Imagine 200,000 Christians on the streets at Christmas singing Carols and sharing the Gospel everywhere!
In 2024, Shine Your Light saw more than 112,000 Christians from over 1,500 churches take their Carol services and nativity events into shopping centres, town halls, high streets and public spaces. This year, we seek to mobilise 200,0000 Christians and reach two million people across the UK. We’ll be focusing activity from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 December. We will have 72 hours of unbroken prayer that weekend.
Shine Your Light is a united collaboration of many Christian denominations, organisations, local churches, and networks. Together we can do one of the largest Christmas outreaches on behalf of the UK Church.
In 2024, 87 Churches Together and unity groups took part in Shine Your Light, which again demonstrates the power of the Church speaking as one. I’m delighted that Bishop Mike Royal has said: “Christmas is a unique opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Shine Your Light encourages churches to take the opportunity to share Christ’s message of joy, peace and hope at Christmastime. At Churches Together in England we are encouraging as many churches as possible to engage with the Shine Your Light Campaign 2025”
As a result of Shine Your Light last year, 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!
New theme song for 2025
The much-loved worship song Shine, Jesus Shine – first written by Christian singer-songwriter Graham Kendrick in 1987 has been newly arranged to include children’s prayers and new musical bridges as part of the Shine Your Light Christmas campaign.
The new version aims to “unify voices and ignite revival across the nation,” says Nicole Hobday, a Christian school teacher and musician from Romford, whose vision inspired the project. She has been collaborating for around a year with Kendrick’s long-standing musical director Steve Thompson on the new arrangement and national recording.
“Last year, God gave me a vision of a nationwide worship movement where thousands of voices – across cities, churches, schools, and denominations – unite in song,” she explained. “This project isn’t just about reimagining a classic; it’s about proclaiming God’s light, love, and hope over our nation in a powerful moment of unified worship,” Nicole said.
Thompson and Hobday have been working with musicians, singers, and choirs from diverse backgrounds across the UK to produce an official new recording, set for release in December.
Could your Churches Together group join this movement? Why not register your Christmas event under the Shine Your Light banner.
The National Day of Prayer and Worship is a Charity and Network in Association with Churches Together in England.
Photo credits: Shine Your Light