Agape Baptist Church hosts event creating unforgettable memories for local families
Story By Hunter Jones
On the Friday before Valentine’s Day, Agape Baptist Church has a red carpet out in front of their doors. As the limos arrive, photographers and a line of cheerleaders stand at the ready to capture the opening moments of each guest’s entrance. Some walk by while others try and make a show of it, dancing in front of the cameras or posing dramatically. The red carpet and the flashing cameras seem to suit them best, giving the stage to some towns’ brightest superstars.
Inside, the guests are assigned their buddy for the night. A DJ plays music for them all night, karaoke rooms are set up and food is laid out. At the end of the night, all of the guests receive a crown. The 12th annual Night to Shine event goes down as a success.
Night to Shine is an event first started by the Tim Tebow Foundation in order to give people with special needs their very own prom night.
One of the Agape Baptist Church members, upon first hearing of this event, immediately brought it to their attention, wanting to start up the event here.
“We have loved it. It is the biggest blessing and the most favorite thing that I do every year,” Night to Shine Agape Director Ashley McLemore said.
Though there is a 120 guest limit, each year they try and welcome as many as they can into their doors to celebrate. Anyone 14 or older can sign up to attend the event, which typically opens in November on the Agape Baptist Church website.
Anyone 16 or older can sign up to be a buddy for one of the guests, escorting them throughout the night. Unlike the normal procedure of assigning buddies at the door, they instead try and pair up guests with buddies in advance. They will also hold trainings for both buddies and volunteers to ensure that all of the guests can have a good time.
“We want them to have a good time and if you get put with somebody who loves to dance and you don’t like to dance, you’re not much fun for them, are you,” McLemore said.
The previous year, a medical scare occurred when they called for an ambulance, they arrived with no lights or sirens, got to the patient and quickly treated a forehead laceration for a guest who lost their balance. Every buddy and volunteer they asked after the event said that they had no clue an ambulance ever arrived.
Braxton Blevins, a 22-year-old with down syndrome, has looked forward to the event each year since he first attended in 2020. Ever since, Blevins has traveled each year from Gadsden to Scottsboro to attend the event, even picking out his own suit this year.
“We all really look forward to it and we enjoy the whole night,” Braxton’s mom Lindsey Blevins said.
Lindsey is thankful for Braxton to have the community and group of friends he has at home but notes that Night to Shine has introduced him to many other new friends, expanding their own community.
“If there is a family who had a teenager with special needs and they have never been (to a Night to Shine event), I would say it is an absolute must. All they would have to do is one time that would be something they go to every year,” Lindsey said. “It’s really a place that they connect with a lot of different people, whether as friends or as someone they would want to have a relationship with. People that are not part of this world would not think of these things but when you are, this is an opportunity to form new relationships for us as parents and for our young adults.”
While the guests are enjoying their night downstairs dancing and singing, the parents get a night of relaxing. While monitors are in place for any parent still concerned for their child downstairs, the Night to Shine also allows parents to relax alongside their children, holding raffles and having their own dinner upstairs before joining the party in time for the crowning and a message from Tim Tebow and his wife, Demi-Leigh.
Throughout the night, Braxton wears a constant smile. After finding his newest group of friends and spending the night with them, the time eventually comes for the party to end and everyone to go home. The smile remains and talks of next year start on the car ride home.
“They go to bed, they’re still smiling and when they wake up the next morning, they’re still smiling… (At Night to Shine) he is able to form new connections like his friend Emily. It’s a new outlet for new friendships and belonging,” Lindsey said.
Braxton is already looking for the suit next year as well as looking ahead to the newest batch of memories he will make with his newest group of friends.
