A night to shine

Mark Brown, minister of Granshaw Presbyterian Church, describes an unforgettable night when teenagers with additional needs were treated to a special prom in the church.

Granshaw Presbyterian Church, like many churches, is playing catchup when it comes to working with kids with additional needs. There is a deep-rooted belief within Granshaw that the joy of the good news of Jesus is for everyone on the planet and that includes those with additional needs. So, to help us make Jesus available to all, including those whom the church has struggled to share Jesus with, Granshaw partnered with Young Life International (YLI), which has a ministry for teenagers. YLI is a worldwide organisation, working in over 100 countries, seeking to share the good news of Jesus with young people in areas where the church has failed or failed to go.

Granshaw, with the aid of Craig and Sonia Mawhinney (Young Life staff), started up a Young Life (YL) club in Granshaw. This club has grown and grown over the years and had to be split into two clubs: WyldLife (ages 11–13) and Young Life (ages 14–18). This, coupled with the YL summer camp in Scotland, has led to dozens and dozens of young people from Granshaw giving their lives to Jesus Christ over the years. We just expect young people to become Christians every summer at camp, with many becoming part of our church family.

Many young people with additional needs…go through their whole lives without ever feeling celebrated, valued, or loved.

What came next

We wondered what we could do to share Jesus with these kids in a way that was relevant to them. After a conversation with our youth worker and YLI, we made our halls available for Young Life’s ministry to teenagers with additional needs, called ‘Capernaum’.

It would be wrong to think that Capernaum is a ministry of Granshaw. It is staffed by young adults from many different churches, all with a passion for working with these amazing young people. Each young person has a dedicated helper or buddy. The group meets every second Saturday morning from 10am–12pm. The joy and laughter from the young people is infectious and the sense of value placed upon them is powerful. All this is possible because of the YL volunteers.

What about a formal?

In Granshaw we run a formal called ‘Ball in the hall’ every New Year’s Eve. Our young people love it and lots of dickie bows and formal dresses go on display for a night most never forget. When we think of where the kids could be on New Year’s Eve, we wanted to make a wonderful and safe environment to make memories, celebrate and have fun together.

Many young people with additional needs never get to experience something like this and often go through their whole lives without ever feeling celebrated, valued, or loved. This is where a ‘Night to Shine’ came in!

With a little help from our friends

With YLI being a global mission, there are lots of friends who wanted to help. Tim Tebow, a famous American football player and Christian, set up a foundation called ‘Night to Shine’ some 10 years ago that set out to support local churches to host a prom for people with additional needs; providing an event where they feel loved, valued and celebrated as image bearers of Christ. YL Capernaum applied and received a grant and a thick booklet on how to run the whole event. Lots of advice on what to include at the event was in the booklet – everything from limousines, red carpets, photo booths, crowns and tiaras, right through to a fully equipped sensory room and, of course, music.

A night to shine

On 9 February this year, we partnered with the Tim Tebow Foundation to make ‘A Night to Shine’ become a reality. Most of the young people could not wait for the night to come around. There was some debate about whether a church hall might put un-churched folk off. But an organising team transformed the hall with drapes, balloons, lighting and decorations. The hall was prepared, the tables were set, the goodie bags were in place and now the nervous leaders and buddies just waited for their friends to arrive.

…nobody should miss out on the life-changing love of Jesus Christ, no matter who they are.

At 5.30pm our VIP guests started to show. The boys were looking and feeling like James Bond, the girls were looking and feeling better than Taylor Swift! As they stepped onto the red carpet they were greeted with cheers and shouts from family and friends; tears started to flow. The first stop was the photo booth just inside the door. The kids got photos with their buddies for the evening. The feeling that they were special was written all over their faces. I said to one of the girls, “Wow, you look so beautiful.” Her answer was priceless: “Of course I am beautiful, just look at me!” Corsages and buttonholes were collected; sparkling drinks were served, and hair and nails were adorned. The party continued as our guests had an unforgettable experience being chauffeured around the local area by two limousines.

The food was served, which went down very well indeed, and was followed by games and entertainment, but that was just the warm-up act for what was about to follow. The music started and tables and chairs were pushed out of the way as an invasion of teens and buddies charged for the dance floor. I looked around and no one was sitting down – everyone was on the dance floor. No inhibitions or embarrassment, and boy could they dance! Not only was there dancing but each guest was asked to supply their favourite song and there was karaoke as well. My favourite song of the night was when I saw some of my young people from church get up on stage leading the actions to My Lighthouse by Rend Collective.

I moved from the action to sitting in the other hall, watching all the dancing on the big screen through a live feed, where the parents were sitting. I was chatting with Stephen and Louise when Louise jumped up and said: “That’s our daughter Rose, and she’s singing at the front.” Tears and laughter were really what the night was all about. Parents watched their kids participating in song and dance, some for the first time. It was so special.

Tim Tebow and his wife sent a video to all 720 ‘Night to Shine’ events that were going on worldwide, ours being only one of two across the UK and Ireland. He told the young people how incredible they were and that they were made by God to be special. He finished with saying John 3:16 and invited everyone to share their faith in Christ.

A night that truly shone

By 9pm it was all finished. All I heard from the kids was: “When can we do this again?” It was an incredible success. One parent asked why a church group would put this on for her child. The answer was simple: Granshaw, Young Life and Capernaum believe nobody should miss out on the life-changing love of Jesus Christ, no matter who they are.