‘It helped us take our witness onto the street’ 

Organisers of the Shine Your Light Christmas campaign say they have been 'overwhelmed' by an unprecedented response from churches, with participation, scale and impact exceeding all expectations

Between 12 – 14 December, more than 2,000 events were registered across the UK, delivered by local churches and church partnerships. 

With reports still being submitted, organisers estimate that the message of Christmas reached over three million people nationwide.

Shine Your Light is a national evangelistic initiative which encourages Christians to take the Christmas story outside of church walls.

Now in its third year, Shine Your Light set out to mobilise 200,000 Christians to share the gospel in streets, shopping centres, workplaces, and public spaces, with a hoped-for reach of two million people. 

Events ranged from small, relational street outreaches reaching around 100 people, to major gatherings reaching thousands.

Alongside public carol singing, prayer and testimony in town centres, organisers report a renewed confidence in evangelism among lay Christians.

Churches also report growing openness among the public. Prayer gazebos and street outreach initiatives have seen hundreds of people asking for prayer, many saying they would never feel confident enough to enter a church building.

Founder of Shine Your Light, Pastor Jonathan Oloyede said the campaign had been 'blessed beyond all we could ever imagine.'

‘We thank God for every story we hear of new Believers coming to faith,’ he said. ‘Churches are reporting better-prepared and better-resourced outreach, growing confidence in sharing the Gospel and a fresh unity across denominational lines. God is clearly doing something new in local communities.’

‘By encouraging churches to go beyond their walls,’ Jonathan added, ‘new and strategic connections are being made.’


Paignton Baptist Church

Several Baptist churches participated, including Paignton Baptist Church, Devon. Elder Mark Davies said his congregation joined Shine Your Light for the first time after a year of exploring mission in everyday life using Frontline resources from the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity and the 24-7 Prayer movement.

Around a dozen members led outdoor carols, focused on one-to-one conversations, invited people into an ‘Open House’ coffee space, and served the local community. Alongside this, the church visited around 350 homes on the ten streets nearest the building with invitations to Christmas services.

He said, ‘The Shine weekend fitted perfectly into our wider Advent programme and helped us take our witness onto the mixed-use street where our church is located.’

‘What attracted us to Shine Your Light was its flexibility,’ Mark added. ’It enhances what God has already called a local church to do, while encouraging people to step out in faith.’
 

Other Shine Your Light events 

High-profile events this year included:

• The Salvation Army Royal Albert Hall carol service, attended by 5,000 people
• Community carol events at Warrington Rugby Stadium and Aston Villa Stadium
• Large-scale youth, civic and workplace-based Christmas gatherings

National media exposure further extended the reach of the campaign, including a feature on BBC Songs of Praise on December 14, watched by around one million viewers.



Two national partners also opened unique evangelistic opportunities this Christmas. In partnership with Spring Harvest, a specially recorded carol service will be broadcast into prisons over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day reaching 56,000 prisoners. Through Green Pastures, the same service will also be shown in many homeless shelters.

Jonathan Oloyede said, 'Throughout the year we sensed the Holy Spirit momentum building. Attendance at our daily 7am and 7pm online prayer rooms grew steadily, with hundreds gathering regularly, and our 72-hour prayer vigils were supported by churches and thousands of individuals from all four nations.

'The BBC contacted us because they wanted to showcase what God is doing when local churches unite in mission.' 
 

Looking ahead

As 2026 begins, Shine Your Light will launch a nonstop month-long national Prayer Vigil from 5 January to 5 February, aiming to unite 2,000 churches in prayer for renewal, unity and guidance in a divided world.

Churches can sign up for free resources for the January Prayer Vigil, the Pentecost initiative (22–24 May) and the 2026 Christmas Campaign (11–13 December) via www.ndopw.com in the New Year.