Jesus on Colfax
“We’re not bringing Jesus to Colfax. He was already here.”
Jesus on Colfax is a sacred place. The organization, Jesus on Colfax (JOC), began with an unexpected invitation. Shawn Sikkema had been a pastor in southeast Aurora for 25 years. As he was riding his motorcycle down Colfax, he felt God inviting him to simply show up and love people. It was a present day invitation to the Biblical narrative of caring for the neighbor in need. To join Jesus on Colfax.
Kayla Horne is now the Executive Director for JOC. She shares the story of how JOC developed. “Shawn and Diane moved into one of the motels on Colfax. They would live in the motel during the week and go back to their home on the weekend.” Shawn along with his wife Diane and few other friends, began walking Colfax and knocking on the doors of the motels. It was proximity to people on Colfax that shaped the community and ministry of Jesus on Colfax. “This is a ministry of presence more than anything else. What we do is show up and love people, and everything else flows out of that.” Kayla’s belief in the healing power of relational presence is palpable. “When we have people who show up for us and love us, then our life changes.”
Kayla and her husband Matt moved to North Aurora in 2018 after working internationally as missionaries in Uganda. They immediately felt at home in the multi-cultural neighborhoods surrounding East Colfax. Kayla began volunteering with JOC, then took on administrative responsibilities. Her love for the community and role within the organization continued to expand. In 2023, she became the Executive Director of JOC, continuing the work in the way Shawn first began by building relationships with the community on Colfax.
Jesus on Colfax is focused on the neighborhoods of North Aurora and East Colfax, serving those who are often the most marginalized in our city: the unhoused, women who have been sexually exploited, and immigrant families. Through street outreach, hotel visits, and a late-night presence on Colfax, the community of JOC builds trust, becoming the safe place one calls in a moment of crisis. After two years of late-night outreach, a woman texted asking for help to leave exploitation. They were able to respond because they had shown up relationally and consistently. “It is the greatest honor of life when people welcome you when they're at rock bottom.” Kayla honors the courage of those they come alongside and serve. “You get to walk with them as God rescues, restores, and heals.”
The Family Room is at the heart of the JOC community. It is a drop-in center open four days a week. Meals are served, and case management is available, but more than anything, it offers a safe place to simply be. One participant expressed the importance of a place of belonging, “These are my people. I’m known here.” Kayla shared how another unhoused neighbor said they felt relief curling up and sleeping next to the building, safe from the voices that often haunted them. Guests earn points by cleaning, attending classes, or taking steps toward goals like securing identification. These points are used in an on-site store for clothing, hygiene items, and food. This important shift in program strategy creates dignity. The work of JOC continues to expand with the recent purchase of a hotel on Colfax that will house participants in a 12 month job and life skills training program rooted in accountability, healing, and hope.
“There is something about Colfax that draws the most broken in our city. But there’s also this realness, and I love that. There's an authenticity that is so beautiful.” Kayla embodies the way of Jesus in how she communicates both the beauty and brokenness of Colfax. “We still say it pretty often, we're not bringing Jesus to Colfax. He was already here. We want to join Him in what He's doing here.” Jesus on Colfax is a sacred place.
Thank you to Kayla Horne for the conversation about JOC, and both her passion and compassion for our neighbors living on Colfax.
