When the Ellington family moved to Avon, no other planters or sending churches were focused on the Outer Banks. Today, lives are being transformed, thanks to support from SendNC and partner churches. The North Carolina Missions Offering helps fund church planting and ministries so the gospel can reach the most remote corners of the state.

Frankie Hopkins, Fire Chief of the Avon Volunteer Fire Department, was baptized on Father’s Day. 

Less than a year ago, he had never owned a Bible. But that changed when he met the people of One Church in Avon, N.C.

“These people — they are changing this town,” Hopkins said about the church plant. “You can see the change they’ve brought to this community. … I don’t think a lot of people understood that at first.”

Avon is a village in the Outer Banks located about an hour away from most fast-food restaurants or the nearest Walmart. The area welcomes millions of tourists every year. But with a population in the hundreds, it can be difficult for newcomers to find their place.

Many locals work in the service industry and often feel overlooked by tourists who are only there for short-term stays, said KJ Ellington, lead pastor at One Church. They can feel jaded when new neighbors move in but leave soon after discovering the realities of a remote lifestyle.

It took one woman, who is now part of the church, about a year to befriend Ellington’s family and other One Church members. 

“I was scared I would like you, and then you were going to leave,” she told him.

Ellington has long had a heart for small, isolated communities. After growing up in North Carolina, he pastored a church in Jordan, Mont., where he served for 16 years. A few years ago, he and his wife, Sharon, sensed God calling them to use what they learned in Montana to reach other similar places. 

They came across a video about the Outer Banks. Ellington contacted SendNC Director Mike Pittman to ask about church planting there. There was not yet any interest from churches or planters to plant in the area. 

“That’s my place then,” Ellington said.

In the summer of 2021, the family spent time in the Outer Banks, praying from Corolla to Ocracoke about where God wanted them. 

“Avon’s where He led us,” Ellington said. They moved in 2022 and spent more than one year making connections and building friendships.

They met other families through their kids’ sports teams. They frequented the same restaurants and got to know servers and business owners. A certified emergency chaplain, Ellington served with the highway patrol. Then he connected with the fire department, where One Church now gathers on Sundays.

When the church started meeting for Bible study in the fall of 2023, they met in people’s homes or at a park on Tuesdays. That’s where Hopkins first noticed them. 

“They would be there in the rain, they would be there when it was hot, they would be there with the mosquitos,” Hopkins said. “I’m going, ‘Who are these people?’”

When Ellington volunteered to serve as the chaplain for the fire department, Hopkins didn’t realize he was the pastor from the group he observed at the park. Their conversations turned to God and faith, but Hopkins hesitated to accept an invitation to church.

In January, One Church hosted Baptists on Mission’s mobile dental clinic and health screening ministry at the fire department. On the dental bus, Hopkins chatted with a volunteer who quoted Peter from Scripture.

“I have no idea what Peter said. Who is Peter?” Hopkins remembered saying. “I had no idea about the Bible.”

Ellington gave him one before the day ended. They began studying the book of John together. Then Hopkins started attending One Church’s gatherings. 

“I realized it’s a bigger thing than me,” Hopkins said. “Still, I wasn’t sold on the whole thing because I didn’t know.” 

He went to church a few more times and kept reading the Bible until he realized “that this guy, Jesus, is one of the most awesome people in the history of the world.”

On March 21, Hopkins was working on a tear-out of a house by himself. He stepped outside for a break, and “it just came to me,” he said. 

“I dropped to my knees, and I gave myself to God. It was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”

A missionary mindset: earning the trust of an island community

Dennis Conner is a Great Commission catalyst for North Carolina’s regions one and two, where Avon is located. He witnessed how the Ellingtons have “woven into the fabric of the community.”

“KJ is the most natural North American missionary I have encountered in nearly 20 years,” Conner said. “He and his family came from a very different place, quickly learned and adopted the local language, adapted to the culture and rhythms of life, and developed trust with locals who have demonstrated a willingness to follow him. 

“He has used that trust to lead them to Jesus.” 

Paul Ortiz, a church-planting strategist with SendNC, quickly recognized the Ellingtons’ heart for the unreached in rural areas, even before they moved to the Outer Banks.

“It was easy to develop not only a relationship with KJ, but also partner with him and his family in ministry,” Ortiz said. “They have integrated well, working hard to plant roots and become part of the community they have been called to.”

Ortiz hopes to see more church planters raised in North Carolina with the same commitment and ability to understand the people and area they’re reaching with the gospel.

“KJ does prayer drives every day through our village. He’s there for the community. He’s there for the people,” said Hopkins. “It’s a blessing to have their family and the church here.”

Just as church planting looks different in different places, supporting plants takes various forms in unique contexts. One Church, for example, needs teams more in the winter than the summer. The county meets most benevolence needs, so that’s not a relevant need among locals. 

“They need to be willing to do whatever that planter needs them to do,” Ellington said. “The biggest thing that (churches) can do is purposefully and intentionally pray for those churches.”

He encourages planters to trust the providence of God.

“The first guy that we baptized knows everybody — he’s the fire chief. He’s invited more people to church than I have.”

Hopkins hopes to be part of a discipleship program this summer and notices God drawing other people in the fire department to Him.

“They’re slow going, kind of like me, but it’s happening. He has big plans for here,” he said.

N.C. Baptists can support church plants like One Church and ministries like Baptists on Mission’s medical and dental clinics through the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO). The NCMO also funds missions projects through local associations. 

Churches can give to the NCMO year-round, but resources are available now for a statewide emphasis in September. Go to ncmissionsoffering.org to give, learn more, download and order resources. 

By Liz Tablazon, N.C. Baptist Contributing Writer