who were former members – see where they are today and what NAOBC means to them. Today we’re meeting Jennifer Patterson.

Q: Tell a little about yourself – family, occupation (if applicable), etc.

I’m married to Robert, and mother to Anna Claire, John, Samuel, and Thomas. Right after we married I worked a full-time job as a social worker for teens in crisis, and Robert was working in technology for his family’s business as well as finishing up college. I would later graduate from Southern Seminary, and he would later graduate with a degree in aviation and an assoc. in airframe and powerplant which made me a pilot and mechanic’s wife.

Q: When did you attend NAOBC? What brought you to NAOBC?

A: We came to NAOBC engaged and to be married in two weeks! Emily Pellowe, who was living in the student housing we were about to move to. That was in 2004 and we were there until 2021 when we moved to Texas.

Q: Where did you serve while at NAOBC?

A: Robert and I had volunteered together for a year or so at my church in Lexington, where we also fell in love. Therefore, it sort of seemed natural to begin to serve again. First, it was choir for me and leading a breakout session in Women’s Bible studies. Robert and I were attending Sunday School in Dr. Russell Moore’s class and getting amazing teaching each Sunday from him and Dr. Cook. During those first years, I loved volunteering with Martha Sirles, whose quarterly new members’ breakfasts were legendary. I loved singing with Sandy Hazelrig, Chanda not-quite-Brown (at the time), Cherie Cabal, Kellie Whitford and so many other ladies. Soon, though, I grew accustomed (or nearly burned out) from the craziness of my job with sadly very unhealthy teens, and I longed for something more of a “feel good” position with kids. So in 2006, I began to serve with the preschoolers in AWANA. I gradually got to know our children’s ministry director at the time, Vanessa Sims, and she had a big idea, “Let’s bring VBS back to Ninth and O!” And if you know Vanessa, you know she’s a “Go big or go home!” kinda girl. That was cool and frightening and really challenging all at once.

Robert served in the media ministry with PowerPoints and every version that our church used. He enjoyed more background roles. We participated in BFG with Dr. Steve Wellum, whose amazing wife, Karen taught me so much about parenting large families from afar. So my summer vacations from 2008-2014 turned into weeklong VBS, and I’m so grateful for the opportunities Robert made for me to be away from home many nights in advance to prep decor and plan at conferences with Beth Blackwell and Vanessa and Michelle De La Garza. VBS was a sheltered 4-5 day focus on Christ and how He loves for the little children to come to him. At snack and Bible time and before rec. Those were the times when I could show them that I saw them as individuals, and kiddos who each would be amazed to see God at work in their lives, if they stepped out in faith.

I continued to serve in AWANA too, and I met amazing women like Donna Brushaber, Kimberly Burnett, Jenny Henry, and Tarah Davis. I saw people like Thomas Morris serving faithfully and my husband, Robert, backed us up when we needed computers to run our brackets in the AWANA Derby. In his mind, the best compliment was nobody looking back at the sound booth. Ha! Serving in this program taught me something of the necessity of praying, assessing needs of a group every year, and going back to God whenever I felt deficient. And I felt that often. Any time I served people it was both a privilege, a learning experience for me, and an opportunity to get out of the way to see what God would do. I also reflected on the fact that God had wooed me to Himself, and He had made hiding His Word in my heart something desirable. From teachers like Tarah Davis who used verses set to music, and Lettie Buchanan who used a simple felt board to tell Bible stories, and Elon Shang who used music (as well as chips), I saw kids’ eyes light up and come to class with joyful expectation. I also learned to adapt to the needs of kids with disabilities, home life difficulties, and just the run of the mill exuberance that makes a small classroom not their cup-a-tea. It was where God began to show me that I needed to lean on Him for the every-day decisions, not just the “big” ones.

My biggest honor was getting to serve once a month as a teacher in the “Golden Girls” class of senior adult ladies. I was terrified, but they said, “Even if we’ve heard it before, we may have forgotten it.” They were serving God in their homes, neighborhoods, and our church, and most were in their 60’s or above. Gloria Matthies was still learning Bible verses and writing poetry into her 80’s. She told me, “Always share only what you know for sure.” It was very good advice for a teacher.

Q: What memory from your time at NAOBC means the most to you still today?

A: One of the most amazing things that happened at Ninth and O was that in 2014, we had my Anna Claire. And we switched BFG’s to allow us to be mentored by older parents. I grew to love Naomi Matthies, Christina Garcia, Donna Brushaber, Veronica Cummings, and Julie McHardy. Donna once told me, “You can’t overstay at my house.” and she totally meant it. I was going through a drastic life-change, from an 8-hours-a-day social worker, to a 24-hours-a-day mom. I was exhausted and wary that I was settling in the most important job of my life. And there were many days when I would spend 4-6 hours with these women. We’d pray together, eat food, drink lots of tea and coffee, talk about parenting, and discuss spiritual and other matters. It revolutionized the way that I saw ministry with other women and the way that I would approach friendship from that day to today. Our BFG meant so much to me.

Q: What is one thing you loved about NAOBC?

A: In our first weeks at Ninth and O, I saw the way Dr. Cook and Dr. Elieff were compassionate to their flock and their own families. That continued from 2004 until we moved to Texas in 2021. They and the other pastors and staff with almost no exceptions were examples of consistency between theology and practice. It was a backbone and a framework for the growth in my life as well as Robert’s. It was why we stayed at Ninth and O and we still love it very much.

Now that we’re in Texas for Robert’s job as a pilot, we serve in our new church, serve our four children, and love Christ all the more. We’re grateful to Ninth and O and know the Lord has good things yet ahead there, because of the faith and faithfulness of His people there.