Joliet, Minooka churches team up to host prom for people with special needs

Crossroads Christian Church, in partnership with The Village Christian Church and Minooka Bible Church, will serve as one of nearly 500 churches around the world already registered to host Night to Shine 2019, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, simultaneously on Feb. 8.

Night to Shine is an unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs ages 16 and older, hosted by local churches in all 50 states and across the globe all on one night.

In the 2017 Herald-News story, Cindy Harvey of Joliet, whose daughter attends Crossroads Church, explained why she became one of the event's 180 volunteers.

“I think it was important,” Harvey said. “Everyone deserves a chance at happiness.”

In the same story Crosswords pastor Matt Summers said Night to Shine gives everyone involved a chance to “walk in the footsteps of Jesus.”

Every guest of Night to Shine enters this complimentary event on a red carpet complete with a warm welcome from a friendly crowd and paparazzi.

Once inside, guests receive the royal treatment, including hair and makeup stations, shoe shining areas, limousine rides, corsages and boutonnieres, a catered dinner, karaoke, prom favors, a dance floor… all leading up to the moment when each guest is crowned king or queen of the prom.

As sponsor of Night to Shine, the Tim Tebow Foundation will provide each host church with the official 2019 Night to Shine Planning Manual, the official Night to Shine Prom Kit, complete with decorations and gifts for the guests, and personalized guidance and support from a Tim Tebow Foundation staff member.

The foundation also has committed millions of dollars in financial support to hundreds of churches needing assistance in hosting the event.

When Night to Shine launched in 2015, 44 host churches and 15,000 volunteers worked together to honor more than 7,000 kings and queens of the prom.

This past February, 537 host churches and 175,000 volunteers came together to celebrate 90,000 honored guests with special needs.

Now in its fifth anniversary year, the Tim Tebow Foundation is seeing new churches sign up continuously and the event is expected to take place in over 700 locations this coming February.

To register, visit shine.crossroadsofjoliet.org.

For more information, visit timtebowfoundation.org/index.php/night-to-shine/