Sitting in the back of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol cruiser on New Year’s Eve 2012, Jeff Elbert had nowhere to look except up.
Homeless at the time, he had just been arrested for driving under the influence.
Elbert had joined the U.S. Army in 2005, serving in Afghanistan. However, his past was never far behind him.
With a history of gang activity and substance abuse, in 2012, the Lawton native was arrested for drugs and possession of a firearm. He received his fifth Article 15 (disciplinary citation by the U.S. military justice system), which ultimately led to him being discharged from the Army.
“On the way to Comanche County jail, I felt like God was calling me,” said Elbert. “I was tired of who I had become. And right when I got out of jail, I professed Christ as my Lord and Savior and immediately started reaping the benefits of making that decision.”
Elbert’s renewed faith was amplified after his arrest. He became involved with ministry full-time, becoming a youth minister and eventually an ordained pastor. He was the youth pastor at Mind of Christ Church & Ministry in Lawton for five years. “I knew I wanted to work with the kids in their pivotal years (14-19 years old),” he said.
Ten years after graduating from Lawton Eisenhower, Elbert decided to continue his education. Using his Montgomery GI Bill from his enlistment, he began working on a degree in criminal justice at Cameron University.
Struggling with math in his first semester, Elbert went to the tutoring lab.
“I started going there every day, and stuff started to click for me,” he said. “Then I found myself helping the people in my class.”
When a student suggested he should think about teaching, Elbert realized that would be another way to witness and mentor teens. “What better way than being in the classroom?” he thought. “I could really be passionate about this!”
He began college, eventually earning his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics Education, graduating cum laude. Also certified as an advanced mathematics teacher, he was hired by Lawton Public Schools before graduation. In 2019, Elbert was named Rookie Teacher of the Year by LPS.
Outside the classroom in 2019, knowing firsthand the challenges associated with substance dependency, Elbert became the recovery pastor at Cameron Baptist Church. There leads all the recovery ministries and is the minister of Celebrate Recovery.
“Since New Year’s Eve 2012, I haven’t touched any substances, any alcohol, or even smoked a cigarette,” he said. “I’m on my eighth year of sobriety, and it feels really good.”
Elbert is also the founder and president of The Great 580 Association, a faith-based nonprofit initiative focused on providing mentorship and lobbying for community support.
“For us, it’s all about promoting the goodness — the greatness of Lawton,” Elbert said.
The Great 580 hosts an annual basketball tournament for businesses and local teams to compete. The association also holds a backpack giveaway for students and provides supplies to teachers before school starts in August.
Elbert is confident that The Great 580 Association will continue to benefit Lawton. With a four-pillar foundation, its acronym, E.D.G.E., focuses on Education, Drug alleviation, Gang alleviation, and Entrepreneurship.
“By drug alleviation, we mean prevention and rehabilitation,” said Elbert. “In education, we want to lobby for policy reform in the state department and –and one of my goals is to be somehow involved in the decision making for the district.”
As for gang alleviation, The Great 580 focuses on three different stages: prevention, relations, and rehabilitation.
To cultivate personal entrepreneurship, The Great 580 is planning to host a financial class on building and responsibly utilizing credit. The association also will hold several workshops throughout the year.
“People who love our city understand there are changes that need to be made,” he said. “If we focus on those things, we will see change.
“We’re getting ready to have the Youth Art Expo in April, where we allow students from third grade to 12th...showcase their photography, sculpture, painting or drawing, and they get the chance to sell their work and to win prizes,” he said. “We’ve got a panel of local artists to judge the contest and select the winners. It’s going to be a good time.”
Elbert was recently named 2020’s Outstanding Mentor by the Oklahoma Foundation of Excellence for his role in the Young Men in Action and Gentlemen of Lawton High School.
Working with fellow Lawton High School teacher De’Andre Swanson, the team mentors to young men from Lawton High and Central Middle School, teaching them proper and professional etiquette as well as pertinent life skills.
Elbert and his wife Mercedez live in Lawton where they are raising their 3-year-old daughter Isabel.
“I’ve got an awesome wife and beautiful 3-year-old girl,” he beamed. “I’m just trying to be a successful husband and father before anything else. I’m focused and living a purposeful life because I listened to Him.
“God has afforded me the opportunity to no longer be a homeless, gang-affiliated, drug addict,” Elbert said. “I’m not going to waste any time letting people know where I came from. It’s because of His grace that I’m winning now.”