- Missions
Jetmira felt so excited about her upcoming prom that she couldn’t stop talking to her mom Dijana about it, even though Night to Shine was weeks away.
The prom-like experience for North Macedonian teenagers with special needs meant Jetmira already had her dress and couldn’t wait for the celebration. Converge global workers Andrew and Irida Morisseau hosted the event at their local church in Struga to share God’s love for all people.
“She truly felt like a princess that day,” Irida Morisseau said. “They’re treated like royalty. We want them to feel loved and valued because that’s how God sees them.”
At Night to Shine, which the Morisseaus have organized in North Macedonia for five years, their church finds a venue, recruits dozens of volunteers and invites hundreds of teenagers into a celebration for these dearly loved people.
More than 300 teenagers, plus parents and adult volunteers, participated in this year’s event on February 10. The Tim Tebow Foundation annually plans Night to Shine alongside hundreds of churches worldwide.
“Everyone there was so excited that we could have a big Night to Shine again,” Irida said. “They’re able to see God’s love.”
The Lord even brought families from towns in North Macedonia where no missionaries and churches exist. Volunteers from a local high school, the International Red Cross and people who’ve never been to church united to serve teenagers.
“You don’t know how God is working,” Irida said of the still-growing fruit from the event.
It’s time for gifts and groovin’
Before those youth walked down the red carpet into the venue, volunteers styled each teenager’s hair and partnered them with a dancer for the night. Then, as high-energy music played, the people entered a festive space where they received gifts, had fun and ate dinner.
At a particular moment in the evening, every young person was crowned a king or a queen to recognize them for their worth and dignity in God’s eyes. Volunteers also give them Bibles; this year, they ran out of them after giving out more than 100 copies.
This year’s dancing, dinner and celebration returned to the large format that the last few years couldn’t offer due to pandemic concerns and restrictions. But even during the pandemic years, the Morisseaus kept building relationships among least-reached people groups in the country of two million.
There are less than a dozen believers among the 500,000 Albanian Muslims who form a substantial minority population in North Macedonia, according to Mitchell* (name changed for security reasons), who leads Converge’s Great Sea Initiative.
“We’re looking for those really unreached people groups,” he said.
North Macedonia displays Converge’s precise approach through global workers, he said, because our emphasis is more on making disciples in people groups and less on the idea of reaching a nation-state.
Related: Global workers seek a gospel movement among the world’s least-reached.
Andrew said people from Life Center church spend intentional time with people with disabilities at least once or twice a week.
“Night to Shine has given us a lot of connection in the community,” he said.
Christ’s church is bridging divisions, offering options to families
There are five distinct people groups in North Macedonia — Macedonians, Albanians, Turkish, Roma and Torbesh, who are Macedonian-speaking Muslims who do not identify as Macedonians. Andrew and Irida focus their ministry on people with special needs and the 500,000 Albanians in North Macedonia.
Related: Learn more about the ministry the Morisseaus have in North Macedonia.
Kids of all ages and situations have been a part of their ministry since they arrived from Albania in 2017. There aren’t many activities for kids in the 31-year-old country, especially those with disabilities.
For example, public education for children with special needs stops at 8th grade. After that, these people have few, if any, organized opportunities for academic and vocational training. The end of school also means no prom for these kids, since that particular dance is only for high school students.
“If you have a child with a special need, there are not a lot of options,” Andrew added.
Another great benefit of their ministry to children with special needs is bringing together people who typically divide rather than gather. Ethnic and religious distinctions plus language barriers among the five people groups — all of them least-reached — mean they seldom speak at a heart level or share experiences with one another.
“There are just a lot of easy ways to fragment” within their community, Andrew noted.
But the ministry of Life Center Church in Struga, whether in Sunday worship, weekly activities or outreach to youth, means Christ’s presence through believers offers people separated by culture another life.
“Night to Shine has been a really wonderful event just to reconcile all these people groups who don’t get along,” Irida, an Albanian, said. “They can enjoy the company of each other with other parents who they can relate to in a similar situation, and they can comfort each other.”
God’s love counters human shame
Whether to families with disabilities or families divided because of ethnic and religious identity, the Morriseaus’ ministry embraces everyone in the name of Christ.
For example, an event is planned for an upcoming Down Syndrome Day in Struga where people can raise awareness about resources for children and support for families.
The Morrisseasus said in many cases, the cultural belief about children with disabilities means the mother or father did something wrong at some point, so God orchestrated the child’s challenge.
“It’s a shame-based culture,” Irida noted, so finding fault or assessing what’s wrong with someone is common in relationships.
Related: The gospel benefits people with shame and disabilities in Cameroon.
Instead, the people of Life Center Church share how God sees the children and their parents: as kings and queens, all deeply loved and wholly valued by God.
We’re pushing against that [cultural belief], and surprisingly, people really like it,” Andrew explained. “So we hit a soft spot for people.”
The voice of God is rising among the condemnation and division in North Macedonia because a local church is loving their neighbor and exalting Christ. As Christ’s light increases, offering a way out of darkness, teenagers and their parents who attended Night to Shine responded joyfully.
“They still talk about Night to Shine every day,” Irida said. “It’s not just one day. It gets stuck in their memory for a long time. They feel valued. They feel loved and accepted.”
Converge is asking God for a gospel movement among every least-reached people group – in our generation. Learn how we are playing a role in accomplishing the Great Commission and how you can be involved.
