Gaines Takes on New Role as BC Campus Pastor
After being involved in the Bluefield community since 2016 and being the football chaplain at Bluefield College since 2017, Robbie Gaines has been named campus pastor at BC.
Gaines graduated from Emory and Henry College in 2015 with a degree in public policy and community service. He came to Bluefield in 2016 to be the campus pastor for Highlands Church. In his role with Highlands, which conducts its services on the BC campus in Harman Chapel, he has become very close to Bluefield College students and the Greater Bluefield community. For example, in addition to his role as the Rams football chaplain, he became a partner at Crae Company, an organization that helps jump-start local businesses.
“It gives me life to have a community that I can be a part of,” said Gaines about his new work with BC, “and to help younger people with so much life ahead of them.”
And those young people agree, including BC junior Jaylon Grant, a member of the Rams football team who says Gaines genuinely cares about students.
“He’s a God-fearing man who really cares about the people around him,” Grant said, “and I feel like he truly wants to see the students here succeed.”
David Pedde, director of BC’s Center for the Worship Arts, works closely with Gaines and has been friends with him since he came to the college. He actually suggested Gaines for the campus pastor role.
“Robbie deeply loves God and our students,” Pedde said, “and he’s got the students’ best interests at heart.”
Being connected to so much of the community can be rewarding, Gaines said, but it also has its challenges.
“I can only do so much,” he said. “I like to dream big, and I see so much potential, but to know what the priorities are right now and to focus on one thing at a time is my biggest challenge.”
Gaines said creating teams and connecting people with others is what really helps keep his work balanced so it does not get to be too much.
“I like to connect (students) to people here, as well to give them a variety of help,” he said. “The most rewarding thing is when I see somebody who recognizes their brokenness and the need for Jesus, and to accept Christ and actually live that out.”
Now as campus pastor, Gaines will have even more opportunities to see rewards like he describes. His goal is not to take over BC ministry, but to enable others to join him in ministry.
“I want to invest in the leaders on campus and be able to empower students to do the ministry here,” he said. “I want to help set the structure, define our mission, and give clarity to what we are trying to accomplish as a body of people.”
Gaines not only has goals for the campus community, but also for the Bluefield community as a whole. With all of the issues related to social justice and racial equality, Gaines said he wants to bring attention to problems within the community.
“We (the college community) can be an example of what it means to live in community with other people who don’t look like us,” Gaines said, “and that’s exciting.”
This goes along with Pedde’s description of Gaines’ goals. Pedde said, “Robbie has big dreams for Bluefield, and he is going to serve as a great bridge between the students and the faculty.”
While the weekly chapel service is a great way to share information and to join in conversations about topics that can be difficult to discuss, Gaines said he also hopes to develop small group sessions with to allow students to grow not only closer to God, but to each other. He also wants to take advantage of similar opportunities already available, like Elevate and Prayer.30.
Gaines’ schedule does seem to be full with all of his work and making sure to spend time with his wife, Brittney, and son, Silas; however, he does encourage students to contact him if they need help.
“Certainly students can reach out to me,” he said. “I am always available.”
To contact Gaines, email rgaines@bluefield.edu or visit him at the Dan MacMillan Center on Faculty Row on campus.