03/16/2026
Prom.
One of the pillars of American high school culture … and we’ve had soooo many prom dresses pass through our hands in the past thirty days that I’m seeing them in my sleep.
When we first started tossing around the idea to do a free prom dress event last summer, I’ll admit, I wasn’t 100% on board. As I often do, I had to check my compass by asking in prayer … is this the right direction, does this impact people, does it impact your kingdom? So in other words, does Jesus care about prom?
The answer to that question, on the surface at least, is no, a hard no actually … and I say that with complete confidence (sorry kids). However, what he does care about is the young people that are attending prom. He cares about what they care about. He cares about their families, their mental health, and their spiritual freedom. He cares about single moms struggling to pay the electric bill and pay for prom (which really is a cultural celebration in the U.S.) and that was enough for me to pull the trigger on Dress Up Ellwood.
We tend to look at (and treat) girls in their late teens like they’re mini adults, instead of the maturing children that they are. We forget that prefrontal cortexes don’t mature until the mid to late 20’s. They’re still trying to figure out who they are, how to be comfortable in their own skin, how to have confidence in a world where perfection is now computer generated, and my heart hurts for them at times, His does too.
We gave away 15 prom dresses this past weekend … and that doesn’t seem like much in light of what some other Project Prom programs do. However, I’ll say this, you can’t put a price tag on the fifteen smiles we saw when they found that perfect dress, when they were encouraged by a room full of women, of all ages and generations, telling them they’re beautiful, that the dress is perfect … the smiles, made all the work and uncertainty worth it, in every single way.
So, thank you Ellwood. Thanks to the businesses that supported us, thanks to the community members that donated (and continue to donate still lol), thank you to the staff at Lincoln High that helped us get the word out, to Holy Redeemer for opening the doors of their Catholic center to us, thank you to my team of volunteers, without you, this doesn’t happen. And last but not least, thank you to the moms and families that took a chance and trusted us with their daughter’s hearts for a sixty minute window, it was our absolute pleasure to serve you.
See you next year! 💜🩵
(You can always stay up to date with other community events we’re hosting at the Ground Zero Ministries page or on our website at groundzeroministry.com
