Echo Spring 2024 - 20

Standing in the Gap
Andy Gordley Leads a Travel-Themed Gap Year Program
in Costa Rica That Serves as a Pathway to LBC
By Hannah Shane ('26)
A
ndy Gordley ('97 & '09) is taking his
Lancaster Bible College degrees to new
heights as the Director of Atlas Travel and
Study Abroad, a program that provides
Christ-centered gap year learning opportunities
and short-term trips.
In 2010, Gordley and his family moved to Costa
Rica to lead a different gap year program with
an organization called Score International. When
COVID-19 hit, the Score International program
met the fate of many others and ended.
In June 2022, Gordley began talking with a
friend, Jeff Hackett, who was visiting Costa
Rica. They began to dream of starting another
gap year program and were encouraged as
they traveled the country to visit communities
impacted by former gap students.
God provided, and a team
began to come together as
students signed up. Andy and
his wife, Tina (Hershey '18),
who completed her Biblical
Studies degree online at LBC,
purchased a property that
would become the program's
home in the fall of 2022.
Today, Jeff serves as the
Director of USA Operations
and Logistics, and another
LBC alumni couple, Evan
('18) and Nancy (Mitchell
'20) Esh, serve as Assistant
Andy Gordley talks with
Dr. Ed Scheuerman, Director
of LBC's Intercultural Studies
program, at the 2024 Missions
Conference.
Directors of the gap year program. By April 2023,
13 students graduated from Atlas Travel and
Study Abroad, 10 of whom enrolled at LBC.
Andy's own time at LBC was impactful due
in part to his relationship with Dr. Bruce
McCracken, who served as Professor and Dean
of Students from 1983 to 2006 and founded
House on the Rock in 2004. Renamed The
Marriage Hub in 2017, eight LBC alumni now
work alongside Bruce at the ministry, which
was featured in the Winter 2024 ECHO.
" Dr. McCracken gave me many opportunities
to learn and apply what I was learning, "
Andy shared. " He also allowed me to assist
20 ECHO
him after I had graduated from LBC, which
eventually opened the door for me to teach an
undergraduate class and prepare me for future
ministry. "
Andy added that the hope is that Atlas provides
a healthy environment with excellent Bible
and Spanish classes where students can work
through past issues and thrive in the future. " We
want them to know how to study the Word
of God, how to make disciples and provide
opportunities for them to serve in ministries, "
he said.
Atlas consists of two components: a sevenmonth
gap program and short-term trips open
to schools, churches, homeschool co-ops,
families and athletic teams.
" The gap program is for high school graduates
who are interested in growing in their faith
and learning Spanish while being immersed
in another culture, " Andy said. " Our mission is
to provide excellent, Christ-centered learning
opportunities. "
Andy is blessed to watch graduates of the
gap year program emerge with newfound
confidence, knowledge and experiences.
" They leave with a solid foundation and a
biblical worldview that impacts their character
and actions, " he said. " Three of our former
students are involved with a church plant in
Costa Rica that is impacting the community
where they live. Others are following Christ as
they live out their faith in the business world, as
parents, teachers and church leaders. "
As he looks back on his LBC experience, Andy is
thankful that his bachelor's degree in Christian
Education and his Master of Arts in Ministry have
both been impactful over his career.
" My undergraduate degree helped to lay a
foundation in biblical studies and Christian
education with an emphasis in youth ministry, "
he said. " Graduate school at LBC helped me
to develop into a better leader as I studied
leadership studies in ministry. It was very
practical and helped develop a ministry team. "
Echo Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2024
