I want you to meet Carla Robertson, our researcher on the Going Beyond team. We met her years ago when I posted a sign at Dallas Theological Seminary looking for a student who needed to make a few extra dollars. As a young mom, I was looking for someone to just come alongside me in my home and help me for five hours a week – folding clothes, washing dishes, that sort of thing. Carla answered the ad. Servant that she is, this sweet woman was willing to help me with all the demands of raising a young family. Sometimes, while she washed dishes and I folded laundry, we’d have conversations about her love for researching God’s Word. Little did we know that years later we’d need a researcher. God gave us Carla! With a master’s degree in Theology and great eye for detail, she a whiz at helping me dig deep into the Scriptures.
Here’s Carla in her own words:
Hello everyone! Let me tell you a little about myself. I was born and raised in Brevard: a beautiful but quaint town in the mountains of Western North Carolina. If you have never been to that part of the country, then you are missing out. Let me tell you … it is simply breathtaking. I remember as a young girl spending weekends in the Pisgah National Forest enjoying all that nature offered: swimming in the creeks; playing frisbee, tag football, and hide-and-seek amongst enormous oak trees; walking along the rustic trails; gazing at the majestic waterfalls—just having a good ‘ole time. I lived there practically all my life. Whenever I go “home” to visit, I am still awed at its beauty. At the other end of the state, I attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina … GO PIRATES! Though I had become a Christian as a teen, it was there that God introduced me to a campus ministry that really helped me grow in my faith. After five long years in college, I received my Bachelor of Science in Social Work with plans to join staff with the campus ministry some time after graduating.After graduation, I made a bold move (a bold move for me anyway); I movedall the way to McCook, Nebraska to minister alongside of a family I had met on a summer mission project. It was there that God orchestrated some miraculous events that brought me to the next step in my journey: Dallas Theological Seminary. Seminary? Yes! It shocked my family, too. In the summer of 1999, I moved to Dallas, Texas to begin my seminary training. I could have never imagined all that the Lord would have for me here. I have been pleasantly surprised. One special gift crossed my path in the library of DTS. Who would have ever envisioned that I would meet the love of my life in the library (smile). It was there that I met my wonderful husband, Clarence (Chip) Robertson. We have now been married for seven years. In the summer of this year, God surprised us with another precious gift, our beloved daughter Micah Jasmine was born.
In 2004, I met and began helping the Shirer’s clean and organize their home, and run errands once a week. Little did either of us know that God had more in store. When I graduated from DTS with a Master’s of Theology degree in Christian Education in 2006, Jerry and Priscilla were seeking an assistant to serve with the ministry. What began as a housecleaning and errand-running position, turned into Going Beyond Ministries’ first employee. I now serve as part-time researcher for Priscilla.
Like I said before, who could have imagined? Isn’t it amazing how God works!
We are so thankful for Carla! She is a blessing to the ministry of Going Beyond.
