Carmel Baptist to Start a Larger Special Needs Ministry as it Hosts its Final Joy Prom.
On the evening of February 8th, Carmel Baptist Church will host its final Joy Prom because the church has decided to devote its resources towards a larger special needs ministry.
Joy Prom is an annual free dance hosted by Carmel Baptist for people in the Charlotte-Matthews special needs community. Carmel Baptist Church’s website defines the event as:
“Joy Prom is a full-scale prom for the special needs individuals in our community. Formally attired guests arrive on the red carpet and are escorted by volunteers who help them with make-up, shoe shines and photo opportunities. A dessert buffet is served for all guests and is followed by an evening of dancing the night away with their friends.”
Joy Prom is part of a duel location ministry called Queen City Prom according to the Queen City Prom website. One prom is located at Carmel Baptist Church and a second prom is hosted by the Elevation campus located at University City.
While the Carmel Baptist location will stop hosting Joy Prom in years to come, the Elevation location will continue to offer their special needs prom called Night to Shine.
The prom has been hosted at Carmel for 13 years according to the Queen City Prom website.
The Future Change
Hundreds of people volunteer at the local Joy Prom held by Carmel Baptist, but this opportunity will not be around in upcoming years. Instead there will be new efforts to continually help people with special needs in the community.
The Queen City Prom site reports that the prom was started “with the goal of caring for individuals and their families with special needs — and make them feel valued and cherished through sharing the love of Christ at a special prom.”
But Carmel Baptist Church has decided to focus their efforts on other special needs ministry programming rather than continuing to host the prom. After the 2019 prom finishes, the church will begin to start planning year round efforts to help those with special needs.
“The reality is this, special needs families don’t need just one night a year, they need ongoing community throughout the year, 52 weeks a year,” Carmel Baptist’s Senior Pastor Alex Kennedy said in the video announcing the change in November 2018.
Julianne Bash, communications director at Carmel Baptist Church explained that the “formal” planning for the future of the special needs ministry, Joy Ministry, will not start until after Joy Prom.
“We are SO excited to see how else God will grow this ministry given our focus of resources on year-round ministry to these families,” Bash said in an email.
Bash reports that Carmel Baptist already has some programs that help people with special needs. For example, every month the church hosts a get-together for the parents of individuals who have special needs. Carmel has buddy programs for special needs students ranging from preschool to high school ages. The church also offers two classes specifically aimed at adults with special needs.
The upcoming changes to incorporate more special needs focused ministry means the church will have openings for volunteer work.
“While we have a dedicated team of volunteers that minister and disciple from preschool to adult in the special needs community, we still need volunteers,” Kennedy said in the announcement video.
The Final Prom
The tickets for this year’s Joy Prom are currently sold out. Kennedy states in the November announcement that “registration fills up in hours.”
In his announcement, Kennedy reports that the first event in 2005 was a student ministry event with 125 special needs guests, but it has grown to host over 400 individuals this year according to the Carmel Baptist website.
The website explains that Joy Prom offered opportunities for people to volunteer with hosting, serving food, helping with food tray preparation and boutonniere assembling.
This year all the volunteer opportunities for this event at the Carmel Baptist location have been completely filled. Bash reports that people from over 30 churches volunteered to help at the prom.
“We’re in final stages of prepping for tonight’s Joy Prom — it is going to be fun evening!” Bash said in her email.
Bash also reports that there will be a live stream on their Facebook at 6:20. She says there will be a discussion of the event on Sunday by the church’s pastor where he will thank the many volunteers involved in the event.
Note: Updated to add a link to the Facebook live stream.
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