{"id":2855,"date":"2015-04-27T08:40:39","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T13:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/newwineskins\/?p=2855"},"modified":"2015-04-27T08:40:39","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T13:40:39","slug":"my-10-favorite-things-about-the-joy-prom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/newwineskins\/my-10-favorite-things-about-the-joy-prom\/","title":{"rendered":"My 10 Favorite Things About the Joy Prom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This morning there\u2019s a few hundred Mt Vernon volunteers dragging their way to work or school today. We\u2019re tired, but it\u2019s a good tired. No, it\u2019s a great tired! We just finished our 4th Annual Joy Prom, where our high school students throw a prom for the special needs community. Of all the wonderful things about Joy Prom, here are my 10 favorite:<\/p>\n

\"red<\/a>1. The Red Carpet<\/strong> \u2013 This is the aspect that most people see. Our special guests and their dates (our high school students) roll up at the edge of a red carpet and walk into our church, with hundreds of people clapping and cheering for them along the way. We get to make the special needs community feel as valued\u00a0as they truly are.<\/p>\n

\"community\"<\/a>2. Church uniting<\/strong> \u2013 It takes much more than a youth ministry to make\u00a0the Joy Prom happen. People from all throughout our church get to come together and pull off this amazing event. By working together, it reminds us that generational divides don\u2019t have to be a barrier for us doing something impactful for the Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\"church\"<\/a>3. Community coming together<\/strong> \u2013 Just like the Joy Prom is bigger than a youth ministry, it\u2019s also bigger than one church. Many of our key volunteers don\u2019t attend Mt Vernon, and a majority of our red carpet volunteers aren\u2019t members of our church. It\u2019s an incredible opportunity for Christians throughout the community to unite together for a common good.<\/p>\n

\"21284_10155435165475034_1753351216330533605_n\"<\/a>4. Teens learning to serve<\/strong> \u2013 Our students serve as dates, helping their dates with their food and of course accompanying them on the dance floor. They have real responsibility throughout the night, and they more than rise up to the occasion. It\u2019s always encouraging to see students take such a servant\u2019s role even at a young age.<\/p>\n

\"caregivers\"<\/a>5. Blessing the caregivers<\/strong> \u2013 The caregivers of these special guests are the real heroes, caring for a person with special needs day in and day out, removed from the spotlight. Joy Prom is an opportunity for us not only to give the caregivers a few hours off, but to bless them by blessing those closest to their hearts: the special needs community.<\/p>\n

\"favorite<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

6. Dancing in church<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Maybe it\u2019s just the rule breaker in me. Maybe I was traumatized by Footloose. Either way,\u00a0the rebellious part of me likes pushing the envelope and utilizing church space for something others might frown on and having a (clean) dance inside the four walls of a church.<\/p>\n

\"dance\"<\/a>7. High schoolers\u2019 favorite dance<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve heard this every year we\u2019ve done Joy Prom. It\u2019s the high schoolers\u2019 favorite dance. They don\u2019t have to try and impress others or look cool. They just get to be themselves and have fun. Joy Prom is always their favorite dance.<\/p>\n

\"serving\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. People are able to leverage\u00a0their gifts to serve<\/strong> \u2013 Numerous ladies from the beauty industry volunteer their time to do hair and make up for the special guests\u00a0before they walk the red carpet. Folks with classic cars donated their cars and their time to help work the red carpet. Photographers donated their evening to help capture the event. It\u2019s great to see people leverage their natural gifts and talents for the good of others.<\/p>\n

\"11174806_10155435157965034_3903874191757119572_n\"<\/a>9.\u00a0Their smiles<\/strong> \u2013 There\u2019s a\u00a0simple\u00a0innocence and purity when someone with special needs smiles. There\u2019s an unadulterated joy unencumbered by the weight of the world. Seeing them smile literally makes it all worthwhile. And they smile, and smile, and smile. The Joy Prom brings them joy. What other reason do we need?<\/p>\n

\"blessed\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

10. It\u2019s more blessed to give than to receive<\/strong> \u2013 Every person participating in the Joy Prom gets to live out these famous words from Jesus. Yes we give: our time, energy, resources, sleep, etc. But what we receive it return far exceeds anything we give up. That\u2019s why we look forward to it year after year.<\/p>\n

What a blessing!<\/p>\n

\u00a0images courtesy of Chris Ellis Photography<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning there\u2019s a few hundred Mt Vernon volunteers dragging their way to work or school today. We\u2019re tired, but it\u2019s a good tired. No, it\u2019s a great tired! We just finished our 4th Annual Joy Prom, where our high school students throw a prom for the special needs community. Of all the wonderful things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2490,"featured_media":2868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[339,649,780,972,977,1141,1344],"class_list":["post-2855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mtvpastor","tag-dance","tag-high-school","tag-joy","tag-mt-vernon","tag-mtvpastor-2","tag-prom","tag-special-needs"],"yoast_head":"\nMy 10 Favorite Things About the Joy Prom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This morning there's a few hundred Mt Vernon volunteers dragging their way to work or school today. We're tired, but it's a good tired. 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