Born November 26, 1968, Mark Daniel Elkins, founding pastor at New Heights Church, passed away Saturday, September 9, 2023.  Mark is survived by his beloved wife, Alice England Elkins and their adored children William Collier, Mark’s best friend, and Amy Caroline, who held Mark’s whole heart in her small hand. His parents Janice Wimberly and Dan Elkins; a brother Michael Elkins (Jessika) as well as nieces and nephews George and Mira Sanford; Michael Bryan, Milana, Sophie, Presleigh, and Eva Elkins; and Robert and Daniel Hall also survive him.  His in-laws, Dewey and Judy England, his sister-in-law, Amy Sanford, a special aunt and uncle, Debbie and Gary Elkins, his cousins including Melissa and Matthew Hall, Wayne and Pam Powers, and Ernie and Lisa Powers join a host of former teammates, fishing buddies, lifelong friends, and church members all devasted by his passing.

Mark received both his BA and MA from Lincoln Memorial University where he played short stop for the Railsplitters.  After a year in the minor leagues, he returned to east Tennessee and began teaching. At Ellen Meyers, where he taught PE, he met and fell head over heels for 2nd grade teacher, Alice England. Mark sought more meaning in his life as an educator and enrolled at the University of Tennessee to become certified as a special education teacher. He worked with special needs students in the Bell County school system for the rest of his teaching career.  Supporting the most vulnerable students in the area signaled his deep passion for transforming lives, a passion that would become his vocation.

From the moment Mark became a Christian, he laid his life’s path in the hands of his Lord and Savior. Ordained as a minister at East Cumberland Avenue Baptist Church in 1998, Mark led several area congregations before beginning the house meetings that would become the New Heights congregation.  New Heights’ mission statement — Loving Jesus, Loving Others, Serving Both – was to Mark, more than words on a page.  It was how he lived. He never met a stranger. He never left a need unmet. He never missed an opportunity to share the Gospel with any soul he encountered. A child of God, Mark believed in second chances and in the transforming power of grace for his brothers and sisters in Christ.

A Memorial Service for Mark will be held at New Heights Church on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. with Visitation from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate to New Heights Church, PO Box 2747, Middlesboro, Kentucky 40965.

Green Hills Funeral Home, Middlesboro, is honored to serve the Elkins Family.

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