JOINING THE MOMENTUM IN OUR RADIUS | NIGHT TO SHINE

As we sat down at the beginning of 2025—dreaming and praying as a Southside staff about our generosity budget for the year—one question kept challenging us: “Where in our city, in our radius, is there momentum we can join?”

If you’ve paid any attention to downtown Columbia—or cities across the United States—you’ve likely noticed a beautiful, undeniable movement: a growing wave of inclusion and opportunity within the special needs community.

Ironically, that conversation happened in a coffee shop that opened last year in Columbia with a mission to employ individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. And right across the street, the steady beeping of excavators on Gervais hinted at another project with a similar heart: construction on The Lantern Hotel, sister to the Shepard Hotel in Clemson, both committed to creating meaningful hospitality jobs for adults with disabilities.

A few weeks later, during our All-RADIUS staff meeting, Matt Altman shared that RADIUS Lexington was launching RADIUS Mosaic—a pilot special needs ministry created to serve several families regularly attending who needed a Sunday environment where their children with varying disabilities could worship freely and safely.

Then, not long after, my husband and I found ourselves at the Night to Shine training at Mt. Horeb UMC. The organizers pleaded for more churches to host the event because they had to turn away 100 individuals last year due to limited capacity.

And a few weeks after that, in another All-RADIUS circle, we celebrated with Trey Shealy as he shared the impact of RADIUS Saluda’s sixth Night to Shine—how deeply it touched their community, their congregation, and their staff.

Sign after sign after sign pointed us in the same direction. When we looked closer and realized there are only three Night to Shine hosts in the Midlands—Lexington, Saluda, and Lugoff—and not a single one in the capital city, the calling felt even clearer.

With a popular event venue directly across the street from Southside, the potential partnership seemed too perfect to ignore. We began the application process, praying for God’s favor and for all the pieces to fall into place. After a lengthy review, we received our final approval in July.

Now, as we prepare for our first-ever Night to Shine in 2026, our prayer is simple: that this event will honor God and celebrate the incredible movement of inclusion happening in Columbia. The way the Lord has brought the right people together—quickly and clearly—has been deeply encouraging. We are truly excited to serve our radius in this way.

We plan to welcome 80 honored guests who will receive the full star treatment: hair and makeup stations, shoe shines, a walk down a red carpet lined with cheering paparazzi, their moment to be crowned king or queen, a sit-down dinner sponsored by Chick-fil-A, and of course—lights, disco balls, a DJ, and more dancing than you can imagine.

While guests enjoy their evening, their parents will be treated to a relaxing night across the street at Southside with an elevated dinner, dessert, and coffee bar. With around 200 volunteers from our churches and communities joining together to serve, we can’t wait to see how the Lord uses this night to bring hope, joy, and dignity to families across our radius.