GLOW: Growth & Gospel Impact
By Pastor Ellis White
Senior Pastor
Almost a decade ago we began a Saturday Night worship service at Chapel Hill. It met in what is now called the Neel Chapel—the original worship space of our church. The same sermon was preached on Saturday as on Sunday mornings, allowing our congregation to remain unified across the three different services.
However, it was our tradition on one of the Sunday mornings in early December to host a children’s play telling the Christmas story. As such, we had to figure out what we would do on the corresponding Saturday night. I was familiar with evening Carol Services (for reference, Carols are Christmas hymns, not your neighbor down the street) in the UK which served as successful outreach events to the community. I wondered if such a thing would work in the US, too. We determined to try it, and offered “Carols and Cookies,” encouraging people to invite their friends. Honestly, it kind of flopped.
The following year, 2016, as we were heading toward the Christmas season, we retooled. We wanted to keep the same basic idea but give it a twist. I had noticed that several churches in the UK were offering “Alternative Carol Services” where they would replace the traditional instruments with a band, sing contemporary arrangements of Christmas songs, and take a twist on candle lighting by using modern lighting technology to create a multi-sensory experience.
From Flop to Success: The Surprising Story of GLOW
We thought we’d give it a go. Since Americans aren’t as familiar with the term Carols, and someone had a cool idea of using glowsticks instead of candles, we called it “GLOW: Carols by Glowstick.” We invited a guest worship leader (my sister—she’s pretty good, as you can see in one of her latest songs), learned some cool arrangements of Christmas songs, had a guest preacher share the gospel, and put on the best light show we could. And the height of our lighting technology? A glowstick Christmas tree, some string lights, and an up-lit pyramid made of HVAC filters.
Yeah, it was a little underwhelming. But people seemed to like it. We had 130 people show up. Which was a whopping 25 more than an average Saturday night! And, given that we didn’t have any better ideas the next year, we stuck with it.
A year after that we had outgrown the Chapel and had to move to the Sanctuary. And this time we had a real lighting director who created an actual light show. Friends invited friends and more than 500 people came. Pastor Megan preached the gospel and people responded. Maybe this thing had some momentum?
Gospel Impact
It did. It just kept growing. Last year we had to move to two concerts, catering to the two different demographics that were showing up—families with kids, and students/adults. We had almost 1,700 people in attendance!
This year, we’ve already had more people register for tickets than that number! This is a huge credit to the work of our team, led by Pastor Gunnar over the last several years, to create an event that is excellent and well-suited to those who come.
As with last year, we will have two concerts this year. The GLOW Kids: Jingle Jam at 4:00 pm is going to be the most high-energy kids Christmas concert, with fun games and prizes, dancing and songs. And the full GLOW: Christmas Through the Ages show at 7:00 pm is going to be a dynamic journey through the ages, taking a musical journey with lights and visuals through time, exploring the meaning of Christmas across generations.
And we still have space for you to come! So if you want to join us TONIGHT, get your free ticket at glowgigharbor.com and invite a friend or a family to join for what is, aside from Christmas Eve and Easter, our biggest outreach of the year. And please pray that the Lord would use this to reach many people with the good news of Christmas.
Pastor Ellis
P.S. Last month, your Session (elder board) voted to invite the Reverend Julie Hawkins to become our new Associate Pastor. You, the congregation, must confirm this call and we will do so at a congregational meeting on Sunday, December 22, following our one worship service. This represents a promotion for Julie, an invitation to become a full member of our Session, an acknowledgment of a job well done, and our desire to continue our relationship with her for many years to come. I know you’ll want to come and be part of this momentous occasion in her and her family’s life.