Summer is over, school is back and so naturally thoughts are already drifting towards Christmas.
Following the success of last year’s Shine Your Light evangelistic campaign, organisers say they want this year’s efforts to be even greater and to give special focus to those struggling with loneliness during the festive season.
The Shine Your Light campaign has run for three years. Last year organisers said they hoped to mobilise 200,000 Christians and reach two million people. In fact over 300,000 Christians across 3,500 churches got involved with over 1,800 events, reaching more than 3.5 million people. The campaign was endorsed by His Majesty King Charles III and by the then-Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
This year, organisers say they want to mobilise 5,000 churches to bring the Christmas message to those who feel forgotten, particularly among the older and younger generations.
Organisers pointed to research from Age UK that suggested that around one in 14 over 65s often feel lonely, while government figures suggest young adults, particularly young men, also report high levels of loneliness.
Dr Jonathan Oloyede founder and CEO of the National Day of Prayer and Worship, and a key organiser of the Shine Your Light campaign, said, “Christmas should be a time of hope, but for hundreds of thousands of people it can magnify the reality that they feel alone, forgotten or disconnected.
“For an older person, Christmas can highlight bereavement, declining health or the absence of family and friends. For a young person surrounded by social media, loneliness can be just as real – accompanied by a search for belonging, hope and purpose.
“Our challenge to the Church this Christmas is simple: look around your community and ask, ‘Who might be forgotten?’ Then go to them.
"We want churches to bring light, hope, joy, and genuine community - not simply for one Christmas season, but in ways that can grow into lasting relationships throughout 2027 and beyond.”
