Illumination Station
You might see the title of this article and think that it is about VBS, as "Illumination Station" was the theme for 2026. But what I've noticed over the years is that the Lord very often puts the same ideas and thoughts on people's minds related to how He is moving. I saw that this year, the "Illumination Station" theme didn't just stay in the states, but journeyed across the pond to London.
For 5 years now, we have been taking teams of young adults ages 18-30 to London as a part of a BCNE program called "Mission Force". It is not solely a trip, but it also includes 4 months of working together through our 3 pillar model: KNOW, GROW, & GO. We cover topics related to knowing who and Whose we are, growing in deeper discipleship individually and collectively, and learning what it means to fulfill the Great Commission across the street and around the world.
So back to Illumination Station. We'd love to bring you on a journey of how God is spreading his light across London. Mind the gap as you hop on with us!
Stop #1: Red Light District
When we hear "red light district" often what comes to mind is danger, brokenness, addiction, exploitation, loneliness, and sin. What also comes to mind might be "I need to avoid that area of the city". But what we've learned is that the places we might humanly want to avoid are the exact places Jesus might be calling us to move towards. How many times Biblically has Jesus moved towards those who are being avoided or overlooked? The darkness doesn't surprise God and it certainly doesn't intimidate Him. Sin is sin. Who are we to say people, the activities they engage in, or certain places are more "sinful" than others? Whether you are doing drugs in SoHo or are envying your neighbor's car, it's all very dark in God's eyes. We are the light of the world. We shine the brightest in the darkest of places. Why add a lamp to an already lit room?
Were we nervous at first to go into what's known as the red light district of London? Of course! But God protected us and was preparing the way long before we arrived. We worked with the "Love Beyond" team and their "office" is a literal hole in the wall cafe between an adult store and a barber shop. They are reaching the unhoused, sex workers, addicts, the locals, tourists, and any others who pop into the cafe on their stroll through SoHo. One of our favorite things about it is that they are literally IN SoHo. IN the same wall as the other flats and businesses. But they are not OF it. What an example of John 17. The question shouldn't be "why is this place so dark?", rather "how might God want us to bring His light here?"
Stop #2: Art & Historical District
As the red lights fade into the distance, our next stop brings us to the hub of culture, history, and art. Each morning on our trip, we bring the team to spend time at the local museums and art galleries. They visited the British Museum, The Natural History Museum, The London Centre (NLA), Victoria & Albert Museum, Guildhall Art Gallery, and The National Gallery. Museums and galleries give you opportunities to engage questions about beauty, humanity, suffering, identity, morality, creation, and meaning. Rather than seeing culture as something Christians need to retreat from, Mission Force teaches young adults how to enter culture thoughtfully and engage it with a Biblical worldview.
You can look at a painting and just admire simply what it is or you could look at a painting and connect it to a Bible story, a Biblical truth, or a feeling it gives you to respond in faith. You can walk past large ancient gates in the British Museum, or you can learn that those same gates were the ones Jonah walked through completing his missionary journey to Nineveh. An ancient relic is now alive again inspiring you to walk in the footsteps of your spiritual ancestors. Sometimes perspective is the key to illumination. And sometimes illumination is the key to perspective. Either way, something for you is locked and needs a key.
Stop #3: Icon District
This year the back of our shirts read "JESUS IS ICONIC." We chose this design and slogan this year because London is full of icons. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, The Tower of London, Abbey Road, Covent Garden, The Tube, and so many more. After traveling there five times, you'd think you'd get used to it. But I am here to tell you everytime I come up the stairs at Westminster Station to see Big Ben towering over me in the sky, my mind just says "iconic." In the same way, Jesus never gets old. He will never be "outdated", even though some in London might say He is. He is famous, He is symbolic, He is timeless, He influences. For believers, He is so much more. But for nonbelievers on the streets, this is a good starting point. Let's agree that Jesus is iconic, and then let's get you on the journey to ultimately discovering Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
Each year, the leaders leave the team at some point and they have to navigate the city as a team to come find us at different icon sites around the city. Once they find us (some take longer than others), we relate those icons to different Biblical truths (yes, this is a common theme for Mission Force). Whether it's God's timing (Big Ben), vision casting (London Eye), staying connected to the Vine (Covent Garden), serving locally & globally (St. Pancras/Kings Cross Stations), being the same inside & out (Fortnum & Mason), or being a child of the King (Buckingham Palace), these icons are reminders that everything is about God and His glory. It also helps young adults live with a Biblical worldview, like wearing Gospel goggles (metaphorically, of course).
Stop #4: Theater District
London is known for its theater scene. Actually, many shows and plays are tested for audience reactions, staging, plot changes, etc. in London before moving onto Broadway in New York. It makes sense because London is a city filled with stories. Theater explores love, loss, sacrifice, power, redemption, identity, betrayal, hope, and longing. Perhaps human beings are such storytellers because we were created by an Author. Even stories that don't acknowledge God often contain echoes of the things our hearts were designed to long for. Hercules desperately trying to find a place he belongs. Defying gravity in Wicked echoing the same freedom we find by defying our flesh. Unearned grace themes in Phantom of the Opera. A savior-type entering into a broken timeline to change the trajectory of a doomed fate in Back to the Future. The countless parallels are almost impossible to miss. That is, if you're looking for them.
We often bring the team to at least one theater show. It's a great time of fellowship and fun, but it also communicates a deeper meaning. That Jesus isn't simply a character in our story – it is His story and He is both the Author of it and at the center of it. It also reiterates that anything we experience can be connected back to God because it's ultimately all about Him and His glory. We can connect a plot of a play to a Biblical truth. We can be in awe of how God creates humans so uniquely with such gifts and talents. We can pray for the crowd of people sitting around us and have compassion on them like sheep without a shepherd. We can reflect on the "stage" of our lives and who or what is in the spotlight and what has fallen into the background. We can ask ourselves, is my goal to get to "Broadway" or to follow the narrow way. Spoiler: only one leads to life.
Stop #5: Above Ground
Well, we've been on the Tube for awhile now. You can get pretty far, but eventually you have to go up the stairs or the "lift" to get to the street. Evangelism can sometimes become something we talk about, study, or hope we'll do someday. But the light can't stay at the station. It needs to go where the people are. From first hand experience, we can tell you that it takes courage to initiate conversations, ask questions, share your testimony, pray with strangers, and proclaim the Gospel. But evangelism isn't about having the perfect words. It's about being willing to go, listen, love, and point people toward Jesus.
Our team received some thought-provoking and impactful trainings and got to brainstorm some potential ideas on how to engage people on the streets of SoHo. God brought some real creativity to our minds:
Using the public ping pong tables at the park to play games and then have conversations while waiting your turn to play again.
Bringing around a photo collage board and asking people deeper questions, but having them respond by pointing to one of the pictures (worth a thousand words).
Traveling around the streets with a guitar and a bongo drum singing worship music.
Setting up a "life reading" station where someone chooses a mini rolled up Bible verse scroll out of hundreds and you read it and pray it over them.
Walking around with a "Love is…" board and having people write on a sticky note what they think it is and then explaining that "God is love" to you.
What we learned from this is that a ping pong ball, a photo, an instrument, a verse, or a sticky note might be the tool God uses to bring people to Him. Evangelism is just obedience. Saying "yes" to picking up the ping pong paddle. Saying "yes" to cutting out magazine pictures. Saying "yes" to ______ (fill in the blank). People are lost. People are seeking. People are attempting to fill a God-sized void. Are you going to stay underground or meet them where they are at?
Final Stop: Home
The ultimate goal isn't that Mission Force participants solely experience stateside training and a trip to London. It's that they return home changed – knowing Christ more deeply, growing as disciples, and ready to go wherever He sends them. Our prayer every year is that God moves in their lives and stirs in their hearts a desire to see the mission field of New England become a Mission Force of sent believers. Whether you are a Mission Force participant or not, we all have the ability to continue to KNOW, GROW, and GO. We all have the choice to say "yes". We all have the light to illuminate the darkest parts of the world. Our 2026 team has reached the end of this specific journey, but yours is just getting started. This train is now departing Illumination Station, next stop….