LOGO Church shares ‘compassion of Jesus’ amid ‘brokenness’ in community
Editor’s Note: Kristoffer Elkins is one of the featured church planters in 2024 Maguire State Mission Offering resources. The statewide 2024 offering goal of $900,000 is earmarked to help reach the 16.7 million Florida residents who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, with 100% of all receipts designated to help launch church plants in the state.
LAWTEY–LOGO Church is not your typical church name, but then this church plant in Northeast Florida is not your typical church.
LOGO stands for Love God and Go Tell, said Pastor Kristoffer Elkins, who wants the church to be known for loving God and others and for going and telling people about Jesus.
“Jesus said the most important thing is loving God and loving other people,” Elkins said. “And I’ve always been big on Matthew 28:18-20, which says go and tell. So that’s how we came up with LOGO.”
Meeting people ‘where they are’
Members of this small church have plenty of opportunities to do both in Lawtey, a small town located about 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville. Because Lawtey is a poor area, Elkins said the church has the opportunity to love on people through community events that include free meals, family activities and things like backpack and peanut butter and jelly giveaways. The church hosts a Sunday morning service and a free dinner and Bible study on Wednesday evenings.
“We are really trying to help the brokenness – both physical and spiritual brokenness in this community. A lot of people are struggling here with drugs and alcohol, and many have never really been to church,” he said. “You can’t just start talking about the prodigal son or Passover as they may have no clue what you are talking about. They have never heard these stories. I have to keep that in mind.”
Elkins said they do church a little differently there, seeking to meet people where they are.
“We are trying to be more of how Jesus would have ministered. He loved people. He loved His disciples, and He taught His disciples to love and care about people. He discipled them, and He sent them out to tell more people about what was going on. We’re trying to do church that way,” Elkins said.
About 25 to 35 have been attending on Sunday and about 35 to 40 for the Wednesday night dinner and Bible study. Recently the church had seven men, 10 women and 10 students attend on Wednesday. Those numbers are exciting to Elkins, as this is a great opportunity for discipleship. And while he could use more adults to become leaders, most are new believers still in the discipleship phase and not ready to move up to the teaching level. He said he’d love to have more adults who could serve as leaders with the children.
“We see the need. The harvest is plentiful; I just need workers. I need for people to get to the point where they are ready to do something like that.”
‘God keeps on providing’
One thing after another, God just keeps on providing. It has been amazing to watch what He’s done.
The church started as a plant from the North American Mission Board’s Send Network five years ago with nine people meeting in a living room. From there it grew to about 25 a week meeting in a local restaurant during off-hours. After the pandemic forced the restaurant to close, the church began meeting outside of Elkins’ house which included a large front porch. Elkins set up speakers in the yard, and people could sit in their cars or in folding chairs.
“We had a lot of people coming to that, a lot of people getting saved. Our first baptism occurred there in a pool in the front yard,” he said.
As the novelty of meeting in such a place began to wear off and attendance waned, the church began looking for space to rent. It wasn’t easy in this small town. They found a place just outside the city limits, a building that has hosted many businesses over the years including a truck stop with a restaurant and more recently a tire store. The owner offered a low-cost annual rent plus takes care of the monthly utilities, which was a huge blessing.
But the building was a wreck. Elkins worked with church members on cleaning the property and doing extensive renovations, including making the garage a youth room and just this year, enclosing a carport. He can tell story after story about God’s “incredible goodness” and how God continues to provide for the church. Enclosing the carport had a projected cost of about $3,000, which God provided through unexpected donations like $500 here, another unexpected $500 there, $2,000 from their sponsoring church and then another $2,000 check in the mail from another church in the area.
“God has been doing these things the entire time with our ministry,” Elkins said. “One thing after another, God just keeps on providing. It has been amazing to watch what He’s done.”
The church has a reputation for hosting community outreach events known as Love Lawtey. He’s rented a large community center in town, where the church hosts events in the fall and spring that include free meals for 100 to 130 people, plus live music, games, giveaways and more. The church also done movie nights, conducted Easter egg drops, participated in the Lawtey Christmas Parade, and it hosts a weekly Bible study for students at the local elementary school.
“A lot of the churches in the surrounding area have helped us with donations for these events,” he said. “They love the ministry we are doing, and they support us. We’ve established a lot of great contacts and friendships through that.”
LOGO Church also has received funds and assistance from the Florida Baptist Convention and the Black Creek Baptist Association, which donated office space for the church. In addition to some upcoming fall events, the church is also planning a fifth anniversary celebration for January. And with seating for only 54 in the current building, the pastor is also on the lookout for a new site for this church.
We exist to meet the brokenness and spiritual needs of our community through the compassion of Jesus.
Elkins said he became a Christian at age 16 when he realized his need for Christ. Knowing everyone has that same need is what continues to motivate and inspire him to do what he does.
“God brought us here 11 years ago. We fell in love with the community and realized we needed to do something,” he said. “We exist to meet the brokenness and spiritual needs of our community through the compassion of Jesus. It excites me to see lives get changed. We have seen a massive amount of changes, and I am just hoping we get to see some more.”