Northern Lights was founded in early 2000 by Paul Standidge, Paula Dickson, Simon Pedley, Peter Kelly and Liz Gray in Yorkshire when they recognised that within many churches in the area there were no arrangements for events specifically aimed at single adults in the age range 30s to 40s. Most churches at the time tended to emphasise family events, youth and elderly activities. Indeed, in most small and medium sized churches these days there are limited numbers of single Christians in this age range to connect with. Even in big churches opportunities for hooking up with other 30s and 40s can be minimal. Northern Lights thus came into being and sought to redress this dearth of events for singles particularly in the north of England

Our first event was at Airedale High School in June 2000 with a dance put on by the group through word-of-mouth communication, leading to nearly 100 people attending. Since then we have organised typically three showpiece events each year (averaging 90 - 110 people per event) including many Ceilidhs, Ceroc Dancing, 1970s Discos, a 1940s Ball, as well as biblical teaching days, weekends away at Cliff College Derbyshire, day trips to York and Chester etc. We have met in pubs, hotels, schools, church halls and a golf club.

Northern Lights aims to cover a wide geographic area, with people coming to our events from as far afield as Milton Keynes, Dumfries, Chester and Newcastle Upon Tyne. In effect, the group serves a crosslinking function with the many local Christian Singles groups springing up and based in the north of England. For example, The Gatherers (W. Yorkshire), Interlink (S. Yorkshire), 25 Plus (Manchester), The Christian Ramblers (Yorkshire) and The Network (National, but based in Shropshire),  among others, and whose members come to our events. These local groups each provide a range of activities as wide as the collective imagination of their members, ranging from walks to cinema, concert and theatre trips, pub lunches, hanging out in people’s homes, evening dining and cultural excursions. See our "Other Groups" webpage for more information on other activities hosted by those groups.

With regular church attendance in any area of England falling under 5% these days, it is hard for single Christians in their 30s and 40s to meet like minded individuals for fellowship, social friendships and relationships. Indeed, it is predicted by sociologists that in 2010 as many as 40% of all British homes will be single adult households although this will include many elderly people. Nevertheless, there are usually many opportunities for Christian Singles to meet and network in the London and South East region. Unfortunately, it is both expensive and difficult to attend such events in the capital from "up north". It is therefore much harder to connect up with similar single people in the more rural and dispersed population areas of Northern England and Southern Scotland.

By bringing together similar single people from a large number of different churches over a wide geographical area, we aim to provide a range of social and cultural events focused around the West & South Yorkshire area specifically tailored to northern singles. We do like to dress up for “posh” events and to put on joint events with other groups as appropriate. From farmers to medical professionals, engineers to administrators, people with degrees and those without, all of us love Jesus and are seeking to work out our salvation in the places and situations that God has called us to. Northern Lights as a group aims to embrace all single Christians in their 30s and 40s who know the Lord Jesus, follow God the Father, and are open to the Holy Spirit.  We welcome the richness of many Christian traditions and our members hail from traditional Anglicans to charismatics, evangelicals to Methodists, and various free churches in between. We are open to folks in the their 20s and 50s although we are aiming to have the bulk of our membership being in their 30s and 40s to meet the needs of our target demographic in the church.