Millions of people around the world have seen Elder Logan Castleton’s videos on social media. They’re a little different. Wearing a suit and tie, missionary name tag and oxygen tank, Elder Castleton “raps” about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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In one video posted to TikTok, Elder Castleton sings on a hilltop, “when I cannot see, Jesus set me free.” The video has tens of thousands of views. And dozens of other similar videos have even more views and comments from people around the world. Some videos feature catchy gospel-centered lyrics, rapping about the Book of Mormon and dances to songs from the “Children’s Songbook” like, “Popcorn Popping.”
“It’s reached about 10 million people, 20 million views,” Elder Castleton said. “It’s just been remarkable.”
Even though that large reach is respectable for any artist on social media, Elder Castleton said the reason behind the videos is to serve God by using his personal gifts to bring people to Jesus Christ.
Elder Castleton was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and under development of the heart. After surgeries early on in life and with the approval of his doctor, Elder Castleton was cleared to serve a full-time mission for the Church.
But just a few days into his proselyting mission in the Illinois Chicago Mission, his heart became what he calls “unstable.” He returned home to have heart surgery and was placed on oxygen. But his desire to serve was still strong, and his mission transitioned to a service mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I was really limited in my service,” Elder Castleton said.
In December 2023, he remembers praying to Heavenly Father and asking, “God, why? I want to serve Thee, I just don’t know how.”
That’s when the inspiration came to use his love of music in a different way. And once he had the approval of his parents and mission president, the “Rapping Missionary” was born.
On days when his health doesn’t allow him to do much, Elder Castleton is still able to upload videos that are seen by thousands of people around the world.
“God takes our meager efforts and makes it into something bigger,” Elder Castleton said.
Another part of Elder Castleton’s current missionary service involves helping people at an Employment Services office within the California Oakland/San Francisco Mission. He started as a Spanish-speaking missionary in Chicago and has continued to develop his language skills to help Spanish-speakers navigate the job-search process.
Employment Services is provided by the Church as a free resource for anyone to improve their job search, whether or not they are a member of the Church.
Elder Castleton is also able to serve others with his music by playing accompanying music at firesides and missionary events.
“What success means for me on my mission is just that I’m serving,” he said.
For a mission scripture, Elder Castleton chose John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
But as he reflects on his almost two years of service, Moroni 10:18 has become increasingly poignant for Elder Castleton. The scripture reads: “And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.”
Said Elder Castleton: “A lot of people say, ‘Well, I don’t have this kind of talent,’ or ‘I’m not good at this or that.’ But it’s so much more than that. It’s the people that are placed in our lives that we can help. It’s the different personalities we connect with. It’s our own personal journey.”
Elder Castleton also credits Heavenly Father for giving him the opportunity to share the gospel in this way. Because of his health concerns, singing and creating videos was one of the only things he could do.
“The doctors said I wouldn’t survive birth. I survived. And I really believe that that was God,” he said. “I believe that God is giving me health every day to do the things He wants me to do.”
Elder Castleton’s mission will end this summer, and he said the rapping missionary will end then too. But he will keep the videos on social media so they can still be viewed and shared.
“The gospel can bring so much light into your life. It can bring so much meaning,” he said.
How one service missionary is using music and social media to spread the message of the gospel – Church News
