Goodwill Church, an Evangelical Presbyterian church with locations in Montgomery, New Paltz, Beacon, and Port Jervis, will host its inaugural Night to Shine on Friday, February 7, , at the Montgomery site. Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is a worldwide unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs.

According to Joshua Stewart, Senior Associate Pastor of Goodwill Church the church decided to host this year after witnessing the magic of Night to Shine at other church locations. “This is a beautiful event that other churches have hosted and we decided that we wanted to host this year as well,” he explained.

In its first year, Goodwill Church is expecting more than 80 guests from the special needs community here in Orange County. The event will be held at the church’s main sanctuary in Montgomery which will be transformed into a ballroom. “We are extremely fortunate that in our main sanctuary we can remove some of the chairs and furniture so we will be transforming it into a prom-like ballroom for guests,” shared Senior Associate Pastor Stewart.

With campuses in Montgomery, New Paltz, Beacon and Port Jervis, Goodwill Church will have no shortage of volunteers from the church community for the event, however the event will also depend heavily on community volunteers.

“People in the greater community have reached out and offered to help. This gives us the opportunity to make this event such a beautiful night,” said Stewart. Volunteer hairdressers from the local community will be on hand for guests to get pampered before the night begins, volunteer photographers will capture special moments, and specially trained volunteer “buddies” will spend the night with their guest of honor.

“We want to give our guests the opportunity to have a memorable and beautiful night. The generosity of the community at large is incredible for an event like this and we really couldn’t be doing it without them,” he shared.

One of the biggest aspects of community involvement for the event is the “Prom Shop” which offered guests gowns and other Night to Shine accessories for the big event. Guests were invited to come select dresses from dozens of donated gowns.

At the end of the evening during Night to Shine, all guests in attendance are crowned kings and queens. “This is just an incredibly beautiful and moving part of the evening. All around this is such a great event. It’s really a win-win for everyone involved. The Goodwill Church community looks forward to spending a night laughing and loving on our guests at Night to Shine. We can’t thank everyone enough for their support,” said Stewart.