The old favourite “Shine, Jesus, Shine” has received something of a makeover as part of a national campaign to share the gospel this Christmas.
First written in 1987 by Graham Kendrick, a special new recording of the song will be released this month.
It has been developed by Romford school-teacher Nicole Hobday in collaboration with Steve Thompson, Kendrick’s musical director of many years.
Hobday said, “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.
"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.”
The new recording is being released in connection with the Shine Your Light initiative, which invites churches and Christians up and down the country to take the Christmas season as an opportunity to reach their friends and neighbours.
Organisers hope that the campaign will result in two million people hearing the gospel message this Christmas
Dr Jonathan Oloyede, Convenor of the National Day Of Prayer and Worship, is heavily involved in the plans and urged churches everywhere to get involved.
“This year, we want to help churches embrace some of what we believe is our mission field, reaching young people, using social media effectively, and supporting Christians in witnessing at work," he said.
"And for the first time, in partnership with Spring Harvest, we will beam a dedicated Shine Your Light Christmas programme into UK prisons, reaching 58,000 prisoners, as well as to hundreds of homeless shelters and communities.
“I urge every church that has partnered with us before - plus hundreds of new churches - to register as soon as possible so that we can help them make the most of this year’s campaign.”
The first Shine Your Light campaign in 2023 involved 750 churches. That doubled to 1,500 churches last year and is expected to grow to around 2,000 churches across the nation this year.
