Legacy Cares: Caring for a Community
Located just northeast of downtown Memphis, Legacy Church Bartlett, pastored by Johnny Byrd, is becoming a beacon of hope within their community one “yes” at a time.
Started in 2018 as a small outreach ministry of the church, Legacy Cares exists to serve wherever God calls. For over three years, the ministry has been led by Katlyn Warren, under whose leadership there has been a ground swell of doors opening for greater and greater community impact.
The catalyst for the ministry’s growth took place early in 2024 when a local apartment complex caught fire, causing 18 families to lose everything. When Warren arrived on the scene asking where she was needed, city officials responded, “We need you to run it.”
Legacy Cares went straight to work, partnering with another local church, and began to coordinate a massive community response effort. For seven days, volunteers collected and sorted donations that included everything from TVs and furniture to clothes and towels.
“Anything someone would need to furnish and stock a house we were able to provide for 15 families in the span of seven days,” says Warren. “We even had a local bakery donate food for the families as well as the volunteers, and a moving company donated trucks and volunteers to help get all of the items delivered.”
The community response was overwhelming, and the tireless sacrifices of the Legacy Cares team were the answer to one woman’s prayer that had been prayed long before the fire.
Patricia Maina had grown up attending church but had walked away from her faith a few years ago. Recently freed from the chains of alcoholism, her sobriety journey had left her feeling lonely. She had been praying that she would find a church and a community that helped people and had outreach at its core.
One day, the Lord prompted her to go visit her brother to reconcile their strained relationship. While on her way, she came upon the chaos of the fire. Knowing people who lived in the complex, she stopped and went into the small church across the street.
“When I walked in, I had never seen anything like it in my whole life,” she recalls. “The way people rallied together, I thought there must be some mega church that had rushed in to help.” However, Maina was stunned to realize that the aid and volunteers were coming from Legacy Church.
“It was a local church, using local funds, and run by local people. The church opened its doors for people who needed a place to sleep, people called off work to help, and some even offered the use of their cars,” she says.
Witnessing the recovery efforts on behalf of the families affected by the fire, Maina knew she had found the church she had been praying for. “God exceeded my expectations,” she says of the church community.
“The amount of giving made me ask God what I could give, and I knew that I had a gift for worship.”
Maina joined the church and began using her God-given gift. Today, Maina is two years sober and is, what Byrd describes as, a dynamic worship leader that shifts the atmosphere of the church with her gifting.
Legacy Cares has had several other families who lost their homes and belongings in the fire come back to serve with the ministry. “It’s full circle,” Warren says. “Even those who don’t attend our church still come back to help because they want to give back.”
The ministry is also a way for Warren to give back. Now 10 years clean, Warren states that she knows what it is like to need help and feel embarrassed to ask for it. She recalls that when she was a new, young mother, she fell on hard times and often needed assistance for essential items. She states that she doesn’t want anyone to experience the same feelings of being “less than” that she felt. Instead, when community members visit Legacy Cares, she wants their experience to leave them feeling loved, seen, and valued.
The ministry’s motto, “God’s Calling, Our Purpose” is more than just a saying, it’s a call to action for the church – one that has been recognized even by community leaders.
Recently, the mayor’s office has asked Legacy Cares to put together a team of like-minded organizations to address the need for rescuing vulnerable men, women, and children from unsafe situations revolving around drugs and criminal activity. The church has pulled in partners such as Adult & Teen Challenge, local halfway houses, and banks for partnership and resources. Their efforts will target some of the Memphis’ most dangerous parts.
From one “yes” to another, Legacy Church and Legacy Cares are shining the light of compassion and the love of Jesus in their community – and seeing lives transformed as a result.