A pioneering outreach started by the Presbyterian Church in the centre of Belfast has just celebrated its tenth anniversary.
When it began Nightlight was the first ministry of its type directed at the people who enjoy the night life around the Golden Mile and Shaftsbury Square.
On weekend nights and on into the early mornings this area is packed with all sorts of people, some of whom are glad of a helping hand and people that they can turn when things don't work out as planned.
John Luke has been the director of Nightlight since it began. "We were given the remit to establish a Christian outreach in the entertainment area and it began with myself and nine others walking the streets at night and prayerfully exploring the way forward."
What John and his colleagues found among the crowds of exuberant partygoers where people who genuinely needed help. For some the help was of an immediate nature due to running out of money or being drunk or mugged but others wanted help of a deeper nature and were genuinely looking for something more to life than what was to be found in the pubs and clubs. "There was this growing realisation that God wasn't directing us to places but to people," John adds.
The programme now has a team of thirty volunteers who not only walk around the area until about 3am but also have a central base where people know to find them and where they can come for tea and a chat.
"The tea table has worked really well and it is amazing how people open up about their problems when you explain that your there to help them and show the love of God in this practical way."
Other groups have helped extend the ministry and groups now work in other areas of Belfast and in towns outside Belfast.
"As we look back it's not what Nightlight has done, it's what God has done and can do," thinks John. "Some nights are more difficult than others and there are always new situations being thrown at us. However at the heart of our work will always be people who through us can experience something of God's love."
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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