THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES TO TAKE CAROL SERVICES ONTO STREETS THIS CHRISTMAS
UK CHURCHES are being invited to reach 1-million people this December – by taking the Christmas story of ‘comfort and joy’ outside of church walls! Shine Your Light, a united initiative of denominations, prayer networks and streams, is seeking 1,000 churches to share their vision of taking carol services, nativity and other Christmas events from within church buildings out into shopping centres, village greens, community centres – anywhere where the public will gather this December. Whilst the focus of the four-nation evangelistic campaign is aimed for the weekend of 13-15 December, any church can register, and benefit from a range of free resources to help them spread the Christian message throughout December. The invitation comes at a time when church attendance in the UK is in decline. Recent statistics show that weekly Church of England parish attendance has declined between 25-40% since 2015, and 15,000 churches in the UK have congregations of less than 20 worshippers. [1] Last year, when Shine Your Light was piloted, over 78,000 Christians from 700 churches in 68 denominations, streams and groups took their Carol Services and Christmas events onto the streets. This year’s goal is 1,000 churches, and 100,000 Christians reaching 1-million UK residents and visitors. Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England said: “Christmas can sometimes be over-commercialised. People feeling pressure to spend money they don’t have on stuff they don’t need. Shine Your Light reminds people of the true meaning of Christmas. God’s gift to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. “Churches Together in England endorses the Shine Your Light campaign. Our 54 Member Church denominations unite in declaring this Christmas that “Jesus is the reason for the Season!” Dr Jonathan Oloyede, Convenor of the National Day of Prayer and Worship added: “After last year’s Shine Your Light, we heard stories of people coming to faith and churches welcoming in new people. It showed that when Christians come together for the Gospel, whole communities can be reached! “In a recent UK survey [2], 20% of people in the UK say that they believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That’s 16% more than go to church every week. By taking the gospel onto the streets, churches reach the 80% with little or no belief in Jesus. They can also engage in a neutral venue with those who have a nominal faith but lack a personal relationship with Jesus – whose birth we celebrate at Christmas!” Free resources for churches include: Further information on these, and other resources to follow, together with programme ideas and how to sign up can be found on the Shine Your Light website at www.shineyourlight.org.uk A video to show in churches and to share on social media, sharing the vision to bring a message of hope and joy to communities this December can be found at Shine Your Light 2024 – you are invited! – YouTube For further information/interview:Revd Paul Eddy | 07923 653781 | paul@pauleddy.ukPR Consultant to Shine Your Light Adam May | 07736 949869 | adam@ndopw.comDirector of Communications and Engagement for NDOPW