Church and Christian leaders, along with champions from across the UK have been invited to the launch of Shine Your Light for this year at Portcullis House, Westminster, on June 24.

The gathering will unveil an ambitious vision to mobilise 500,000 Christians in 5,000 churches in a united Christmas mission aimed at sharing the gospel with five million people across the UK.

Hosted by Christian MP Ruth Jones, the event will highlight how churches can take the Christian message beyond traditional church buildings and into streets, town centres, marketplaces, and shopping centres throughout the Christmas season.

Now entering its fourth year, Shine Your Light (SYL) is placing a renewed emphasis on reaching some of the most marginalised and overlooked groups in society.

The initiative has already seen significant growth. During Shine Your Light 2025, more than 3.5 million people were reached across the UK. A dedicated Songs of Praise programme from Bedford attracted one million viewers, while 734,000 social media engagements were recorded. Across the four nations, 1,832 events engaged more than 44,000 children and saw the distribution of thousands of Bibles.

For 2026, organisers are aiming to increase that impact by encouraging 5,000 churches to work together in what they describe as “one united Christmas mission”.

Focus on Four Marginalised Groups

Leaders attending the launch will hear how Shine Your Light intends to mobilise churches to serve and share the gospel with four key groups:

• Prisoners and young offenders
• Hard to reach communities and council estates
• People experiencing homelessness
• Those who are lonely or isolated, including older people, care home residents, women’s
  and children’s hostels, and people living in asylum and refugee accommodation

To support Christians and churches, Shine Your Light has partnered with Christian charities and ministries with proven expertise in each of these areas. Their resources and guidance will be made available through a new online portal with lots of free resources

The portal will provide practical toolkits, case studies, outreach ideas, and downloadable resources designed to help churches engage effectively with their local communities.

A Real Life Testimony!

The Revd Matt Martinson, Lead Chaplain at HMP Humber, whose own life was transformed after serving a prison sentence before becoming a Christian and later training for ordination in the Church of England will be sharing his testimony during the reception.

Churches will be encouraged to support prisoners while in custody and to help those preparing for release or rebuilding their lives after returning to the community.

The Westminster launch will hear from Revd Martinson live via Zoom from HMP Humber, alongside Shine Your Light Founder, Dr Jonathan Oloyede.

Pastor Jonathan said, “Everywhere we turn today, our communities seem to face new challenges and new reasons for division. Conversations around immigration, race, identity, nationalism, government failures, policing, war, economic hardship, free speech, cultural change, and faith have become increasingly heated.

“Many people are hurting. Some are angry. Families are divided, friendships strained, and communities fractured. People are searching for hope, purpose, and meaning.

“Since 2023, Shine Your Light has been taking the good news of the Prince of Peace into communities across the UK, sharing God’s love and offering the forgiveness, hope, and transformation found in Jesus Christ.

“Sadly, many people can still be overlooked by traditional church activities. This year we want to encourage every Christian and church—whether they have participated before or not—to register for Shine Your Light and access a wide range of practical resources and ideas for engaging with these four marginalised groups.”

Building Long-Term Partnerships

A key aim of the initiative is to encourage both Christians and churches who are located near prisons, care homes, homeless shelters and young offender institutions to develop lasting relationships with their community.

As part of our work with Prisons, churches and individuals will receive guidance on supporting chaplaincy teams, supplying much-needed Advent calendars, providing resources for prisoners in segregation or on suicide watch, and strengthening ministries that help prisoners maintain family relationships during their sentence. Further details will be released throughout the year exclusively through the online portal.

Pastor Jonathan added, “We are working closely with Matt and with Christian ministries that have faithfully served prisoners and their families for decades. Our hope is that churches near every one of the UK’s 142 prisons and three public Young Offender Institutions will develop meaningful and lasting partnerships that bring practical support, hope, and faith to those who need it most.”

Resources and case studies for engaging the other three priority groups will also be made available through the online portal.

REGISTRATION

Christians and Churches wishing to take part in Shine Your Light this year MUST register, regardless of previous involvement, at: www.shineyourlight.org.uk

ENDS

For further information/interviews:
Adam May – 07736 949869 – adam@ndopw.com
Director of Strategy – SYL

Revd. Paul Eddy – 07923 653781 – paul@pauleddy.uk
Director of Communications – SYL

EDITOR’S NOTE
For full information about Shine Your Light, including statistics and stories from December
2025, visit www.shineyourlight.org.uk